Life & Style. Have a fitness tip or recipe to share? Contact the editor at lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Food Truck Frenzy: Re-Up BBQ Barbeque hot spot serves up succulent southern eats in downtown Vancouver By Sophie Isbister, Life & Style Editor estled between the mountains and skyscrapers of downtown Vancouver, a quick SkyTrain jaunt away from New Westminster, is a glittering oasis of shiny food trucks just 66 waiting to be explored this summer. Vancouver has gained a reputation for its formidable food truck presence; after only three years of offering mobile munchies, the city has landed third place on Travel and Escape’s list of food truck cities, coming in after Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas. To commemorate this designation, The Other Press is pleased to present our four- part summer series on outdoor eats in the city. For our first installment, we take you to the Re-Up BBQ food truck, located outside the Vancouver Art Gallery at West Georgia and Hornby Street. Since Re-Up is known primarily for their pulled pork sandwiches (which they also sling out of their New Westminster River Market location), I had to try one. I wouldn’t call myself a pulled pork connoisseur; the term implies that I’m discerning about the pulled pork that I eat, which is not true. I will eat any pulled pork at anytime, anywhere on the tangy/ sweet spectrum, with toppings ranging from classic coleslaw to incomprehensible lettuce and tomato. But after trying Re-Up’s sandwich, I’m positive that I’ve found my pulled pork of choice. Served on a fresh- baked Portuguese bun, the sandwich contains an ample portion of slow-roasted and expertly spiced shredded pork. It’s drizzled with a tangy (and not too sweet) barbeque sauce and topped with some of the freshest, crunchiest coleslaw I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. I decided to wash down my delicious sandwich feast with a sampling of Re-Up’s homemade beverages, their southern sweet tea and homemade cola, both on offer at the food truck. The sweet tea is perfect: not too sweet, with a strong tea flavour. Real tea makes the difference: “|The] southern sweet tea is orange pekoe that we brew ourselves. We just add lemon and sugar. It’s kind of like Nestea but not terrible—that’s how I describe it to people,” says Re-Up worker Jacey Gibb. As for the homemade cola—a lighter, caffeine-free alternative to regular Coke— Gibb touts its natural flavours, adding, “One of our managers makes the syrups herself.” Re- Up’s cola is definitely for those with a sweet tooth, but since Gibb mixed it for me on the spot, you could always ask to have it with less syrup. “We actually usually have a beef brisket sandwich as well,” Gibb reassures me on the limited menu selection. “Pulled pork was what we started with and that’s what we’re best known for, but the beef Served ona fresh-baked Portuguese bun, the sandwich contains an ample portion of slow-roasted and expertly spiced shredded pork. brisket sandwich has definitely developed a cult following.” Gibb adds that they expect to be serving the beef brisket out of the food truck in a couple weeks. When asked about the secret ingredient is to their signature sandwich, Gibb was tight-lipped, saying only that it’s made with love: “A whole rainbow of love!” All I know is I'd love to eat another one. Re- Up BBQ is now my go-to spot for slow-cooked food, served fast in downtown Vancouver. LJ. @reypbo, & bla ory v BASS Fa ae | Re-Up BBQ | Photo courtesy of Sophie Isbister Healthy Hints: Souring on the sugar high By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer hildren’s birthday parties, for all intents and purposes, are maelstroms of chaos. Screaming boys and girls whirl about the room, reaching disturbingly-high decibel levels. It’s not a pretty sight, especially for the unfortunate chaperones. For the longest time, sugar has shouldered the blame for kids’ hyper behaviour, but facts seem to indicate that it shouldn't. Studies over the years have revealed that there is no discernible difference in children’s behaviour whether they are given sugar or not; 10 this isn’t new knowledge either, since a conclusive review was released in 1996. Numerous double-blind trials involving various forms of the alleged hyperactivity-inducing substance have been performed 66 and all come up with the same result. In a 1994 study, 35 boys between the ages of five and seven (and thought by their mothers to be “sugar sensitive”) were split into two groups. Both groups would receive a placebo. The mothers of the experimental group, however, were informed that their children had taken a sizeable amount of sugar. The end result was that the experimental group mothers were far more critical of their children than the control group. From these results, one can draw the conclusion that when we perceive children to be hyper, that’s all that’s happening; we perceive them as such. If you truly believe something is going to happen or be a certain way, then of course you'll see it as so. So what makes kids hyper then? Take a look at an event For the longest time, sugar has shouldered the blame for kids’ hyper behaviour, but facts seem to indicate that it shouldnt. when children most commonly go ona sugar binge: a birthday party. There’s a crowd of youths all in one place and it’s an exciting atmosphere. What kid wouldn't feel a little different? Throw in afew games and it’s no wonder why they’re all bouncing off the walls. One point to note here is that while the sugar may not actually do anything for the children, the caffeine in their pop might. In addition to this, just as parents perceive their children to be hyper, kids can perceive sugar to make them hyper. It works both ways. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s alright for parents to let their offspring munch on chocolate bars 24/7, but just remember that any behavioural changes aren't really due to sumptuous sweets.