I should begin by saying that Foundation makes the best vegetarian food in Vancouver. It has a view of the mountains. And bearded hipster waiters. I’ll overlook the platitudes on ‘freedom’ from the great, good and mediocre of politics and philosophy that are stencilled all over the walls because the food is revelatory and, well, where else can you read C Wright Mills’ damning verdict on the power elite while eating a plate of nachos? Not at the public library across the street, because they don’t let you bring food or drink unless it’s in a sippy cup.
The menu at Foundation is confusing, because it gives oblique descriptions of the kind of vegetarian sandwich, burger, chile, or salad that you’re not likely to have encountered before. ‘Beef and pickles’ would easy to follow, but when I ordered the ‘nooch-wich’ I had no idea what the skinny bearded waiter was going slide under my nose. I also had no idea how long it he was going to take to deliver it – he was clean shaven when I arrived. Boom boom!
Anyway, this visit to Foundation made me realise that a meatless sandwich that wasn’t a ploughman’s could actually hit the spot. A vegetarian sandwich, one W and I could share. What a thought! W loves mexican food, and I love her, so how about this: Toasted rye bread with mashed avocado (with a little salt and lemon), a small pile of black beans, a cushion of alfalfa sprouts, and lashings of chipotle sour cream. I give you … the ‘Hombre’. So named because it’s inspired by Mexican food, but it’s not even remotely authentic – not only do they not eat this in Mexico, my token Mexican friend tells me (repeatedly) that they don’t even say ‘hombre’ in Mexico. That’s more of a Spanish thing, she says, like I care.
No recipe. It’s just a sandwich. The beans are here. The chipotle sour cream is just sour cream and chipotles, whizzed up in a blender. The genius (if I may) is in the combination.
Glad to see the food critic crossed the Atlantic. I was thinking about deleting this but I will keep it now.