Simply beautiful and incredibly metropolitan, Vancouver is where nature (big green trees) meets a posh city. My short weekend trip in Vancouver was packed with non-stop Vancouver information provided by Laurie, my #1 Vancouver buddy. From the moment I jumped off the plane the "Oh Canada! Tour" began. Laurie was an awesome host and drove me around ALL around Vancouver. I may not remember all the places Laurie showed me...but I'll definitely remember the food.Friday Day
The next morning, I woke up next to Laurie exhausted from our first night of my Oh Canada! Tour. Fortunately, we had no schedule to go by and Laurie was eager to deliver some oishii (yummy) Vancouver eats. The weather was great and I was ready to get my grub on.
Vancouver's low 80's was perfect for this LA heat struck mama.Our first stop was an area called Yaletown. Yuppytown...I mean Yaletown, is a Warehouse District turned trendy after Expo 1986. Trendy lunch spots, small boutiques, poshy high-rise condos...that's Yaletown for you.
For breakfast, we headed to Boulangerie la Parisienne for croissants and coffee. I'd tell you how much breakfast was, but I forgot to exchange my US currency. IDIOT!My ham and cheese croissant was super yummy...melt in my mouth delish! I wish I had more time to try out their breads and infamous Pain du chocolat. Yum.
After breakfast, I told Laurie that I'd like to do some wine shopping for some Okanagan Wine. Laurie responded, "Sure, we'll drop by a liquor shop today.""LIQUOR SHOP??? Girl...I said WINE, not Alize!"
Apparently, Vancouver liquor stores are different from what we have down here in LA. Vancouver, and also all of British Columbia's liquor stores are government run and actually carry good wine. Back in the day (according to Laurie), during a short period of time the government gave out alcohol licenses to privately owned wine shops. After that period, no more privately owned shops were allowed. So now there are two places you can get wine. 1) Governement liquor shops or 2) The few privately owned wine shops.
Luckily, we ran into Taylorwood Wines while strolling Yaletown. This wine shop was sooo fun. I felt like I was 8 again shopping at Sanrio Surprises. I was sooo giddy! Anyways, I walked away with a 2002 Mount Boucherie Pinot Noir Ice Wine and 2003 Gray Monk Pinot Noir. I gave the Ice Wine away as a gift, but I still have the Pinot Noir for opening. I can't wait!
After Yuppytown, we headed to Granville Island to a new popular local cheap eats establishment called "GO FISH." According to Laurie, Vancouver fell in love with the establishment the minute this shack dropped onto the Fisherman's Wharf. Chef Gordan Martin buys fish fresh from boats anchored a few yards away. Everything about this place is fresh. Well...supposedly.Oishii Eats LOVED their tempura battered fish-and-chips. So fresh and so clean! I also ordered a BBQ Oyster taco. BIG MISTAKE. What was I thinking? The oysters tasted so not fresh, so not clean. I pretty much spit the oyster out. Baaah! I hate wasting food. But I'd definitely go back for their Fish-and-chips....so good, even after throwing up oysters.
Loooooooooooooved!
Gagged!After throwing up the oysters, I was still hungry. I think it's time for some gelato! Yum! Ferrero Rocher and Pistachio gelato at Mondo Gelato on Robson Street kept me happy. Thanks Laurie for a great Friday day!