Best Vancouver Dining: Spotlight on Burdock & Co, Bar Gobo and Harvest

When legendary Michelin-starred Chef Andrea Carlson invites you to dinner, it’s never just a meal; it’s a journey. One of Canada’s most influential culinary figures, Carlson helped introduce the 100-mile diet to the country nearly two decades ago, long before “local” became a dining philosophy. Today, as the creative force behind Burdock & Co., Bar Gobo, and Harvest Community Foods, she continues to redefine sustainable dining through microseasonal cooking, regenerative sourcing and a deep respect for the land.

The first-ever Burdock Circle Tour brought together a small group of guests for a progressive dining experience across all three sister restaurants. The evening traced a living story of community, craftsmanship and the interconnectedness that binds Chef Andrea’s restaurant family together.

Burdock & Co. Chef Andrea Carlson and sous chef Katy Cheung at the 2025 Vancouver Michelin awards.

Harvest Community Foods – Where Everything Begins

The tour opened at Harvest Community Foods, the neighbourhood grocery and noodle café that has quietly shaped Vancouver’s relationship with local fresh organic food. Co-owners Chef Andrea Carlson and Chef Gabriella Meyer greeted guests with small bowls of Harvest’s signature noodles and a soulful new dish; Fraser Valley congee made with artisan sake rice, scallops, spot prawns, ginger and dashi broth.

Harvest remains the heart of the Burdock family because it reflects Carlson’s long-held belief that food security begins with investing in the people who nurture the land. Through its CSA program and close partnerships with small farms, Harvest strengthens the local food system one bowl at a time, humble, comforting and deeply rooted.

Michelin Chef Andrea Carlson is making Fraser Valley congee. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Co-owners Chef Andrea Carlson and Chef Gabriella Meyer, along with Bar Gobo Chef Ralph Cravalho, inside Harvest Community Foods in Vancouver. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Bar Gobo – Vinyl, Vibes & Zero-Waste Cocktails

From Harvest, the evening slipped into the warm glow of Bar Gobo, just a few doors away. The Michelin-recommended hi-fi wine bar is tucked into Strathcona/Chinatown near where Jimi Hendrix’s grandmother lived.  The space, built around a hand-assembled vintage analog sound system, feels more like a recording studio than a restaurant. It’s a room designed for deep listening, intimate conversation and unexpected discovery.

Surprisingly, the acoustics are perfect and you can easily carry on a conversation.

Chef Ralph Cravalho prepared a lineup of vibrant Filipino-inspired dishes: liver mousse butsi balls with guava jam, briny oysters blanketed in coconut laing sauce and a playful beef tartare served with crisp youtiao.

Meanwhile, co-owner Kevin Bismanis and GM/DJ Paul McCloskey shaped the soundtrack, a curated vinyl set that bathed the room in what regulars call a “soothing bath of golden sound.”

McCloskey explains, “Music lovers and DJs from across the continent and beyond have been making a pilgrimage to see the sound system.”

Bar Gobo offers Happy Hour from 5-7 pm.

Bar Gobo GM/DJ Paul McCloskey spins some tunes with the restaurant’s co-owner Kevin Bismanis. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Bar Gobo Chef Ralph Cravalho prepares some tasty Filipino-inspired small plates. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Burdock & Co – Michelin-Starred Reflections

The final stop and heart of the tour led guests to Burdock & Co., Chef Andrea Carlson’s Michelin-starred flagship in Mount Pleasant. The evening featured courses from her Submerging Stones under the Sturgeon Moon menu, part of her acclaimed Moon Menu Series, now in its fourth year.

Burdock moves fluidly through the microseasons, weaving local botanicals and wild foraged ingredients into dishes that feel like fleeting expressions of the Pacific Northwest. Carlson is known for her boundary-pushing use of forest flavours: Douglas fir resin, reindeer lichen, cottonwood buds, licorice fern and wild herbs that capture the scent and story of the landscape itself.

During the Circle Tour, menu highlights included:

• Charred corn risotto in fermented crab apple and Sugar Rush Peach chili broth
• Rosehip-glazed scallops in delicate tomato dashi
• The unforgettable uni gelato with candied almond, braised burdock, fig, and olive oil, a dish supporting the Ocean Wise Seaforestation Biodiversity Project

Standing alongside Chef Andrea in the kitchen is longtime sous chef Katy Cheung, an integral part of bringing each Moon Menu to life. Cheung’s talent has earned industry recognition, including a recent third-place finish at a prestigious culinary competition, Top Chef Canada, a testament to the strength and mentorship within the Burdock team.

It’s a kitchen where technique and imagination walk hand in hand.

In the kitchen with Burdock & Co., Michelin Chef Andrea Carlson and longtime sous chef Katy Cheung. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

A few courses from the Submerging Stones under the Sturgeon Moon menu. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Chef Andrea Carlson’s Philosophy: A Story Told Through Food

Carlson’s approach to cooking is rooted in a profound sense of place. As she explains:

“Our job is to let the food and wine tell a story, of the land where they came from, of the people who spent so much effort growing, tending, foraging and we are privileged to be a small part of that story.”

This philosophy underscores Burdock & Co’s six Moon Menus, each reflecting a distinct seasonal theme shaped by microseasonal cycles, Indigenous full-moon names and ingredients available only for a narrow window of time. It is food that exists for a moment, then vanishes, much like the seasons that inspire it.

Taste Sound: When Flavour Meets Frequency

Burdock’s dedication to innovation extends beyond the plate. The restaurant has hosted four Taste Sound dinner collaborations between Chef Andrea and musician-biologist Tarun Nayar (Modern Biology).

Using biodata sonification, Nayar converts the bioelectric signals of fresh ingredients into ethereal compositions. Guided soundscapes are delivered through wireless headphones as diners enjoy Carlson’s tasting menu. The experience is both playful and profound, an exploration of flavour, memory and our connection to the living world.

Sous chef Katy Cheung in the kitchen at Vancouver Michelin restaurant Burdock & Co. Photo: Wendy Nordvik-Carr©

Full Circle: From Local Roots to Global Influence

By the end of the Burdock Circle Tour, what stood out wasn’t just the food, it was the sense of continuity that runs through everything Chef Andrea does. Each stop revealed a different facet of the same philosophy; Harvest’s commitment to community and food security, Gobo’s intimate blend of music and hospitality and Burdock’s ever-evolving Moon Menus that honour the land in all its microseasonal shifts.

Together they form a full circle. Not a concept, but a way of working, sustainable, curious and deeply connected to place. As the evening rolled out, it felt less like a progressive dinner and more like a window into how a chef and her team think, create and care. It was a portrait of a restaurant family quietly and consistently expanding the possibilities of what dining can be.

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Wendy Nordvik-Carr was a guest of Chef Andrea Carlson, who did not review this story.