Last January, I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver during their famous Dine Out Vancouver restaurant festival. One word: yum. The 2012 festival (this coming year is the 10th!) will take place over 17 days from Monday, January 20 to Sunday, February 5. Reservations open January 9. If you're anywhere near the Vancouver area (or plan to be), get yourself to this festival. Last year's highlights — for me — were about the street food. For example, trying several different interesting hotdogs from Japadog, (made famous during the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics): [caption id="attachment_3119" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="From front to back: the terimayo, the yakisoba and the okinomi - all fantastic!"] [/caption] ... and eating The Re-Up Addictive BBQ's giant pulled pork sandwich, laden with tangy, creamy coleslaw: [caption id="attachment_3120" align="aligncenter" width="396" caption="I know what "re-up" means from watching HBO's, The Wire. So, basically, what I'm saying is that I'm very hip."] [/caption] What's even more exciting for street food lovers like me is that this year, the festival will include something called Street Food City – a 3-day-long lunchtime event featuring the city’s top food carts. But even if street food isn't your thing, this is the country's largest restaurant festival, people! It has over 225 participating restaurants. So you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy. For more info, check out Tourism Vancouver's website. It's hard to beat the food in Vancouver, but this country has so much to offer. Where is YOUR favourite place in Canada to dine out?