Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

cauliflwers! mmmOriginally uploaded by svacher

Lunching after the Christmas holidays for me requires adding in a couple of factors to the equation. Namely cheap, healthy and a little more interesting than turkey sandwiches. That means Nuba, whose Seymour Street location  I’ve been meaning to check out for months.

I ordered the Najib’s Special ($8.50) cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt and browned in the oven. Sort of like what’s pictured here, except the meal version also comes with tabbouleh, salad, hummus, organic pita, and a choice of organic brown rice or roasted potatoes. I chose the potatoes (mmmm, potatoes! even after Christmas there’s still no contest there) but the chef accidentally made rice, so I got both. YAY. Except that means that with the Fattoush Salad ($7.50) my friend and I were splitting, we had a huge pile of food on our tiny table.

No matter. The cauliflower, tangy and tart and dipped in organic tahini, melted in my mouth and disappeared effortlessly. Likewise, the chunks of olive-oil drizzled potatoes tasted spectacularly good both on their own and wrapped in a make-shift pita sandwich with some greens and a smear of hummus. Oh it was so good! All of the flavours balance perfectly and the emphasis on organic ingredients really shines through. By the time I had eaten a couple of bites of palate-cleansing salad (mixed greens, pita chips, tomato, cucumber, green onion in a homemade garlic-lemon-herb dressing), I was stuffed to the brim and making contented murmuring noises.

Nuba’s a tiny place and fills up fast but somehow still manages to feel friendly and cozy even with the polished concrete floors and bare walls. And come summertime I’ll be more than happy to pick up a wrap to go and eat in the nearby park.

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Nuba
1206 Seymour Street @ Davie *or*