When I first moved to Vancouver, I got acquainted with my new city by getting severely drunk with friends in several of her Main-Street bars and taxiing over to Kitsilano to find a space offering decent food and the potential for more booze.
At around midnight, I was brought to The Naam, a place I found impressive because of a vegetarian menu (I prefer chlorophyll over blood) and also because of the patron buzz it had on arrival and maintained into the early hours of the morning. (That night secured The Naam fries with miso gravy as a late-night staple of mine.)
Since then, Ive noticed that, on top of The Naam, there are a number of vegetarian places open and busy when a lot of carnivorous places have closed and gone into a meat coma.
It kind of begs the question: Are vegetarians night owls?
Im not sure if were night owls, says Sue Brown who hasnt eaten meat for more than 20 years, but theres definitely a culture of vegetarians and yummy cocktails.
Aiyana Kane, co-owner of La Bandidas Taqueria on Main Street, has a theory.
I think it might stand out when [vegetarians] are drinking late as opposed to a place like Havanas or something, she speculates. But I dont think its a vegetarian thing.
In Vancouver, vegetarians, vegans, carnivores and anyone with an appetite are flocking to the increasing number of quality meatless restaurants around Vancouver for delicious, passion-inspired dishes and theyre doing it day and night, chasing it down with a range of one-of-a-kind cocktails.
When envisioning the concept for The Acorn, owner and manager Shira Blustein pictured a comfortable neighbourhood spot where she could grab a drink and something healthy to eat in the day and after the sun had set. She doesnt think the popularity of these restaurants is an issue of diet, but more of a positive trend.
People just want a place to get delicious healthy food, regardless of if theyre vegetarian or not. I think its an exciting direction.
Open until 1am during the week and 2am on weekends, the Riley Park establishment is full of diners and drinkers, downing their popular kale salad with fresh cocktails like the gingery Mirror Lake.
We actually get people rolling out of cabs late at night after the bar wanting the kale salad thats awesome, she says.
The Acorn is where I wanted to hang out in the city. It is the realization of me desiring a sexy atmosphere, without TVs but with good music, great food and upscale vegetarian but not fine dining.
After recently celebrating its one-year anniversary, The Acorn is revamping its drink menu with new variations of some classics as well as new vegan cocktails. The launch of the new menu is taking place in conjunction with the opening of their new Artist Series featuring Ottawa visual artist Howie Tsui.
In Kitsilano, The Naam isnt just the pioneer of vegetarian dining in Vancouver (since 1968), but of the late-night scene in general, serving hungry diners 24 hours, all day and all night.
I think that sometimes people think of vegetarian dining involving too many lentils or whatever, but we have something that tastes good for everyone. We have a lot of meat eaters who come here too says manager Glen Delukas. Especially late at night after the bar, we have some pretty good options for food and beverages.
Like The Acorn, Delukas credits the constant lineups to the restaurants vibe as much as its food.
The ambience is appealing to late-night goers; we turn the lights down low and in the winter we have the fireplace going, he says. The room itself is special. Thats a big part of the magic here.
Weve been here for almost 45 years and theres lots of history, he continues. And of course keeping the maintenance up is a non-stop struggle. Its a like a leaky boat sometime, but people love it.
Its to this leaky, but afloat boat that people come for one of five Dragon Bowls and, of course, the legendary baked fries 
with miso gravy (The Naam is probably one of the only late-night diners that doesnt own a fryer). While they dont create cocktails, they do have a wide range of beers as well as their own organic wine.
Since they decided to stay open 24 hours, Delukas says the loyal nocturnal crowd has made the decision worth it. Comparing sales to food costs and labour, its definitely a viable, large part of our sales. And its cool to see people coming here, at all hours, to enjoy our food.
Open until midnight on weekdays and until 1 am on weekends, Kane had a comparable vision as Blustein when she and her partner opened La Bandidas.
We want to be available for our customers who love coming here, who want good food and a good place to hang out with good music.
On top of popular burritos and a unique selection of vegan-friendly and gluten-free desserts, Bandidas is increasingly known for its cocktails.
Not many people know that we make all of our own juices, Kane says We make all of our own mixes hibiscus juice, ginger syrup; we make our own cola even. We also make our own Mexican horchada [rice milk] and use fresh-squeezed juices as well as a lime juice.
She says the most popular drinks are the fresh watermelon lemonade with vodka, a hibiscus tequila lemonade as well as bourbon cocktails with horchada, and margaritas using the freshly squeezed lime juice.
I dont think there are a lot of healthy options to dine and drink late in this city, she says. But its growing and youre seeing more and more great places opening up. That shows that a lot of people are interested in healthy, clean food in Vancouver especially at night.
Brown says for her and her friends, its never a tough decision when going for drinks after-hour eats.
Why go to 99-cent pizza when you have these places that are open? she asks rhetorically. There are some great, rad places here serving yummy, healthy food and drinks.
