So you’re worn out from a morning of rain. There is no better way to handle that than a delicious meal to give you the fuel to conquer the rest of your Vancouver day. We’ve got the recommendations for the best places to bring your umbrella and appetite.

Gyoza Bar

622 West Pender St. (604) 336-5563 www.gyozabar.ca

Striving for traditional food in a contemporary setting, Gyoza Bar was Van’s first to highlight the Asian masterpiece. With a menu of classic Japanese dishes in peak performance, the popular spot is splendid for unique and satisfying lunches.

Foodee Recommends

Tamari-Shoyu Tonkotau Pork Ramen ($13.50) A personal preference to be certain, a soy-based pork broth gets topped with tamago and pork char siu. Classic ugly-weather-warm-you-up eating.

Chili Shrimp Tappan Gyoza 5 Piece ($8.50) Sometimes you get a restaurant that has that one dish that you always order, and it’s not because you don’t have self-control issues, it’s just because you can’t say no to perfection when in its presence. Served with cilantro-garlic vinegar.

Beef Duo Rice Bowl Lunch ($16.00) The fantastically filling lunch dish offers a tenderloin skewer, spicy pulled beef, two crispy pork gyoza with soy tomago, gochujang, asian slaw, pickles, and a green salad.

P.S. Gyoza Bar is available for office delivery via Foodee!

Bestie

105 East Pender St. (604) 620-1175 www.bestie.ca

This Chinatown hole in the wall has become mandatory eating for those that love sausages and beer. Offering an ingenious take on German street food, Bestie has been soliciting the help of local master butchers to create their top-shelf lunches.

Foodee Recommends

Classic Pork Thuringer Currywurst ($9.00) Although they may not know it, this is why Bestie is my besty. Their all-natural house sausage sliced up and served on crispy fries with their tangy curried ketchup. Always always always upgrade to schranke for green onions and their house mayo.

Pretzel Board ($10) That warm, just baked, fresh pretzel is served with a seasonal selection of pickled vegetables and cured meats is perfect to split with friends, or get on your own because you’re strong, independent, and you know what you want.

Sausage Roll + New Potato Salad ($9.00) Sometimes one lunch needs to be two things. Pork sausage roll wrapped up in flakey pastry with mustard and some pickles, then a side of their roasted red onion potato salad with mustard dressing and fresh dill.

P.S. Bestie is available for office delivery via Foodee!

House Special

1269 Hamilton St. (778) 379-2939 www.housespecial.ca

From the heart of Yaletown, House Special is lovingly ushering traditional Vietnamese dishes into the modern age. Offering a market-style lunch, House Special’s kitchen is frequently devising new features and specials for unforgettable experiences.

Foodee Recommends

Garden Roll ($5.00) A selection of Vietnamese herbs tie together sauteed mushrooms and tofu, taro, jicama, carrot, lettuce, peanuts, and vermicelli in a rice paper wrapper. Classified as an incredible appie, easy.

Bun Bo Hue Noodle Bowl ($13.00) Crave meat? House Special gets you. Braised for 24 hours, coconut pork belly comes served with spicy lemongrass pork and beef broth, mixing in thick vermicelli noodles, deli cut Vietnamese ham, bone marrow, and Vietnamese coriander.

Confit Duck Frybread ($7.00) I used to live for anything with hoisin, now I live for duck confit and hoisin. Traditional Banh Tieu hollow bread that gets made daily also gets stuffed with five-spice duck confit, Asian slaw and hoisin.

P.S. House Special is available for office delivery via Foodee!

Finch’s Teahouse

353 West Pender St. (604) 899-4040 www.finchteahouse.com

A tea room that offers charming serenity and high-quality coffees and loose-leaf teas, Finch’s Teahouse has healthy options for hungry people. Devoted to the local artists and students that have made Finch’s possible, each and every baguette is ordered to satisfy, and made with love.

Foodee Recommends

Pear Baguette ($10.00) Charcuterie style, this baguette is a chemistry of complex flavours that leave you screaming “This is so damn good!”. Pear, prosciutto, blue brie, roasted walnuts with extra virgin olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Avocado Walnut Salad ($11.00) Half an avocado is waiting for you atop roasted walnuts, cucumber, tomato, red leaf lettuce and a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a buttered up baguette on the side. Crisp, clean, delicious.

Free-Range Egg Salad Baguette ($8.00) Does your love affair with eggs refuse to stop at breakfast? This baguette sports free-range egg with cucumber, tomato, red leaf lettuce and dijon mayonnaise.

