From the same creative mind that has brought Vancouver some of its favourite fried chicken offerings; like Juke’s gluten-free fried chicken and Downlow Nashville style hot chicken sandos comes Drive Canteen. The Drive Canteen is their fast-food, bar/snack restaurant/shop concept. If you are brand fan of either of the above, Drive Canteen cannot be missed. Located on Commerical Drive, within spitting distance of Downlow.
Aptly named as a canteen, it serves as a shop for exotic junk food and limited release snacks. They have seasonal cereal, imported instant noodles, and rare candies. And they also bake and package their own cookies, seasoned nuts and seeds.
This is on top of showcasing local brands they themselves love as well. Like chocolate bars from Beta5 and garlic chilli oil by Haute Foods. They even have refrigerated goods, pre=prepared meal sets, and select liquor too.
And as a tangent they also display collectable footwear and apparel for sale and a few interesting novelty candles and crochet decor pieces. This hodge-podge collection appears to be all the things the owners or staff love, that they wanted to make accessible for everyone else. It is an interesting, curated collection you can spend hours perusing.
If you didn’t know it, you could miss the fact that they also serve food. You go through the menu and order at the main checkout counter. You pay first, then help yourself to seating towards the back or on the patio out back. They offer what can best be described as pub style food made fresh and fun with men’s appetites in mind, although enjoyed by all.
Diana of @foodloloyca fame already visited and tried much of what is on the menu, so I came knowing what to order. Here top recommendations are as follows.
Best on a hot sunny day, their assorted flavour of screamers are so thick and tasty. Today they had fruit punch Fruitopia and Coke Cola churning, we went with the former with vanilla soft serve. You do have to let it warm up a bit, to be able to suck it in through the straw. A great dessert and drink in one, and a great pairing for all the finger foods below.
Doug’s nachos with braised beef, cilantro crema, mozzarella blend, fresh pico, and all the little toppings. This was a well layered order of nachos, no chip went undressed and I appreciated the use of non-typical toppings like the fried garlic chips and pickled onion. The gave eating nachos a whole new vibe, and the tiny bits were fun to pick through.
When was the last time you had a chilli cheese dog? At the Canteen, they call it the Turbo coney with chilli, cheese, onion, and mustard; and it hits. The perfect ratio of ground beef over juicy pork wiener, wrapped in a toasted brioche bun. No complaints.
You can also get your hot dogs wrapped in bacon for an extra indulgence. We got the Quebec glizzy dog bacon wrapped then topped with its usual condiments of mustard, relish, slaw, and onion. This was a classic made saltier with the bacon, but otherwise a solid all dressed hot dog.
Not recommended by Diana, but something we wanted to try anyways was their take on grilled cheese. This is the Al pastor grilled cheese with pulled pork, mozzarella, rosada, and pineapple salsa. The concept sounded strong on the menu, but when we took a bite, we found it on the bland side. We wanted sharper cheese and punchier flavours, and for the cheese to be so thick and gooey that it is stringy. This left me craving for a tangy tomato soup to dip into. We should have just stuck to @foodologyca’s recommendations above.
In closing, if you are looking for some elevated, comfort, bar eats on Commercial Drive, look to The Canteen for a fun and nostalgic meal and their shop a great place to find some unique treats for yourself or that foodie in your life.
The Drive Canteen
1111 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 3X3, Canada
+1 604-251-2909
