If you love french fries you need to check out this new food event happening soon in Vancouver. Starting October, guests can try out a variety of special french fry dishes created by a slew of restaurants on West 4th. Strap on your baggy pants and try some offerings and vote for your favourite. I got a chance to do a sneak peek of most of the participating restaurants so keep reading to see which is my favourites (but also don’t let it influence your vote!). Check out my full review of Fries on Fourth below!
Jackson’s Resto Butcher
Jackson’s Meats & Deli is family owned and operated and has been a part of the Kitsilano neighbourhood since 1911. In 2020, they renovated the butcher shop to include a restaurant space. This new space is serving up n-house smoked & grilled meats, burgers, snacks, salads & vegetarian choices alongside BC’s best craft beers on tap, craft cider, wine & cocktails. On our visit we got:
- Poutine
- Bowl of Fries
The Poutine features Jackson’s famous fries with green onions, cheese curds, bacon and pork gravy. This is a perfect bowl of fries that is smothered in the most flavourful gravy and absolutely doused with cheese curds and bacon. This poutine had the most perfect cheese pull and was so comforting and satisfying. I highly recommend you check this one out. Keep it on the down low, but this was my favourite and definitely my vote!
The Bowl of Fries is exactly what it means. A big bowl of perfectly fried potatoes. The outside is light and crisp and the inside is piping hot and soft. The adobo ketchup was really delicious with lovely smokey notes.
Jackson’s Resto Butcher
Address: 2214 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1N8
Website: http://www.jacksonsrestobutcher.com/
Bimini’s Pub & Lounge
Bimini’s Pub Bimini’s Pub recently rebranded as a lesbian bar this past summer. There is a monthly family-friendly drag brunch, as well as weekly sapphic social happening on Thursday nights and Friday night parties for the broad lesbian and queer women community every month. Their offerings:
- The Fries
- Dirty Fries
- Sweet Fries
The first contender is ‘The Fries‘ with three flavour options:
- Rosemary with Grana Padano and Curry Aioli
- Fire with Spicy Seasoning and Chipotle Mayo
- Lemon Pepper with Kewpie Mayo
These are perfectly fried skinny fries with some really addictive seasonings. My favourite was the Lemon Pepper with Kewpie Mayo. It was so hard to resist devouring the entire bowl!
The Dirty Fries features shredded chicken, gravy, green onion, pickled onions and sour cream. The chicken is so tender that it almost resembles pork. It was so flavourful and the pickled onions really help balance the overall richness of this dish.
The Sweet Fries features sweet potato wedges baked in a chili sugar rub and served with chipotle mayo. The sweet potato wedges are actually hand cut so they are thicker and softer than your typical prepackaged yam fries. The chili sugar rub really packs a punch and I really like these!
Bimini’s Pub & Lounge
Address: 2010 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M9
Website: http://biminispub.ca/
Las Margaritas
Las Margaritas has been serving up Mexican dishes inspired by Southern California & the Baja on West 4th since 1994. They also have the largest collection of Tequila in British Columbia. Their creation for this festival is the Carne Asada Fries. Freshly fried fries are topped with AAA sirloin, homemade Suiza sauce, pico de gallo and feta cheese. The sirloin was so tender and the overall dish reminds me of a Mexican style nachos. Very flavourful and the presentation in the pestle was spot on.
Las Margaritas
Address: 1999 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7
Website: http://www.lasmargaritas.com/
Romer’s Burger Bar
Romer’s Burger Bar is the creation of Executive Chef Jim Romer and he has been crafting delicious food for over 20 years. Their offerings are:
- Truffle Fries
- Gorgonzola Fries
- Mexicali Fries
The Truffle Fries features imported Grana Padano cheese, white truffle oil and Italian parsley. The smell of these fries when they came to the table was absolutely heavenly. There was no shortage of truffle flavour!
The Gorgonzola Fries features gorgonzola cream, crispy bacon and green onion. They do not shy with the gorgonzola cheese in these! I can see this offering having a divisive opinion, but if you love blue cheese, you will adore these.
The Mexicali Fries features housemade queso cheese sauce, chorizo, pineapple salsa, goat cheese and pickled cabbage. A unique combination with the goat cheese and queso cheese but it works! The pineapple salsa was sweet and tart so it really balances out the heaviness and saltiness of the chorizo and cheeses.
Romer’s Burger Bar
Address: 1873 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M4
Website: http://www.romersburgerbar.com/
Qube Lebanese Cuisine
Qube is a brand new restaurant on West 4th taking over the former location of Trattoria. They are serving up Lebanese fare utilizing the best of the products from BC. We tried the following:
- Batata Harra (Lebanese Spicy Potatoes)
- Fattah Fries
- Steak Fries with Lebanese Seasoning
The dishes here were definitely the most unique in terms of presentation. The Fattah Fries was the most unique for me and the taste really grows on you. Traditionally the Fattah comes with fried pita, which I think works better texturally than the soft potato. The cured yogurt adds a very sour dimension that I enjoyed, but it’s definitely more of an acquired taste.
Qube Lebanese Cuisine
Address: 1850 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M3
Website: https://qubevancouver.ca/