Vancouver, BC a revisit

Sometimes iphone Apple weather is wrong. The forecast for Vancouver, BC for the end of April/beginning of May looked like rain for 10 days in a row. Don’t worry, I was prepared in all my winery logo Patagonia gear, I brought my waterproof windbreaker with a hood and I even packed those Old Navy plastic parachute pants that are almost certainly a mistake. Anyhow, it was windy and chilly up there but we lucked out in that a) it didn’t rain on us and b) it cleared up in the afternoons. It was great to see folks enjoying their city - getting out to the waterfront and enjoying the sunset.

It had been a minute since I’d been up to Canada - since way before the pandemic - so, I was excited to come back to this beautiful city to eat and drink and walk around. My old friend from seventh grade was planning to take that Rocky Mountaineer train trip together with her mom in May. Lucky for me, my friend stopped in Seattle for the weekend and then we spent couple days in Vancouver before she and her mom started their train trip through the Canadian Rockies.

The view of English Bay from the bar at the Sylvia Hotel, the slicer at Savio Volpe, the white wine I drank with my pea risotto

As soon as we got into the city, we walked towards Granville Island which was not as chaotic as I remembered, actually pretty calm on a Tuesday afternoon. I wanted to buy all the salami for my slicer but I was daunted by this story. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/14/world/canada/sea-gulls-fairmont-empress-victoria-nick-burchill-pepperoni.html

Also I’m not sure I could have brought salami back across the border?

My Vancouverite friend Tracy recommended several restaurants including Savio Volpe which was simultaneously corroborated by my Seattle buddies who had just come back from their own BC trip. My friend and I sat at the Italian style bar for dinner and were expertly guided towards some seasonal spring dishes - an arugula salad with green olives, fennel and orange, a pea and pea shoot risotto, a side of grilled broccolini that was deliciously salted and almost over-dressed in awesome olive oil. My friend enjoyed her pasta with nettles and preserved lemon, too. Thankfully we were allowed to order half-orders so we could try more things which was great. We drank some obscure-to-me Italian country white wines by the glass - what a lovely neighborhood restaurant. Cheers Tracy for the rec.

We stayed at this old historic hotel called the Sylvia in the West End, off English Bay. It had a Canadian Rick Steves feel, not cool at all but safe and clean with a good location, none of which are bad things, but it meant that my friend and I were the youngest people there. The hotel bar has a fabulous view over the bay and a little bit of a cuckoo grey-haired locals hangout vibe during sunset. I ordered a Vesper Martini, only the second martini I have ever ordered in my life, the first one on election night 2004 at a restaurant in Napa that was so strong I couldn’t drink it. Not sure what it means that 20 years later I had no problemo enjoying this Vesper Martini.

The next morning, I was curious about some new to me coffee roasters that had opened up since my last visit. We walked over to the Gastown neighborhood and tried a pourover at Nemesis coffee and an espresso shot at Revolver. I walked into Trailhead just to check it out but at that point we were real caffeinated. Later in the trip, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality drip coffee from Delaney’s Coffee Shop nearby the hotel.

We had lunch at a Thai restaurant in Kitsilano I only remembered having visited before when the food arrived to the table. Maenam offered a fun lunch special that the two of us split which included green papaya salad, mushroom laab, halibut green curry and a beef stir-fry. Everything was gluten free with bright Thai flavors and crunchy textures of crushed peanuts and fresh herbs. I don’t know where to get super delicious Thai food like this near Seattle - tell me where to go, you guys.

We met up with my friend’s mom at one of Vancouver’s bars that made that 50 best bars in North America list called Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pac Rim. We were seated on the corner which is so nice for three people at the bar countertop and I ordered a delicious Gin&Tonic that was beautifully garnished.

Dinner that night was at the legendary Vij’s - it has moved location since my last visit and we didn’t see Vij himself working the host stand greeting guests (maybe he doesn’t do that anymore?). The menu is largely the same - I recognized a lot of the dishes which meant I forced us to order the lamb popsicles and the Vij’s family chicken curry. The wine list is an interesting mix of British Columbian aromatic white wines and imports from Germany and Alsace. There are reds too on the list I just didn’t read that far down the menu. I ordered a glass of a dry white blend of Muscat and Pinot Blanc from BC - I should have asked to see the bottle so I could snap a photo of the label.

There wasn’t enough time to try the other restaurants folks told me about … Kissa Tanto looks super interesting although maybe tough to do gluten free for me? I had been to Blue Water Cafe back in the day, on another trip I would love to go back. Sashimaya is the kind of place I would go to once a week for a chirashi bowl if it was closer to me in Woodinville. I always want to eat more Indian food…. and I wish I had tasted more white wines from BC.

My friend and her mom were always planning to tour Butchart Gardens and the city of Victoria on Thursday - I was waiting to commit to join them until I saw the sunny weather forecast. Thankfully the tulips were very much still in bloom and the Japanese Garden was super green and lush. Keeping it nerdy, I especially enjoyed the garden’s “Plant Identification Centre” where carefully labeled exhibits of blooming specimens are refreshed daily. No time for G&Ts at the bar at the Empress Hotel I had heard so much about in Victoria- another time I hope. It was super smooth sailing on the ferry - the whole adventure seemed more civilized than our Washington state ferries? Maybe that’s just Canadians for ya…

Easy peasy getting back home across the border, all in all a great springtime visit. Cheers to my old friend from 7th grade and to her mom!