Culinary journey through Vancouver

As much as the Vancouverites are active and sporty,they also eat,drink and party well.Their city is quite the foodie's paradise.

Vancouver,Canada has apicturesque setting,where youcan hit the beachor the mountains,trek in the temperaterainforest or use its 200 miles(322km) of bicycle tracks.

But as much as theVancouverites are active andsporty, they also eat, drinkand party well too. This cityis a foodie's paradise and itsmulti-ethnic character showsin its myriad restaurantsranging from Vietnameseand Chinese to Indian andGreek. Vancouverites lovetheir caffeine and we findthem everywhere with a lattein their hands.

Lots of seafood
We have a dinner at Rain CityGrill in the West End district,which was one of the firstrestaurants to embrace localcuisine with flair. All seafoodoptions on the menu are recommendedby an 'OceanWise' logo which signifies aconservation program toensure that fishing is sustainable.They have the 100-milemenu that is basically basedon the philosophy that allprotein and produce shouldbe procured within a hundredmiles of where you live.What this does is preventloss of nutrients as well asemission of greenhouse gasesfor its transport from farflungplaces.

A bit of history...
Gastown was where the cityof Vancouver started. It wasnamed after John Gassy Jack- a talkative saloon ownerwho promised a barrel ofbooze to workers if they builthis saloon in a day. For manyyears, it was a gritty, no-go'skid row' or poor locality. In2009, it was declared anational historic district andtoday, Gastown is also thenew culinary epicentre. Aslow process of gentrificationhas happened and though westill see the homeless anddestitute crowds, there aresnazzy restaurants, bars andart galleries that give thearea a certain buzz. Antiquegaslights, cobbled streets andVictorian architecture makeGastown atmospheric.

Tapas bar
We start our evening at asmall tapas-style bar calledJudas Goat located on astreet called Blood Alley,which was the meatpackingdistrict of yore. The ownerexplains that it takes itsname from the trained goatused in a slaughterhouse thatleads sheep and cattle totheir end, while its own life isspared. The bar is crowdedand noisy, filled with hip couplesand we feast on tapaslike marinated beets withricotta and rosemary honey,and roasted Polenta. Wemove to the Salt-tastingRoom, a no-frills brick walledrestaurant with communaltables and a blackboard withthe day's combination menusof wine, artisanal cheeses andcured meats. The concept isquirky: you can order a flightof three different wines tomix and match with meat,cheese, bread or fruit.

Although the unlikely combinationsfirst surprise me,I'm wowed later by the tasteof peach with fig and datebread, cheese and white wine.The last stop of the evening isthe popular Irish Heathergastro pub where attractiveSean Heather is there toguide us through the subtletiesof whisky tasting. Thepub serves creative combinationsof beer, whisky, wine andlocally cured meats. A tadblurry after an evening spentimbibing, my last thought isthat 'Gassy Jack' will be prettypleased with me.

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