A warm scoop of chocolate chip cookie with ice cream is a pretty good reason to leave room after lunch.
It’s one of the specials coming to Burnaby Heights this September, alongside a bun cha burger and a 10-item Lao feast.
Crave the Heights returns September 17 to 26, with 23 restaurants, cafés and bakeries in Burnaby Heights each serving their own special menu for the ten days.
The Heights Merchants Association runs the annual food festival, and the idea is simple: pick a menu, walk in, order the Crave special.
Although there are 23 participating spots, here are some you may fancy.
1. Glenburn Soda Fountain
We won’t judge if you prefer dessert first.
Glenburn Soda Fountain has been the Heights’ 1950s throwback since March 2013, when area residents Ron and Roberta LaQuaglia opened it after noticing there was nowhere to take their kids for dessert that wasn’t fast food.
It is a true longtime gem in the neighbourhood.
Their Crave special fits the place.
The Scoopable Cookies a la Mode is a warm scoop of gooey chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with sea salt flakes, and for $10 it comes with your choice of ice cream and one sauce or topping.
Address: 4090 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2H9
2. Chao Mami
Next door, Chao Mami is the Nguyen family’s second act in the same room.
Xi Nguyen and her husband ran Brokenrice here from 2013, and in May 2024 her kids Jennifer and Steven relaunched it under a name that means “hello, mom,” with Xi back in the kitchen.
For Crave, they’re putting bun cha into a burger.
A pork patty and a marinated pork slice are basted in the restaurant’s fish sauce, then stacked on brioche with pickled carrot and daikon, purple cabbage and Kewpie mayo, with seasoned fries on the side.
Chao Mami and Glenburn sit at 4088 and 4090 Hastings Street, so the burger and the cookie scoop are a few steps apart.
Address: 4088 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2H9
3. Di Chai
Bringing a group? Di Chai is a Truong family kitchen, with co-owner Lena Truong out front and her brother, chef Calvin Truong, cooking from their mom’s recipes plus a few modern Lao plates of his own.
It took over the room this summer that used to be Triple Coconut Tree.
Their 10 Item Craver Meal runs through khao poon gai soup, Lao sausage, BBQ grilled ping gai, soy-grilled pork, sticky rice, jeow muk lin, papaya salad, beef laap and dessert.
Address: 4124 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2J3
4. Butchers Block BBQ
Butchers Block BBQ goes the other direction.
Mary and Calvin Levesque opened it on Hastings in 2005, and in 2020 Mostafa Nassar and Angus Wong, both out of the BBQ wholesale world, joined the family and kept the recipes as they were.
This is the spot if you prefer some meat sweats.
The Crave special is a sampler built for two: chicken leg and thigh, smoked pulled pork, St. Louis side ribs and slow-smoked brisket, plus two corn bread and your choice of two sides.
Address: 4091 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2J3
The deals run past the plates, too.
Chez Christophe takes 20 percent off the bill when you order any pastry or cake with a drink, and Suren Persian Restaurant has 2 for $26 kebab deals Monday to Thursday with two free ice creams.
The full lineup also includes Panino Mio, The Gray Olive Neighborhood Restaurant, Fluffies, Shen Sushi, RENS Thai Bistro, Crema Ice Cream, Gabi & Jules, Teaspoons & Co., Green & Oak, Burnt Orange, Chad Thai, Chén Vietnamese, Mumbaiyaa Street Foods, Sabrosito, The Ramen Butcher, Artigiano and Peaked Pies. Check each spot’s hours first, since a few specials only run at certain times.
There’s a $150 gift card up for grabs, too.
We’ve also teamed up the Heights Merchants Association to run a giveaway on Instagram starting September 16, with the details on the @nomsmag post.
Find every participating spot and their menus on the Crave the Heights event page. The showcase wraps up September 26.
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