Aphrodite’s Organic Café and Pie Shop

It's great having friends that appreciate good food as much as we do. Meeting one of them for lunch, we decided to hit one of Kitsilano's shining examples of sustainable eating, Aphrodite’s Organic Café and Pie Shop.

As the industrialization of food chugs along, it can be a challenge to prepare healthy meals at home, let alone find a restaurant that cares about food as much as you do. Fortunately, places like Aphrodite's exist that use organic and local ingredients. On top of their many vegetarian and vegan options, they serve free-range chicken, bison, sustainable seafood, and more. Furthermore, they can make most dishes gluten free, and they have a section on their website devoted to food sensitivies.

My friend ordered the Black Rice-Fennel Burger, pictured at the top: "house-made veggie burger with fennel and black rice, pan fried and topped with goats Chevre, served on our multigrain bun with Dijon, garlic aioli, baby spinach, tomato and picked onion. Served with garden greens and home fries."

I chose the Goddess Bowl: "Berry Hibiscus Quinoa served warm, with our house-made granola, chilled yoghurt OR whipped silken tofu, sun dried melon, fresh fruit, tarragon and raspberry coulis."

We truly enjoyed our meals, and the portions were huge! I wholly approve of the strategy employed by Aphrodite's and other restaurants. They're charging a premium to pay for the organic, local, and sustainable ingredients; add a little extra to the price and give the customers a lot of food. I could barely finish my bowl of food, and I finished only because it tasted so good.

Given Aphrodite's has an adjoining PIE bakery, how could we not order a slice, strawberry-rhubarb, served with LOVE, of course.

Aphrodite's is yet another restaurant where vegetarians, vegans, and those who enjoy meat can dine well together.

Go on down to West Fourth in Kits. Look for the happy signs. Don't worry, they don't serve deserts. Climatic regions are not their forté; wholesome, satisfying food is.