Finch’s Market – Vancouver, Canada

Looking down at my just-polished plate, thinking to myself... how can something that looks so simple be so damn tasty? I want more. I need to learn how to make this potato and leek soup. It’s rich and creamy but not too heavy. I need to make this salad, fresh produce and barely-there dressing, the perfect amount. And I’m in luck – I can pick up the ingredients to recreate my lunch at home, in the same place that I devoured it.

Part café and part corner grocery shop, Finch’s Market is located in Strathcona, the oldest residential neighborhood of Vancouver. They serve up coffee, tea, and a tasty selection of sandwiches, soups, and salads, made fresh with local produce and ingredients from small and independent suppliers (along with solid staples). Anyone can open a café and serve coffee. But not everyone can serve a cup of coffee made with their own organic direct trade beans that make me melt.

Shelves line one wall stocked with coffee beans, sauces, and dried goods. Below it, a bowl and wood crates filled with fresh produce. There’s a vintage fridge stocked with organic milk and eggs, and more shelves stacked with jars of spices, jams, and grains.

I instantly feel part of this neighborhood. The people are friendly, they recognize that I’m not local and they chat me up, I know we’re friends before they even get a chance to say hello. I want a Finch’s Market on my corner. Damn – I’ll even settle for one anywhere in Seattle. Until that happens (if it ever does), I’m gonna have to make a regular trip to Vancouver to hit up this neighborhood spot.

oxxo, Hen