Culinary journey through Vancouver
Canada, August 06, 2011
First Published: 12:31 IST(6/8/2011)
Last Updated: 12:31 IST(6/8/2011)
Vancouver,
Canada has a
picturesque setting,
where you
can hit the beach
or the mountains,
trek in the temperate
rainforest or use its 200 miles
(322km) of bicycle tracks.
But as much as the
Vancouverites are active and
sporty, they also eat, drink
and party well too. This city
is a
What
Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens Sante Spa Victoria Stanley Park
When
Any Time
Where
Antigonish Evergreen Inn L'Hermitage Hotel Auberge Le Vincent
Map
foodie's paradise and its
multi-ethnic character shows
in its myriad restaurants
ranging from Vietnamese
and Chinese to Indian and
Greek. Vancouverites love
their caffeine and we find
them everywhere with a latte
in their hands.
Lots of seafood
We have a dinner at Rain City
Grill in the West End district,
which was one of the first
restaurants to embrace local
cuisine with flair. All seafood
options on the menu are recommended
by an 'Ocean
Wise' logo which signifies a
conservation program to
ensure that fishing is sustainable.
They have the 100-mile
menu that is basically based
on the philosophy that all
protein and produce should
be procured within a hundred
miles of where you live.
What this does is prevent
loss of nutrients as well as
emission of greenhouse gases
for its transport from farflung
places.
A bit of history...
Gastown was where the city
of Vancouver started. It was
named after John Gassy Jack
- a talkative saloon owner
who promised a barrel of
booze to workers if they built
his saloon in a day. For many
years, it was a gritty, no-go
'skid row' or poor locality. In
2009, it was declared a
national historic district and
today, Gastown is also the
new culinary epicentre. A
slow process of gentrification
has happened and though we
still see the homeless and
destitute crowds, there are
snazzy restaurants, bars and
art galleries that give the
area a certain buzz. Antique
gaslights, cobbled streets and
Victorian architecture make
Gastown atmospheric.
Tapas bar
We start our evening at a
small tapas-style bar called
Judas Goat located on a
street called Blood Alley,
which was the meatpacking
district of yore. The owner
explains that it takes its
name from the trained goat
used in a slaughterhouse that
leads sheep and cattle to
their end, while its own life is
spared. The bar is crowded
and noisy, filled with hip couples
and we feast on tapas
like marinated beets with
ricotta and rosemary honey,
and roasted Polenta. We
move to the Salt-tasting
Room, a no-frills brick walled
restaurant with communal
tables and a blackboard with
the day's combination menus
of wine, artisanal cheeses and
cured meats. The concept is
quirky: you can order a flight
of three different wines to
mix and match with meat,
cheese, bread or fruit.
Although the unlikely combinations
first surprise me,
I'm wowed later by the taste
of peach with fig and date
bread, cheese and white wine.
The last stop of the evening is
the popular Irish Heather
gastro pub where attractive
Sean Heather is there to
guide us through the subtleties
of whisky tasting. The
pub serves creative combinations
of beer, whisky, wine and
locally cured meats. A tad
blurry after an evening spent
imbibing, my last thought is
that 'Gassy Jack' will be pretty
pleased with me.
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