The Dishes asks Vancouverites to walk us through a map of their ideal day and night on the town. We’re talking breakfast, lunch, happy hour, dinner and late night cocktails. Tax and tip included.

For our latest edition of The Dishes we ask Brad Bodnarchuk, the good guy behind the always informative and entertaining Half a Dozen Hospitality podcast, to take us on personal culinary tour of Vancouver…

Good morning! What’s for brunch?

Admittedly the ability to have breakfast with my family every day was one of the reasons why I wanted to start my own business. Taking charge of my mornings has allowed me to ensure that we can all share our first meal of the day together. So 6 days a week we are staying in to have scrambled eggs with a thick slice of sourdough from either Fife Bakery, Livia, or Flourist. You can find us however, most Fridays mornings as a family at Ubuntu enjoying something off their awesome breakfast menu. Hot damn, they have great bread as well so I have to add them to the sourdough list!

Where should we meet for coffee/tea?

I actually didn’t drink coffee for the longest time and I am still trying to get into it, but the reality of my work is that I take a lot of meetings around town and they almost always revolve around coffee or tea. So for me there are three spots; Nemesis for their coffee program and they just so happen to have what I consider to be some of the best service in the city, coolest music, and a culture that others need to take note of. Then The Garden in Strathcona, where I am usually hunkering down on their comfortable sofas with one of their JUSTEA offerings. Lastly, Moving Coffee at Fife Bakery is just crazy good and their latte is the reason I am now even venturing further into the coffee abyss.

Now we’re hungry again. What’s for lunch?

This one is easy for me, Chau Veggie express (the Victoria Drive location, preferably). The team there opened my eyes to how satiating it can be to eat a vegetarian meal. The flavours, the room, and the people are awesome. As an omnivore I am usually left wanting more from most vegetarian or plant-based meals, but Chau Veggie Express knocks it out of the park for me. Side note, you have got to grab the Coconut Shake or your visit isn’t quite complete.

Who has you figured out at Happy Hour?

This is a tough one for me as a non-drinker. I don’t find myself looking for many watering holes around town but when we are straight talking about Happy Hour food I find it hard to beat the offerings at Boulevard. The room is slick, clean and comfortable, and the service is generally sincere and top-notch. Off of the menu items such as the ling cod soft shell tacos or the marinated octopus are super well-executed.

What’s for dinner?

Dinner is tough as we are spoiled for choice in this city, but not too many spots cater to the one year-old toddler demographic. We, however, are lucky to live just a few blocks from Osteria Savio Volpe. They are so consistent and they are open to us and seemingly every other young family with kids. We love crashing down their door at 5:00pm sharp to get a taste of some solid Italian classics with a Savio spin. If not Savio Volpe you could find us back at Ubuntu for their roast chicken and again super kid-friendly space.

Where are you taking us for late night cocktails?

Since I won’t be partaking in any drinks, let’s go grab some dessert. I’ll sit down in any restaurant and just order dessert; it really is one of the coolest parts about being an adult. For me, Pepino’s Spaghetti House happens to make arguably the best dessert I’ve ever had. Their Tiramisu “Bambolona” is a crowd pleaser and a dish you’d be well advised to attack with a partner in crime who appreciates something sweet to cap off the night.