From Kiev to Rome...

Last Friday I had one of the funnest (yes, I've decided that is a word) food experiences I've ever had!  A good friend of mine who is a fellow food lover had discovered that the first Friday of every month, the Holy Trinity Ukranian Orthodox Cathedral hosts a Friday night perogy dinner.  It was everything we had hoped it would be and more!  What completely and utterly made my night was the kind grey-haired lady's reaction to the fact that her tray was out of perogies when we got to her.  She stood patiently for about 5 seconds, then walked back to the kitchen, opened the swinging door, fork in hand, and yelled "PEROGIES!"  Then walked back to her station and the perogies arrived very shortly after.  It was classic!  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but needless to say, I highly recommend checking this dinner out.

My Regular Dinner: 6 perogies, sour cream, fried onions, 2 cabbage rolls, sausage and sauerkraut.  ($12).  The perogies were cheese perogies and were heavenly.  Boiled, not fried, the onions were fried to perfection, and who doesn't love sour cream?  I'm not going to lie, I think my Ukranian friend's cabbage roll recipe kicks these cabbage rolls' butt in terms of flavour, but you could tell they'd been perfectly made with love.  As for the sausage and sauerkraut...unreal!

Our view from the end of the line.  The dinner goes from 5pm until 8pm.  When we arrived, the line-up went all the way around the outer edge of the gym, but it's very well organized.  There's a fellow at the front door who gives you a placemat.  You're only given a placemat if there are seats available at a table.  You place your placemats down where you want to sit, so your seats are saved and then you line up in line.  The line went quite quickly.  I'd say 20-30 minutes, but with good conversation it flies by.  The line seemed to die down around 7:15-7:30, but the folks at our table who came then weren't able to get sauerkraut because they were out.  So, I'd still recommend going at peak dinner time and standing an extra 5-10 minutes in line.

The official ordering form.  Each person gets one and you mark down what you want and whether you want sauerkraut or salad.  Cash only.

Mission accomplished!  No doubt about it, I'll definitely be back. 

http://uocvancouver.com/2013/01/friday-night-supper-february-1st/

Since we'd been to Ukraine for dinner, we figured there would be no better way to top off the night than a trip to Italy for dessert.  So, off to Bella Gellateria we went!  I absolutely love this gelato shop.  It's in the bottom of the Pacific Rim on the corner of Cordova and Burrard.  Their gelato literally transports you to the cobblestone streets of Italy.  They even won an award for their gelato at a gelato competition in Italy last year.  It's divine!  I will forwarn you that it's not cheap (about $6 for a single cone).  However, in my opinion it's definitely worth it.  They put the gelato on the cone with the spatula so it's more like two scoops than one, and everyone gets a homemade waffle cone.  If you love gelato and haven't been here, you have to go!



Me and my salted caramel cone.  When I first tasted this I instantly thought, "this is too salty."  But then the caramel flavours melded into it and it was unreal.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was like eating a perfectly roasted marshmallow off the campfire that had been sprinkled with sea salt.

The X that marks the spot.

Where the magic happens.

http://www.bellagelateria.com/