Oh Canada!

Perogies, Poutine, and Fish & Chips!  The first stop on our trip to Vancouver was Lennox Pub in the heart of downtown.

Being from Canada, I told Jeran I had to show him some authentic Canadian food.  While many of these dishes would be considered English or French, to me they were Canadian as I grew up on them.  Sometimes you just have to get a few appetizers and that's what we did here, starting with my all time favourite, Perogies.  Think of Perogies as a sort of dumpling, creamy 3-cheese mashed potatoes served in a pasta shell that is pan-friend (or boiled or deep-fried) and traditionally served with caramelized onions, bacon, and sour cream.  There are so many ways to prepare this dish, and it can be a great side or a main dish itself, but I love it the way we had it!

Poutine is an a very popular dish in Canada, served anywhere from fast food restaurants to upscale dining (see the Coast blog post for some super fancy poutine!).  Here we had the most common and incredibly delicious version.  You start with crispy french fries and top them with cheese curds and gravy.  The gravy and hot crispy fries melt the cheese curds and the result is the ultimate comfort food.  Move over mashed potatoes!

Last, but not least, fish & chips.  There are so many variations and almost every restaurant in Canada has this popular item on their menu.  Here we had a classic cod with homemade tarter sauce.  Simply delicious!

This pub was a great find in the downtown Vancouver area on the always-busy Granville Street.  Other traditional favorites on the menu included Shepard's Pie and Bangers and Mash.  We had so much fun enjoying these traditional Canadian dishes!