I’ve read The Nasty Bits several times over the years, “the gospel of Bourdain,” as I lovingly call it. It’s one of those books I keep returning to, and every time I do, a different sentence stops me in my tracks. Not because I missed it the first time, but because I’ve changed. Life has changed. The words land differently.
This time, it was a simple line:
“Whenever possible, try to eat food that comes from somewhere, from somebody.”
Nobody wrote about food quite like Anthony Bourdain. In fact, I don’t think food was ever really his subject. People were.
Bourdain remains my favorite chef-writer, not because of his culinary credentials or his larger-than-life television persona, but because he understood that every great meal begins long before it reaches the plate. He saw food as an entry point into culture, history, family, and identity. A bowl of noodles wasn’t just lunch. It was migration, memory, survival, and love served in a ceramic bowl.
Years before the age of the food influencer, and long before Vancouver became a darling of international food media, Bourdain came here for a 2008 episode of the Travel Channel’s No Reservations. He explored what was then described as an evolving food scene alongside chefs Hidekazu Tojo, Vikram Vij, and Pino Posteraro. What drew him wasn’t luxury or prestige. It was authenticity. (Yes, I said what I said, so don’t come at me, Toronto.) It was the people behind the food.
That’s still what makes Vancouver’s food scene extraordinary.
The World in Vancouver Food
On any given day, you can travel halfway around the world without ever leaving Metro Vancouver. Start with dim sum in Richmond. Head to Surrey for pupusas or Indian food. Stop in Burnaby for Afghan food. Grab pho in East Vancouver and finish the evening with handmade pasta on Commercial Drive. Within a few hours, you’ve crossed continents, languages, and generations of family history.
The magic isn’t found only in Michelin stars or impossible reservations, although Vancouver has both. It’s found in recipes that crossed oceans tucked into suitcases and memories, and families who arrived here carrying little more than hope and a notebook full of recipes. It’s found in the people who wake before dawn to bake bread, fold dumplings, simmer broth, and press tortillas by hand.
That’s the Vancouver I love. That’s the Vancouver I’ve been writing about for almost two decades.
And that’s the Vancouver Bourdain understood.
People Eat Vancouver
Bourdain knew that food is one of the last things capable of bringing strangers together. Sit at a table long enough, and people will tell you who they are. Their history, heartbreak, their dreams. Food has a way of opening doors that remain stubbornly closed to almost everything else. Food is the great confessional, and every dish tastes a little like absolution.
Perhaps that’s why his loss still feels so profound.
He wasn’t simply documenting meals. He was documenting humanity, one city, one conversation, and one bowl at a time.
The older I get, the more I believe he was right. And man, I miss him more.
The meals we remember are rarely the most expensive. They’re the ones attached to a face, a voice, and a story. The ones that come from somewhere. The ones that come from somebody. That is such a fundamentally human experience. Everyone can tell you about that one meal etched in their memory forever.
In Vancouver, we’re lucky enough to find those stories every day.
A Few Vancouver Stories Worth Tasting
For pupusas, I always find myself at Guacamole Mexican Grill in Surrey. The restaurant has been part of Surrey’s Latin American food scene since 2012, surviving name changes and a rapidly changing neighborhood while still serving the kind of food Bourdain was always searching for: honest food made by real people with roots somewhere else.
For Indian cuisine, it’s hard to think of a more influential Vancouver institution than Vij’s Restaurant. Vikram Vij opened the restaurant in 1994 and helped redefine how many Canadians think about Indian food, bringing regional flavors, family recipes, and a distinct Vancouver sensibility into the national conversation.
For sushi, few chefs have left a bigger mark on the city than Hidekazu Tojo. At Tojo’s Restaurant, he has spent decades helping shape Vancouver’s culinary identity by combining Japanese traditions with the ingredients and character of the Pacific Northwest.
Pasta With Love
For traditional Italian food, my heart will always belong to La Piazza Dario. It has been a Vancouver institution since 1977, quietly serving Italian food without chasing trends or reinventing itself every six months. The restaurant feels like a reminder of a different era, when hospitality wasn’t a marketing strategy but a way of life. It’s the kind of place where the staff know their regulars, dinner stretches a little longer than planned, and every table seems to be celebrating something.
It’s also where I was proposed to.
After I said yes, the maître d’ somehow produced a bouquet of roses from behind the bar, as though he had been waiting his entire life for that moment. Suddenly, little old Italian ladies from nearby tables were getting up from their dinners to see the ring. They crowded around me, smiling, gesturing, holding my hand, and admiring the diamond.
One after another, they nodded approvingly and declared, “Money in the bank! Money in the bank!” before erupting into laughter.
It was joyful, spontaneous, completely unplanned, and utterly Italian.
Looking back, it remains one of my favorite Vancouver restaurant memories, not because of what was on the plate, but because of the people around the table.
I suspect Anthony Bourdain would have approved.
If You Go
Vancouver has officially become a thing, so a little planning goes a long way. Book accommodation early, particularly during summer, cruise season, and major events. The Canada Line connects Vancouver International Airport with downtown in about 25 minutes, and you can use a contactless credit card, debit card, or mobile wallet on buses and SkyTrain.
Vancouver’s food culture extends well beyond downtown, so leave time for Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey, and the neighborhood restaurants of East Vancouver. Reservations are strongly recommended for celebrated dining rooms such as Vij’s, Tojo’s, and La Piazza Dario, but don’t make reservations for every meal. Some of the best food stories in this city are still found by following a crowded room, an unfamiliar smell, or the advice of someone who lives here.
Come hungry, take transit, and be willing to travel beyond the postcard.
For current visitor information, neighborhood guides, and transportation options, visit Destination Vancouver and TransLink.
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