Whether I’m hopping on a plane to explore another part of the world, or I’m wandering a new part of my own city, the thing that drives my exploration is the food.

I’m not necessarily picky about whether I’m eating food native to the area or my go-to meal; I just want to try something new. We happened upon a ton of great brunch places in BC, so of course, I need to share those with you.

I can’t even choose a favourite meal on this summer trip to Vancouver because at least once a day, my partner, my friend and I would go to a restaurant that made my taste buds cry with happiness.

But one of the ones that first comes to mind was my fish sandwich at Edible Canada on Granville Island. I love fish tacos, so anything with fried fish and coleslaw has my heart. It was also just nice to sit on the patio and watch all the island tourists walking around and enjoying the weather.

*First meal in Vancouver at* *The Templeton*

When Brandon and I landed in Vancouver, the time change meant it was only 9:00am or so, but to us it felt like lunchtime. So as soon as we got to the downtown core, we went on a hunt for food. And we found The Templeton diner.

Brandon and I are a sucker for diner food and diner vibes, so my body has an immediate reaction that whenever I sit in a bright red booth, my stomach craves sausage and eggs.

But I wanted to try something new, so when the waitress came, I ordered my very first eggs benedict (yes, I lived 27 years without ever trying eggs benny). It was delicious and started the trip off on the right foot.

Another food highlight was Mo:Lé Restaurant in Victoria. This was a recommendation from my friend who lives in Victoria; they brought us out on a little morning tour of the city and then we ended up here for brunch. I ordered a tomato chipotle sausage hash. I think about those eggs and tomatoes at least once a week since that trip. It was mouth-watering.

The final restaurant I’m going to write about has actually closed down since we returned from Vancouver, but it gets a special mention because it was such a great experience.

The Elbow Room Cafe is no ordinary diner. The staff was sassy and insulted everyone as they ordered, the waiter would sit at the table and have very blunt/inappropriate discussions with their customers. It was hilarious, but also such a memorable experience.

Yes, the insults are the gimmick, but on another level it was just nice to have that connection with the staff. The waiter asked where we were from and we talked about what life is like in Toronto and he told us some things we could do on our visit.

So many people just follow the script of dining at a restaurant – this felt so much more laid back and human.

Being in Vancouver and Victoria for a week was an amazing food experience.