Gluten-Free Epicurean & Matchstick Coffee

What are some of the best combos in the world? You've got peanut butter and chocolate, chicken nuggets and gravy, Sho-Ryu-Ken, whiskey and a glass, Tammy and myself...the list goes on.

Adding another epic combo to the list, Tammy and I traveled to the Gluten-Free Epicurean with one of our good friends, Becca! She seems to know the ins and outs of this city, and has some of the best recommendations for food and drink.

The GF Epicurean is a bakery that's completely gluten-free and serves up hot and cold baked goods. They also have a selection of take-and-bake essentials such as pizza shells, bagels, and cookies. But, what did it all taste like?

Before I can answer that question, let me tell you that while they don't serve coffee themselves, there is coffee available. A couple of doors down is a place called Matchstick. The two spots allow customers to bring coffee into the GF Epicurean, or bring baked goods into Matchstick. I love the collaboration and community feel going on in this hood! It's one of the few things I feel like I'm going to miss about Vancouver.

Matchstick Coffee + Cinnamon Bun + Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie
@ Gluten-Free Epicurean, Vancouver BC
Photo: Totally Tammy

Down to the details -- I ordered a Peanut Butter + Chocolate Brownie, and Tammy got a Glazed Cinnamon Bun. Both were completely gluten-free, and I believe both were dairy-free as well. I'll be honest, I didn't get a taste of the cinnamon bun, although I'm sure she offered me a taste at some point. But, the brownie was incredible. The icing on top was creamy, sweet, and peanut-buttery. The brownie didn't taste much different from a normal glutinous brownie. It was rich, chewy, and took me to a whole new world for a little bit.

What about the coffee? Matchstick has a few pour-over coffees available, and I'm not quite sure which one I got now that I think about it. However, mine had more of an apple and fruit undertone to it, while Tammy's was a bit more complex flavour-wise. We both thoroughly enjoyed our coffees, and would definitely return. The pour-over wasn't quite as caffeinated as Revolver, but we got bigger cups with more coffee, and it tasted just as good. Plus, it wasn't priced at $5-6 a cup like Revolver, but rather a more modest $3-4.

I haven't tried any of the teas at Matchstick, but Becca did get some tea at the GF Epicurean (where we ultimately decided to chill out). Tammy also had a slice of gluten-free, dairy-free pizza, which was made with a cashew-based cheese. I didn't have a bite, because I can't digest some of the veggies that were on it. She swears it was delicious, and still talks about it even though it's been about a week since we've been there. That's a sign that they do a damn good pizza.

Would we come back? Absolutely.

But, I'll be in Ireland with Tammy within a week, so it'll have to wait until next time! We just wanted to get the word out there -- you gotta try these places! They both get Brewji's stamp of approval for sure.


I give the Gluten-Free Epicurean + Matchstick Coffee a should've-got-a-brownie-to-go 9.5 / 10

Tammy gives the Gluten-Free Epicurean + Matchstick Coffee a can-you-open-in-Dublin-please 9.0 / 10