Local Food

Six Outrageous Guilty Pleasure Meals in Vancouver

Vancouver isn't all kale juice and quinoa. Indulge in these six delectable dishes

By Alex Bronson /

Credit: flickr/rickie22

Some days, you just don’t want to count calories. Here are six outrageously delicious meals that don’t care about your waistline

All in all, Vancouver is a healthy place; its citizens are coaxed outside year-round with good weather and amazing landscapes, and they enjoy a bounty of fresh, healthy meal options in the home and at restaurants. But the city also has a gluttonous side for when you’re in the mood. If you’re into the confoundingly calorific, here are six of Vancouver’s most outrageously delicious (and unhealthy) local meals. Because you can’t be good all the time.



Credit: Alicia Quan

Deep-fried Favourites at The Eatery

It wouldn’t be a Vancouver restaurant roundup without a sushi joint. Now, Eatery Sushi does serve the healthy, traditional Japanese food too, but some of the options, like the Fat Elvis (deep-fried avocado topped with tomatoes, green onion and unagi mayo) or the Captain Crunch (a tempura-style California roll also with unagi mayo) are decidedly more indulgent. They’re a bit chaotic, in a whimsical, fun way. And since you’re there and you’ve already decided to be a bit bad, you might as well get a deep-fried Mars Bar for dessert. 



Credit: Robert Shaer

Dos Diablos Grilled Cheese at Burgoo

You might find a few items at Burgoo that would satisfy your calorific craving, but you certainly can’t go wrong with the Dos Diablos, a white cheddar grilled cheese sandwich with spicy chorizo sausage and roasted red pepper on a house baguette. Go ahead, order the side salad. You’re not fooling anyone.



Credit: The Score on Davie

Caesar Madness at The Score on Davie

The folks at The Score take their garnish seriously. Order one of their signature caesars like the Checkmate, which comes with a burger, onion rings, chicken wings, a pulled-pork mac and cheese, a hotdog, roasted chicken, a pulled-pork sriracha glazed slider and a brownie. Oh ya, and you get the Caesar. Don’t you dare ask for an extra bean.



Credit: Flickr/Paul Joseph

Stuffed Bagel at Siegel’s Bagels

Bagels: pure delicious evil. Even these Montreal-stlye versions (boiled, then baked in a wood-burning oven) weigh in at 300 calories per. And that’s before you stuff them with Montreal smoked meat and cheese. Take a stroll down to the Granville Island Public Market or the Seigel’s location in Kitsilano and order one now. You’ll stroll back, too, if you know what’s good for you. 



Credit: St.Augustine's 

Nachos from St. Augustine’s

No matter how you spin them, nachos are not a health food. But, if you’re going to indulge, you might as well go with the best. St. Augustine’s nachos come stock with beans, corn, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. The pulled pork is extra, but, what the heck, right? Pair a plate with a pint of something local, which they have in spades (over 60+ beers on tap).



BBQ Platter at Re-Up BBQ

Barbecue is a great use of cheat day. Re-Up does everything in-house, serving the classics like pulled pork, beef brisket and BBQ ribs with their own sauce, ‘slaw,’ and buttermilk biscuits, which are always prompting comments about how “grandma used to do it…” They even make their own cola. The beef brisket platter with Santa Fe Red Gravy (think Chili), the biscuits and a homemade cola will certainly any hunger pangs.