Tinseltown is a relatively new (and still sparsely occupied) shopping mall with a large movie theatre complex located on the border between downtown Vancouver and the downtown East Side / Chinatown area. This is an area of town that is in transition, with many fancy new condos being constructed, but still is one of Vancouver’s more graphic parts of town (88 W Pender, Vancouver 604-806-0799). Tinseltown and its food court are easily accessible by Skytrain, just steps away from the Stadium station and GM Place Stadium. The food court is cash only and some really good deals can be found here, such as a heaping plate of Thai fast food for only $5.00 (pictured below). Also check out the salad rolls made fresh to order from the Vina Vietnamese restaurant (served with peanut sauce – yum!).

Kiroshiu Sushi Express (at Granville and Nelson, downtown Vancouver) is a new addition to the Granville strip that offers mainly take-out sushi rolls at rock-bottom prices. You can get a “sushi burrito” such as the one pictured below for only $2.00 (or $2.50 depending on the ingredients). These un-cut sushi rolls are the perfect snack food and are easy to eat without chopsticks. Obviously this restaurant is trying to compete with the $1.50 pizza place next door.

Characters Taverna (web site, 1103 Davie Street, Vancouver, phone 604-685-9607) offers traditional Greek and Indian dishes with some creative fusion dishes as well. Below is a picture of my pasta special which was curry beef with fettucini (around $12). This is an unusual combination that actually worked really well.