Excursion: Vancouver, B.C.

We spent five brilliantly sunny days in Vancouver, B.C. during the Olympics. Vancouver is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen, but it turns out that the stunningly beautiful scenery is just the beginning. Among its many other amazing qualities (mild weather, efficient light rail & supreme walkability, a plethora of outdoor activities, more than ample shopping, cultural attractions...) we found the city to be a gastronomic delight. It's amazing to experience the intersection of incredible B.C. ocean, agricultural and vineyard products with the considerable talent of the people working with them.

After settling into our condo rental (vrbo.com) on Wednesday evening, we headed out to a late reservation at MARKET by Jean-Georges. The restaurant is in the Shangri-La hotel, with an entrance on Alberni, close to its intersection with Thurlow (incidentally, the Olympic flame was located at the waterfront end of Thurlow and was visible from the intersection). Dress is business casual and the restaurant has a high end contemporary, yet also casual, feel. I was seated on a red velvet banquette, complete with plush patterned pillows, and we loved the salt cellar and tiny silver spoon perched on the edge of our table. Even more, though, we loved the elevated but accessible food. My slowly cooked arctic char was beautifully prepared and seasoned, and the foil of the savory fish and creamy mashed potatoes against the crisp shaved brussels sprouts on top may have finally converted me to a fan of the tiny green cabbage. Of course, the rich, creamy truffle vinaigrette was the true standout of my meal, however. Surprisingly, the standout in Kevin's meal was actually the salsify, left whole and well-complemented by the lemon sauce that accompanied his parmesan crusted organic chicken. Portions are perfect - neither of us needed the french fries or the roasted mushrooms with garlic and jalapeno that we nevertheless relished. The service was also superb.

Thursday's Olympic event concluded late, leaving us with little time to eat. We ventured only a block from our building to the JAPA DOG cart, which we discovered serves plump sausages with Japanese toppings. I had the 'Okonomi', which is a pork hot dog topped with fried cabbage, bonito flake, and Japanese mayo. Somehow this all worked, even despite my reservations about eating fish on my hot dog. For the less adventurous among us, there are 'Regular Hot Dogs' (their term, not mine!), like the 'Turkey Smokie'. A word of warning - if the line for this unique street food is long, expect a significant wait. We waited about 40 minutes for the 20 or so people ahead of us to be served.

Friday found us at Whistler for morning and evening Olympic events, between which we stopped at the BrewHouse at Whistler for lunch and a craft beer. The food was pretty standard, but they were serving up a solid Pale Ale, which we revisited at sister establishment Yaletown Brewing Company on Saturday night.

A somewhat more relaxed schedule on Saturday afforded us the time to catch an early reservation at Boneta in Vancouver's historic Gastown district. Gastown is characterized by the juxtaposition of edgy art galleries and hip eateries with cobblestone streets and impossibly touristy shops, all with a slight gritty undercurrent. I love it. And Boneta seems to exemplify what Gastown is all about. Hip, but not pretentious, and stylish in a really fun, funky, and comfortable, sort-of-vintage, way. They make their own sparkling water, which I can appreciate for environmental reasons, and source ingredients locally, of course. What Chef Jeremie Bastien does with those ingredients is nothing short of inspired. The Daily Baked Viennois Bread with Salted Butter lasted just under ten seconds once the warm, aromatic loaf hit the table. My Braised Lamb Shank and Soft Polenta virtually melted in my mouth, while the crunchy Haricots Vert were just the right accompaniment for texture and the Sun Dried Tomatoes and Nicoise Olive Lamb Jus made the whole thing sing. I stole just about every Cipollini from Kevin's Grilled Flat Iron entree, which was served with a foamy, sherbet-colored, and sweet Carrot Puree and my favorite veg - Kale. I'm told that the restaurant generally features a more European-inspired wine list, but was highlighting B.C. wines for the Olympics, so I had a Syrah that was quite nice. For dessert? Lemon Tarte with Toasted Marshmallow. I found the Citrus Marmalade to be a tiny bit bitter, but I was craving creamy lemon tart for days after... Our server was incredibly personable and very attentive. An excellent experience all around.

We couldn't leave Vancouver without visiting Granville Island, a formerly industrial area under the Granville Street Bridge that has been repurposed into a sort of arts haven and day trip destination. A five minute ferry ride across False Creek from downtown dropped us there, where we bee-lined to, what else, the Public Market. The Market is, among other things, a pastry wonderland, and I bought the most delicious tiny butter tart to savor while we perused the various stalls of fruit, flowers, fish, bread, spices...all of the good things that a market has to offer. Standouts were Chilliwack River Valley Natural Honey, serving up samples of at least eight different honeys to try (I bought a jar of tasty Thistle Honey), as well as South China Seas Trading Co., where I couldn't resist the dazzling array of dried chiles and hard-to-find spices (amchur powder, anyone?).

After the Market, we stopped by the Granville Island Brewing taproom, which is a comfortable, airy, yet cozy, space with soaring ceilings and lots of wood. Our friendly bartender served us up a sampler, which comes in the form of five of the most delightful little logo'd pilsner-esque glasses (each hold about 5 oz. or so). GIB's beers are all named after Vancouver neighborhoods and landmarks - We tried the English Bay Pale Ale, Brockton IPA, Robson St. Hefeweizen, Gastown Amber Ale, and the Cypress Honey Lager - and there wasn't one that I didn't like.

One last quick stop at La Baguette & L'Echalote on our way to the ferry provided us with a couple of croissants for Monday's breakfast and a lavender roll for the quick trip back to the condo.

Despite our Sunday evening medal ceremony tickets and our impending early departure for home the next morning, we managed to eke out one more meal in Vancouver Sunday night, which we picked up from the window of Cafe Crepe on Robson St. My savory spinach and feta crepe was just the thing to hit the spot, and Kevin sang the praises of his four cheese panini all the way back to Nelson St.

It was hard to put ourselves on the train to Seattle Monday morning, but we soothed ourselves with the knowledge that we'll be back...

A Note on Wine: I was lucky enough to get a good recommendation for an affordable local wine on our first night in Vancouver, and I savored it all week. Prospect Winery's Major Allan Merlot is a solid pick from Okanagan Valley B.C.