In the last couple months or so, I’ve had multiple (non-vegan) colleagues at UBC ask what I can possibly find to eat on campus. I don’t think I gave a very good answer to any of them, mainly because I’ve never thought of UBC as a place where it’s hard to find vegan food. So I thought it might be a good idea to do a series of posts on what there is to eat on campus.

Now, there’s no way this is going to result in an exhaustive list of every vegan food item for sale anywhere at UBC, and it’s inevitably going to be skewed toward the parts of campus where I happen to spend most of my time (& to things I like to eat). But if you’re reading along & you know of some place that I’m missing, leave a comment or send me an email to tell me about it.

Also, I should point out that I’m more of a gourmand than a gourmet: I like nice food, but fanciness does nothing for me if I’m not full at the end of a meal.

I’m going to try to keep a theme to the posts in this series, but the themes are going to be somewhat haphazard, because there’s not an easy way to sensibly carve up the food on campus. For this first post in the series, I’ll be covering places to get curry/Indian food. The full entry is below the jump.

Curry Point

This is in the University Village (on University Boulevard, just East of Wesbrook Mall), in the cafeteria-type area downstairs. One of my favourite places to eat on campus, although I don’t go there very often because it’s a bit of a walk from the philosophy department. They always have at least four vegan curries (chick peas, daal, spicy potatoes, and mixed veg), and sometimes one or two more. For $5 and change, you can get two curries with rice; for $7 and change you can get two curries, rice, naan (also vegan) and a bottled water. They often have veggie samosas; when they do, you can substitute a samosa for the bottled water.

This is a lot of food for not much money. I sometimes can’t quite finish it all, and I have a big appetite. They definitely have off-days, though; the daal in particular can be bland. But on good days, this is my favourite place to eat on campus.

Oh, and good luck getting a seat if you come between about 11:30 and 1pm on a weekday.

Rasoee

Also in the Village, above ground on Western Parkway. It’s new-ish, and I’ve only been there once. There are two vegan curries: you can get the chick peas (channa masala), or the spinach curry (ask for it without cheese). Rasoee’s specialty is curry wraps (in what looks like naan to me), but the wraps aren’t vegan.

On my one visit, I got the channa masala on rice with a can of pop for $9 and change. The curry was really good; I’d say it had a more delicate flavour than at Curry Point. But there was not nearly as much food, especially for the price.

The Delly

You’re going to see a lot of the Delly in this series, for two reasons: 1. it’s in the SUB, which puts it less than five minutes’ walk from my department, and 2. it’s got a lot of different kinds of vegan-friendly food. In fact, I think I’ll do a whole post on the Delly at some point.

The Delly’s curries aren’t its strongest point. There are two vegan curries: the mixed vegatables, and the channa masala. Or at least, that’s what they’re called. The “channa masala” seemed like more of a vegetable stew to me than a chick pea curry–it was full of thoroughly cooked vegetables, and rather blandly spiced. I wasn’t much impressed. That said, it was a decent serving size (though less than you’d get at Curry Point), at about $8.50 for one curry, with rice and a can of pop.

On the whole, I’d say that if you’re going to eat at the Delly, you have many better options than the curries. The vegetarian chili (it’s vegan, but it’s called “vegetarian chili”) is very good, and a bit cheaper. But that’s for another post.

To read other posts in Eating Vegan at UBC series, click on the tag “vegan-UBC” below.