Tasty Finds in Mackenzie Heights

Hubby and I have recently added a little extension onto our Saturday morning visit to the Kerrisdale Farmer's Market.  It involves a pleasant walk to the West, to a little neighbourhood called MacKenzie Heights.

If you are a lover of a satisfying lunch, delicious baked goods or both, MacKenzie Heights should be on your radar.  While driving towards UBC a few weeks ago, my very observant Hubby spotted two great foodie finds there that are certainly worth a visit.

Food Find #1: Bigsby's The Bakehouse

This casual little lunch spot is a place where you feel as though you can put your feet up and stay a while.  Its rustic charm also comes across in its food.  Expect to find a nice variety of baked goods, both sweet and savoury, from homemade loaves of bread to flatbread pizza to pies to cookies to scones to muffins and, yes, even to poptarts (what a blast from the past!).  They are open for breakfast and lunch daily, and offer daily specials on a chalkboard.  A big shout out to Bigsby for its commitment to using  local ingredients and for keeping changing their menu daily to reflect what is fresh and seasonal.  

We arrived at Bigsby's just in time for lunch and Hubby was hungry for his favourite lunch item, the sandwich.  His eyes were immediately drawn to the turkey club and he was sold.  It proved to be a very good choice.  The turkey (real meat, none of that pressed stuff!, bacon, tomato, pickle and lettuce were piled high on three slices of homemade toasted bread, and served with the cutest little pickled carrot on the side.  All Hubby, the sandwich connoisseur, could do after his first bite was to nod enthusiastically in approval.  This is a hands-down winner among the best and brightest of the sandwich world!

Food Find #2: Butter Baked Goods and Cafe

Although Bigsby's had more than enough yummy-looking baked goods to choose from, we decided to mix things up a bit and headed across the street to Butter.  Although at first glance it may seem a bit redundant to have two bakeshops almost adjacent to each other, you will find that each has its own niche.  While Bigsby's has a rustic and down-home fell,  Butter is a pretty and done up like a stick of chewing gum (as my grandma used to say).  The pastel colour scheme gives it a very clean, pleasant feel, and it makes you want to sit down with a "spot of tea" .  Just like the decor, the baked goods are also very chic.  One of my favourite things about Butter is the way they put a playful twist on tradition, with very fun squares, unique flavours of scones and a amazing "cookie sandwiches".  Hubby had the Campfire bar, their twist on a smore, with a delicious graham cracker crust, dark chocolate in the middle and then marshmellow on top.  He has also tried the Coney Island Bar, another marshmallow treat, with walnuts and a chocolate base.  Both were absolutely decadent!

Being the scone fiend that I am, I have had scones on both of my visits to Butter.  The first was a lemon-thyme scone and the second was a cherry-chocolate scone.  I have previously written a post about my favourite scones in Vancouver (read it here), and I now feel the need to add Butter scones to my list.  They are unbelievably good and amazingly buttery (guess I should have guessed they would be!).  They are quite a heavy scone instead of the more "light and fluffy variety, and are therefore perfect for spreading with butter, jam or, my favourite, almond butter (yum, yum, yum).  If you are a scone lover, make your way with haste to Butter and discover what kind of amazing scone they have whipped up today!

I am so glad to have discover these little hidden gems in MacKenzie Heights and I cannot wait for a return visit next Saturday.  It continues to amaze me how many of these cool little areas of Vancouver I am still discovering anew after living here for over three years.  Can't wait to find out what else is still waiting for me check out!  Stay tuned!

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