Perch

Perch is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in all of Vancouver. The menu is quite simple really - appetizers, pizzas, sandwiches and burgers - but the combination of ingredients and flavor make this place unique.

The main reason I go to perch is for the pizzas. All the pizzas are gluten-free, made with fresh ingredients and offer the option of vegan cheese. My favorite is the #2 - spinach, brie, portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions and pesto. But, really, any one of the pizzas on the menu is delicious. Seriously, I probably daydream about these pizzas on an every-few-days basis, they're that good!

The other reason I love this place is the yam salad. Arugula, cooked yams and cashews, with a pesto-hummus dressing. Perfecto!

Also, did I mention that they have free two-player tetris?

Perch up until this weekend was located at 1701 Powell Street (at the foot of Commercial Drive), but will be opening at a new location on East Hastings street in the middle of September.

Lombardo's Pizzeria

My sister and I have started a new weekly dinner date every Wednesday night, in which we try out a new restaurant in Vancouver. Last night, we tried out Lombardo's Pizzeria on Commercial Drive. I had heard a lot about Lombardo's from one of my coworkers, who explained the whole Lombardo's vs. Marcello's longwinded family fued to me. My coworker has always sided with Lombardo's saying that the food (and owners for that matter) are better, and claiming that this place has the best pizza on the drive!

First of all, the restaurant is located inside a “kind-of” shopping center (I use the “ “ marks because there are only about four or five stores/restaurants in the whole center). This location gives the restaurant a more casual feel, which may or may not be advantageous depending on their clientele.

My sister and I ordered two medium pizzas to share – one margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil) and a vegetariana (tomato sauce, mozzarella, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, artichoke hearts). The pizza was just ok – the margherita didn’t have buffalo mozzarella, which in my opinion is a necessity, and there was only one lonely basil leaf on top. The vegetariana was a bit bland, but that’s understandable – i can't imagine that many of their clientele are veggie-lovers.

All and all, there are other places along the drive that have better pizza (such as perch http://www.eatdrinkperch.com/ or firestone pizza http://firepizza.ca/), but pizza is pizza and we almost finished both pies nonetheless!

To see Lombardo's website, go here: http://lombardos.ca/.

CAMPAGNOLO RESTAURANTO

My friend and I went to this place last Friday night, and it was almost as if we had entered heaven, Italian heaven that is.

We ordered two appetizers and one main to share, and of course some wine!

The two appetizers were:

Crispy Ceci (which are chickpeas that have been flash-fried to taste like bliss) with chilies, mint and citrus.

Seared Octopus with nugget red potatoes, olives, lardo, and frise lettuce.

For the main, we got the Margherita pizza with mozzarella, tomato and basil.

Check out their website here: http://www.campagnolorestaurant.ca/

Pesto

Every year, my dad grows a lovely herb garden filled with fresh basil. This year, I decided to make some extra delicious pesto, which was used to make some super extra delicious pizzas.

Pesto

2 cups fresh basil

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic

1/4 pine nuts

Blend together for pesto perfection.

Homemade pesto pizza

ingredients:

• multigrain pizza crust
• basil pesto
• spinach
• tomato
• green pepper
• mozzarella and cheddar cheese