P.S. Finch’s Teahouse is available for office delivery via Foodee!

Sal Y Limon

701 Kingsway St. (604) 677-4247 www.salylimon.ca

Strafing the edge of Mount Pleasant, Sal Y Limon is bringing the neighborhood authentic mexican inspired by the family restaurant in Mexico. Eager to welcome everyone, Sal Y Limon sports a casual atmosphere of art and play for all ages.

Foodee Recommends

Tacos ($2.60-$3.00) Served on a 4-inch corn tortilla, you’re going to need at least a few different flavours. Shrimp, barbacoa de cordero, cochinita pibil, and portobello are great ways to greet the afternoon.

Fish Burrito ($10.50) Battered and deep fried basa gets all close and snug to rice, beans, cabbage, jalapeno, sour cream, and aioli in a 12 inch tortilla. Ever since I started adding their Sweet Diablo sauce, friends of mine have expressed concerns this burrito and I are romantically involved.

Mega Sal Y Limon Torta ($10.50) Those “friends” I mentioned earlier haven’t seen me take down one of these. Turkey, pulled pork, Mexican sausage with cheese, guac, beans, cabbage, jalapeno, tomatoes, and mayo on a white bread bun.

The Eatery

3431 West Broadway (604) 738-5298 www.theeatery.ca

Aggressively eclectic, The Eatery serves up quality sushi with a Western flare. With more than enough pop culture guiding the kitsch flare, this Japanese inspired joint is proudly making the Kitsilano neighborhood just a little weird, and genuinely tasty.

Foodee Recommends

Fat Elvis ($8.50) Battered and tempura’d avocado gets topped with tomatoes, green onions, unagi mayo to make for one of the best ways to start a meal or end a meal or be a meal.

Italian Stallion Roll ($7.50) Thinly sliced prosciutto is served on top of a papaya, eel, and cream cheese roll. It’s different enough to make you wonder, delicious enough to make sure you order.

Eatery Tempura Chicken Teri Don Buri ($14.50) The name of this dish isn’t the only mouthful you get. A very happy portion of tempura chicken gets stirfried with an assortment of veggies in a teriyaki sauce, and served with rice in a big bowl.

Westcoast Poke

463 West 8th Ave. (778) 379-5344 www.westcoastpoke.com

Bringing the Hawaiian favorite to Vancouver, Westcoast Poke offers enormously diverse and playful tastes. Simple and straightforward menus outline their fresh and seasonal ingredients already busy celebrating West coast living.

Foodee Recommends

Pacific Bowl ($12.50) This three scoop celebration of the nearby ocean is a gentle reminder of the infamous laid back attitude. Albacore tuna, shoyu, cucumber, pickled red onion with crab salad, pineapple, mango, green coconut sauce with your choice of finisher, in our opinion, it’s a toss up between fried garlic and sesame seeds, really.

Build Your Own Bowl Have it entirely, and very specifically your way. Choose your size, your base, your protein and your topping. Ahi tuna on mixed greens and brown rice with scallions, sweet onion, edamame topped with avocado and pea shoots is something I will never regret.

Daily Special (Market Price) A little bit of this, a little bit of that, the daily special is always on the move, and always ingenious. The greatness of Westcoast Poke is that it is nearly impossible to go wrong, especially when you can score the likes of blackened togarashi salmon on coconut rice.

P.S. Westcoast Poke is available for office delivery via Foodee!

The Flying Pig

1168 Hamilton St. (604) 568-1344 102 Water St. (604) 559-7968 127 West 2nd Ave. (604) 569-1111 www.theflyingpigvan.com

Firmly believing that if it it’s not broken, don’t fix it, Flying Pig is focused on bistro classics that make the best use possible of Vancouver’s local fishermen and farmers. With three locales spread above and below False Creek, it’s easy to make time for a seasonal lunch in this open concept kitchen.

Foodee Recommends

Crispy Brussels Sprouts ($7.50) Challenge yourself to overcome that weird brussels sprouts fear you’ve got by enjoying some of the best sprouts this city has to offer. Served with lemon, capers, and parmesan.

Blackened Lois Lake Steelhead Trout ($16.50) Salmon’s frequently forgotten cousin, Flying Pig brings the locally caught trout to tasty perfection. Served with a couscous salad and avocado salsa, this is one of their best dishes. Period.

Beer Battered Halibut Burger ($17.50) Living a West coast life means enjoying fish as often as physically possible. Thankfully, Flying Pig has created its own must-have take on fish and chips with a beer battered burger served with handcut fries and house made coleslaw.