.

New West Review: Karmavore’s Downstairs Deli

Karmavore is a vegan shop, just down the street from me, yet I rarely stop in. That’s mostly because of my student-but-not-a-student budget. But, I recently noticed that they have a deli downstairs! I was so excited when I found out. Yet another way to ensure my status of Queen of All That Is Lazy! So here are a few things I took home from Karmavore’s Downstairs Deli, and what I thought of them.

Deli Croissant Sandwich

Mushroom loaf slices, vegan cheddar, alfalfa sprouts, a butter-type spread on whole wheat croissant.

Vegan Croissant Sandwich from Karmavore

Vegan Croissant Sandwich from Karmavore

At first glance, I was not impressed with this dry-looking croissant sandwich. Peaking inside, there were a couple mushroom loaf slices, some thick, clumsy cuts of vegan cheddar, and a small afterthought of alfalfa sprouts. I broke off an edge of the croissant. Just as oily and old-tasting as it looked. Unhappily, I heated the sandwich up in my toaster oven for a few minutes. Once heated, I blotted off some of the excess oil before taking a bite. Oh how unprepared I was for the deliciousness!

It felt like I was eating a roast beef sandwich. Only better and, you know, without the cruelty. The mushroom loaf was very flavorful, the cheese was tangy with the perfect firm cheddar texture, and there was a hint of mustard. The croissant was softened by the heat, and even though the edges were still an oily mess, the inside was wonderfully fluffy. Even at $5.99 (which, to me, is a little much for such a little sandwich), I’d get this again. I’d probably like it even more if there was more alfalfa sprouts and maybe if it was on regular whole wheat.

Gourmet Republik New Potato Salad

A cold salad of herbed new potatoes.

New Potato Salad

New Potato Salad

This was, very simply, cold roasted herbed potatoes. While really tasty, the potatoes were covered in way too much excess oil. I tried it both cold and heated up. Heated was 13.7 times better. I would probably not buy this again because I prefer my herbed potatoes to be baked without very much oil.

Gourmet Republik is a local company that makes really wonderful-looking prepared food. However, not all their products are vegan.

Gourmet Republik Quinoa Salad

A quinoa salad with a tangy sherry dressing

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad

Another hot (cold) mess from Gourmet Republik. This quinoa salad was drenched in their sherry dressing, making it too sour to eat unadulterated. I mixed in some more celery, carrots, and onions to dilute the dressing and make it edible. Looks pretty, but didn’t taste pretty. I won’t be purchasing that again.

And then we end on a sweet note 🙂

Sprout Bakery Maple Nut Mini Cupcakes

Delicious morsels of heaven.

Sprout Bakery Maple Nut Mini Cupcakes

Sprout Bakery Maple Nut Mini Cupcakes

I had the intention of having just trying one, since I already had a big lunch. But that didn’t happen. The container in the photo only has 3 cupcakes in it. That’s because I scarfed the other 3 in the matter of minutes! Wonderfully aromatic maple and walnut flavour; this cupcake had a nice firm cake with lovely, smooth icing.

So that’s all for now! I’m sure I will be back to try other goodies. Have you been to Karmavore? What did you like/not like?

Karmavore is located at
610 Columbia Street
New Westminster, BC V3M 1A5
T. 604.527.4212 | 1.888.90.KARMA x1

Regular Hours | Daily 10:30am-6:30pm
Holiday Hours | 10:30am-5pm | Closed Dec 25, Jan 1

Showing 2 comments
  • Greg
    Reply

    Mary
    i saw that you were unimpressed with gourmet republik, thats odd since theses guys pretty much own the salad market in the lower mainland i know for a fact that the larger companies have contacted them and they turned them down only to provide there quality salads to little venders like karmavore, and over 60 other locations to keep things unique and local. might i ask you what is your food back ground and culinary experience is so that your followers may understand your palate and decisions that provides us with such enlightenment.

    • Mary
      Reply

      Frankly, I’ve only noticed them (by them I mean you, since I’ve discovered you OWN gourmet republik) in grocery stores recently. Pretty packaging, it’s nice that they’re local…if only those were the main reasons to buy food o.O

      As for my palate’s background (rotflmao, btw since I’m not that fancy!), I grew up eating pretty traditional Chinese dishes, discovered the joys of “Canadian” food at the tender age of 6, was exposed to the wide range of ethnic and local cuisine available in Vancouver armed with my McFunds in my teens, and am now discovering how meatless tastes awesome.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Cornbread Stuff Roasted Eggplant with Mushroom Gravy