Elevated comfort food, plant-based butchery and take-out salads to whet your appetite.

Burgoo Burrard

Fans of the Burgoo mini-chain (there’s an outpost deep in Point Grey, one in Kitsilano, another on Main Street and one in North Vancouver) are known to be a little fanatic about their chosen eatery. The elevated comfort food, like maybe the best grilled cheese in B.C., will finally be available to those living downtown. This spot near St. Paul’s is noticeably lighter and airier than the other cozy locales, but the Irish lamb stew will be every bit as hearty. 101–1100 Burrard St., Vancouver, burgoo.ca

The Very Good Butchers

These plant-based butchers (yes, that’s a thing), from Denman Island, have opened their first bricks-and-mortar store in the Victoria Public Market. The duo works some serious wonders—beer-battered eggplant and chips, barbecued pulled jackfruit—all without the aid of animals. Very good indeed. 6–1701 Douglas St., Victoria, verygoodbutchers.com

Field and Social

Walk through midtown Manhattan and you can’t take a few steps without running into another casual take-out salad spot, but here in the West those desiring a healthy green lunch option have been confined to the dreaded clamshell-packaged salads that don’t exactly scream fresh. Cue this new Dunsmuir Street spot, which aims to fill that gap with a roster of made-fresh salads that can be customized with dressings, grains and toppings, along with kombucha on tap. 415 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver, fieldandsocial.com

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