The people have spoken – and Vij’s Railway Express is the People’s Choice for best new restaurant in the prestigious national restaurant rankings of Air Canada’s enRoute Magazine.

“Everyone at Vij’s Railway Express is thrilled beyond words – we can’t thank people enough for voting for us,” says Vikram Vij, the award-winning chef and restauranteur behind Vij’s Railway Express, the ONLY food truck nominated as a contender amongst 35 top-rated establishments across Canada.

Vij’s Railway Express hit the streets of Vancouver in summer 2012, providing customers with delicious, freshly-cooked Indian food with a unique Vij’s twist. Since then, the truck has garnered a huge fan base, with line-ups the order of the day as soon as the team arrives on location. Twitter followers find out daily where the truck is headed – whether to its regular location on downtown Vancouver’s Georgia Street, or visiting a new set of customers anywhere in the city. Vij’s Railway Express has featured on the Food Network’s Eat Street and numerous other tv shows. The truck has also expanded into catering private events, parties and even weddings, so the Vij’s experience isn’t just happening on the street or at his restaurants – the team will bring it to you!

“We see the reaction to our food from customers every day on the street, but it’s amazing to see those people went out of their way to vote for us,” says Jason Apple from Gourmet Syndicate, the company behind the day-to-day running of (and cooking at!) the truck and bringing Vikram’s vision to life. “We want to thank everyone for their support and we hope to encourage more people to try us out in the future!”

Vikram Vij was born in India and grew up in Amritsar and Bombay. His most vivid childhood memories revolve around food and family and he pursued this further when he moved to Europe and later when he came to live in Canada. He opened the first 14-seat Vij’s Restaurant in Vancouver in 1994 and, later that same year, married Meeru Dhalwala who would later take over managing the kitchens of both Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants. Vij has published two award-winning cookbooks – Vij’s: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine and Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey.
Vij and Dhalwala have also helped fund Vij’s Kitchen at UBC, a teaching kitchen where students learn about ethnic foods. Vij has also hosted the world’s first (and second) live webstreamed cookalong, Cook Live With Vikram Vij in March 2013.