They actually give away tubs of lard to customers for FREE with your sausage or meat order at the International Sausage House - 1846 Gilmore Ave, Burnaby :)

mmmm yes, Breka. I'm a big fan of their "Bauernbrot" (dark german sourdough rye).

p.s. Added bonus: Breka is open 24 hours & there's always fresh bread on the shelves or coming out of the oven.

I've had macarons at the T Room Bakery in the Point Grey area of W 10th Ave...they also carry a lovely buttery lavender cookie that I adore, and *bonus* they also offer a beautiful High Tea in their café (requires 24 hour advance reservation). http://troombakery.com/

They're carried at Gourmet Warehouse on E Hastings near Clark Drive in Vancouver...I'm a fan of the rose candies too :)

-----
Gourmet Warehouse
1340 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5L, CA

Also check out the International Sausage House on Gilmore in Burnaby. They carry a lot of european imports, sweets and packaged goods.

There was a chocolate tasting at the Urban Fare in Coal Harbour last month, and chocolate-covered bacon was being sold at the time. I'm not sure if it's a regular product, but I'd suggest giving them a call.

Also, Mink Chocolate Cafe used to have a bacon-flavoured creme-filled chocolate, you might want to check if they still carry that variety. http://www.minkchocolates.com/

I'm a fan of Quady Winery's Elysium Black Muscat & Essensia Orange Muscat. Or for something different, try a sweet lambic fruit beer (I'd recommend Lindemans Framboise, but any of the other fruit varieties are nice too. Note: there are other varieties of lambic fruit beer, but I find most to be less sweet, Lindemans is the most suited to desserts of all the varieties I've tried). And lastly, I'd suggest Middle Mountain Mead (from Hornby Island), great stuff.

You can find the lambic beer and mead at The Brewery Creek Liquor Store on Main Street. And I think you can find the Quady muscat wines in the larger BCLC stores.

I'm almost 100% certain Capers carries yogurt and kefir cultures...I tried my own hand at yogurt making a couple years ago, and that's where I got mine.

My family is German-Austrian-Italian, and one of our favorite european sausage shops is...

International Sausage House
1846 Gilmore Ave
Burnaby, BC V5C 4T4
(604) 294-8248

They have a good selection of polish, german, and other continental european sausage :)

For a taste of old world continental european sausage, my family's favorite shop is International Sausage on Gilmore. p.s. My parents are immigrants from Germany and Austria, and both worked in the sausage/european foods industry prior to retiring...so they know their sausage! :)

International Sausage House
1846 Gilmore Ave
Burnaby, BC V5C 4T4
(604) 294-8248

And add La Baguette et l'Echalote (Granville Island) to the list too! :)

Yek-O-Yek is a little middle eastern groecer on Main Street, between 14th and 15th...I know they carry lavash.

Thanks for sharing the link, tangentdesign.

If people want true greasy spoon without the 50s Diner Chic decor, they should go to Bon's Off Broadway for their $2.95 Breakfasts -- now that's good, solid, greasy food that ain't fancy but tastes good. Then there's Deacon's Corner in the next price bracket up, another great diner option and again, it's actually good! Sadly neither are open 24/7 like Lucy's but they're so much better.

It seems to me that by saying that bland food is the earmark of accuracy when it comes to diner food, some people are making lazy, half-hearted excuses for mediocrity.

I'd heard of Lucy's and was kind of hoping for something along the lines of a 24 hour Deacons Corner...so my hopes were set pretty high.

I ordered a strawberry milkshake (very tasty, but also quite spendy at $6.50) and the Three Little Pigs (a sampler trio including bacon, chorizo, and ham bennys -- the traditional ham benny was the best of the bunch). My friend opted for the Black bean & Chickpea Veggie Burger with fries and a root beer (she said the burger was good, but not exceptional nor particularly unique, and it looked rather bland to me)
.
Admittedly, I'm happy to see another late-night eatery appear on the Vancouver foodie scene, but Lucy's is in desperate need of some inspiration -- both in flavour and visual presentation of the food.

My overall impression: This joint has potential, but it's not quite there yet. I hope that this can simply be attributed to growing pains.

I finally tried Japadog this past summer, specifically the Waterfront Station Japadog cart.

I was with friends, and we shared Kurobuta Terimayo (pork hotdog with strips of nori, japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce, and onions) and Goku Dare (pork hot dog with sauce, japanese mayo, seaweed flakes, and sauerkraut). This location also offered fishy "sausages" such as the Ebi Chili (spicy shrimp) and Salmon Dog -- but I can't quite wrap my head around the idea of fish in a sausage casing. Of the two types of Japadog I tried, I prefered the Kurobuta Terimayo, whereas I found the Goku Dare a bit sweet (which wasn't quite to my taste).

Who would've thought that seaweed and hotdogs would compliment each other so well? But Japadog succeeded in winning me over -- I'm a fan! Nom! :)

I'm with the OP on this one, Bons is a whole lot of greasy-spoon goodness!

Fancy food this ain't. The place is kitschy, with decor unchanged in decades, and always packed. The service can be a bit slow sometimes due to the crowds. But the Breakfast Special (served all-day) is unbeatable -- $2.95 for 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon or ham or sausages, hashbrowned potatoes, and 2 slices of toast.

For the money, the food is pretty darn tasty. But be realistic, don't expect gourmet. Bons is a dive, it's grungy, the food is greasy, big portions, cheap...and this is exactly why I heart this place so much.

Definitely one of my favorites :)

I've been a fan of the Main Tea House for many years now. They don't use artificial powder- or syrup-based concoctions here, all the slush drinks are made from fresh ingredients (yay!). I hate the synthetic tasting drinks that some places try to pass off as bubble tea.

The venue is a tiny hole-in-the-wall, nothing fancy (just a counter, white walls, an old sofa, and a couple of chairs inside), and the storefront is very easy to miss if you blink while driving past. They have limited business hours (noon to 7pm daily) and are cash only.

Awesome place! :)

-----
Main Tea House
4388 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V3P9, CA

As, you'll already be in our fair city, I'm not sure if my reply might be coming too late. However, in the hope that you'll be checking this site during your day, this is my list of recommendations:

Japadog - hotdogs topped with nori, japanese mayo, terkiyaki, etc...seriously it works & is very unique. There are a few Japadog carts around the city, but to sample the full menu go to their sit-down location at Robson & Richards. Anthony Bourdain is even a fan.

La Casa Gelato on Venebles - over 280 flavours of ice cream on location, including some unusual flavours such as wasabi, pear & gorgonzola, garlic, curry, balsamic vinegar...but don't worry, they have more "normal" flavours too. Best gelateria in town.

Sanafir on Granville near Nelson is a great place for tapas-style dining. Each entrée as a tasting trio of cuisines (mediterranean, indian, and south-east asian).

I don't know where the rest of the posters in this thread live, but Häagen-Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream is currently available where i live in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and is included amongst the list of flavours on the Häagen-Dazs Canada site.

So if you live in Canada, or close to the Canadian border, then don't dispair...it is still available :)

if you're exclusively looking for a spot in Victoria, i'm afraid that i have no other suggestions.

however if venturing to the mainland is an option, i'd recommend High Tea at the Secret Garden Tea Company at 5559 West Boulevard, Vancouver. http://www.secretgardentea.com/highte... (Price $25.95 for adults and $16.95 for children 8 and under.)

i'd like to echo islandgirl's recommendation of Burgoo...good rustic comfort food with a cozy laid-back atmosphere.

http://www.burgoo.ca/