Now just around the corner from the Foundation, on East Eighth Avenue, is a new exclusively vegetarian enterprise named Wink. The building housing the restaurant is a quaint heritage style house, which the new proprietors have restored with all its charm intact.
The ground floor space restaurant is clean and bright. The walls have funky geometric patterns that embellish with typical Main St. cool. And there were little glass votives, each holding a single, purple flower as a table garnish. The obvious attention to detail bodes well for the kitchen fare.
The menu is mostly lunch stuffs: sandwiches, soups and salads. For my visit I had the coleslaw first, which was delicious. Instead of the usual mayonnaise onslaught drowning the cabbage and carrot slivers, they used a refreshing, citrus vinaigrette. They also added jicama, which lent a crisp summer layer. The Moroccan chickpea stew was lighter than it suggested, and after gulping that back, I finished off every crumb of a feta and tomato panini. I walked out into the summer afternoon feeling nourished and content, rather than sluggish and stuffed.
There is also a breakfast and dinner menu. And there's beer and wine in case you get thirsty.
151 East 8th Avenue (at Main) P: 604-264-1095
