The days of fancy New Year’s Eve parties with pricey tickets have long past for my husband and I. Generally, a babysitter on New Year’s Eve is hard to come by and costs a fortune. New Year’s Eve for us these days generally involves good wine, a few good friends and takeout from somewhere in the ‘hood.
Finding a good takeout spot is different than finding a good restaurant. For some reason, food that tastes good out of a box is different than food that tastes good beautifully presented.
Anyway, our top 10 ever-changing neighbourhood takeout picks, in no particular order, are as follows:
Best bets for New Year’s Eve take out in Kits
1. Akbar’s Own (1905 West Broadway) is unexpected, amazing Indian food. My former boss introduced me to this place. Her family got take out from here all the time, and now so does mine! The quality and quantity of food from Akbar’s is excellent.
2. Connie’s Cookhouse (2135 West 4th) offers tasty, well priced Chinese food without MSG.
3. Caper’s/Whole Foods (2285 West 4th) has family take out meals for $24.99 that serve 4 good appetites. Meals include spaghetti and meatballs, crispy chicken and others. All meals also comes with a salad. Of course, they also have a variety of deli items, take and bake pizzas, a hot and cold salad bar and pretty good soups too.
4. BiBo (1835 West 4th) offers authentic, thin crust Italian pizza and pasta. I almost always veto pizza…except for when it is from BiBo. The Silician pizza with eggplant and mozza is perfection! Don’t just take my word for it – their master pizza maker, Salvatore, won first place for Canada at the World Pizza Championship held in Salsomaggiore Terme (Italy).
5. Noodle Box (1867 West 4th) is always a family favorite. Personally, I find it a bit overpriced for what you get, but love the customization they offer and, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love eating out of those cute little containers.
6. La Ghianda (2083 Alma Street) is my husband’s favorite. Rustic, Italian food with an ever changing menu. The food’s freshness and simplicity makes it a big winner for us.
7. Papaya Hut (2435 Burrard Street) offers an extensive menu of well-priced Thai food. I finally tried this place after reviews from many friends and was pleasantly surprised. I don’t usually gravitate to Thai food, but like to have this place as an option for a change. They even offer free delivery within 5Km.
8. The Eatery (3431 West Broadway) is a great place to order sushi, curry and other surprisingly random things. The “sushi” is certainly not traditional. The menu is endless, fun and often a favorite for kids – think KFC chicken roll. Avoid the hip 20-somethings and go for take-out…..unless you are a hip 20=something in which case you should check it out.
9. Planet Veg (1941 Cornwall Ave.) is quick, cheap and healthy Middle Eastern-inspired vegetarian food that makes great take-out.
10. Simpatico Restaurant (2222 West 4th) is just good Greek food. Greek works well for take-out. I haven’t been to this place in a while but from what I remember their mousakka is pretty good. Maria’s Tavernara just down the street is pretty good too.
Of course, there is also Vera’s Burgers, Modern Burger, a million sushi places, a few new-ish donair shops, Chronic Taco, Go Fish and many, many more.
Where do you get your takeout in the ‘hood?
Last modified: December 28, 2012
Useful list, but one correction: Planet Veg is not Middle Eastern inspired. It’s veg Indian Inspired.
Note-Papaya Hut is dreadful bad almost beyond belief and has nothing to do with food from Thailand.
If it’s Thai you want try Bangkok City Cafe.