The Girl Who Ate Vancouver
Back home in YYC. Crackers and cheese and leftover leek and potato soup for dinner last night as we cranked the heat back on. If it makes you all in YYC feel any better, the wet, sloppy -1 in Vancouver didn’t feel much better than -20 in Calgary. Although it was nice to see a little green on the ground.
It was a fantastic, if busy, trip to Vancouver. The two and a half days we were there I was lucky enough to preview a few locations of the upcoming Dine Out Vancouver event, take a class at the hip Dirty Apron cooking school, visit Granville Island and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (where, it must be said, I ate one of the best pain au chocolats of my life – and it was still warm), got a preview of one of Swallow Tail’s Secret Supper Soirées, and got a hard hat tour of the old Hotel Georgia (above) in the midst of her extreme makeover.
We got to check out some of the new street food carts (like Re-Up BBQ, specialists in pulled pork),
and met James & Amy of Vancouver Street Eats, who chatted as we (a group of mostly writers – all shuffling notebooks and cameras with mittened hands, trying not to drip ketchup, chili or noodles on ourselves) sampled all manner of dolled-up wieners at JapaDog.
If you visit their website, you’ll see their mission statement:
Our Mission: Making the world happy and alive through hot dogs.
I think I need to seriously rethink my own mission statement. Or come up with one, maybe. It might be something like this: TO LURE IN A RICH BOYFRIEND WITH A PENTHOUSE IN VANCOUVER. AND MAYBE NEW YORK, TOO.
M and W were confined to the hotel (not a bad thing, when you’re staying at a place like this) – Mike hobbling with gout, W not wanting to leave the (outdoor) pool. Nor the bathroom. Because you guys? Check out that mirror – see the grey rectangle in it? IT’S A TV, EMBEDDED IN THE MIRROR.
You know, in case you need to watch your stock prices as you pluck your old lady chin hairs first thing in the morning.
Yesterday morning, people watched in awe out the window of their warm rooms at me, shivering in a long coat and umbrella beside the pool as W showed me his tricks.
Doesn’t this look like it was taken in the seventies? On my to-do list: play around with photoshop. (It’s more fun than: redo blog index and organize filing system.)
Also on my to-do list: make dinner tomorrow.
January 13 2011 10:30 pm | leftovers
colesangel on 14 Jan 2011 at 12:31 am #
sounds like a great trip except for the gout (ow!). glad you had fun
Erin B on 14 Jan 2011 at 7:18 am #
Dang. Now you’ve given a pregnant lady a wicked pulled pork craving!
You sure earned another ‘good mommy’ start hanging out at that pool!
bellini on 14 Jan 2011 at 8:00 am #
All sounds pretty exciting for my next trup to Van.
Cathy N in Inglewood Calgary on 14 Jan 2011 at 8:15 am #
I’ve heard about the new and wonderful street venders in Vancouver! Can’t wait to try Japa Dog… and that pulled pork makes me inspired to get out my slow cooker and make a pile of pp for dinner tonight! Mmmmm…
Stay warm!
Cathy N in Inglewood Calgary on 14 Jan 2011 at 8:16 am #
I’ve heard about the new and wonderful food carts in Vancouver! Can’t wait to try JapaDog… and that pulled pork makes me inspired to get out my slow cooker and make a pile of pp for dinner tonight! Mmmmm…
Stay warm!
Cathy N in Inglewood Calgary on 14 Jan 2011 at 8:18 am #
Whoops!! Didn’t mean to post two of the same comments… sorry!
Corine on 14 Jan 2011 at 8:59 am #
Beautiful hotel, isn’t it? I stayed their in November. I, too, took a picture of the bathroom mirror.
Courtney on 14 Jan 2011 at 9:52 am #
JapaDog has a storefront now?! I definitely need to go for a visit soon – when I lived in Vancouver the only cart option was street meat.
Heather on 14 Jan 2011 at 10:13 am #
I just found your blog and love it! I used to live in Calgary (SAIT grad ’03) and love to visit Vancouver. Last time we were there (Van) we caught a beautiful king salmon, smoked it and brought it home to Texas! I have a few cousins living in Van and they showed me some great resturants: The Fish House in Stanley Park and a Noodle place, the name escapes me…
Happy Friday!
Robyn in Mountain (Ontario that is) on 14 Jan 2011 at 10:14 am #
Mmmm, hot dogs! Now if only they could come out with a no nitrite, sodium-free version. Oh, and with chicken only of course. Oh, and ones you can get at the corner store.
CathyD on 14 Jan 2011 at 10:20 am #
Now I want a hot dog.
Carol SB on 14 Jan 2011 at 10:45 am #
I love the retro- style photo, Julie.
Kathy - chronic in the kitchen on 14 Jan 2011 at 1:02 pm #
Julie you take awesome photos of everything. What a posh looking room and hotel.
Laurie from Burnaby on 14 Jan 2011 at 2:12 pm #
Glad you had a good time
Kristy on 14 Jan 2011 at 3:11 pm #
just wanted to say that it is plus 8 and sunny right now. not to rub it in. hehe glad you had a good trip to vancouver! come back often
there many many great places to eat!
Jodi on 14 Jan 2011 at 9:55 pm #
Thank you for the chin hairs comment. Don’t worry you aren’t alone :0)
Cheryl on 15 Jan 2011 at 10:37 am #
Is that Michelle?
JulieVR on 15 Jan 2011 at 10:41 am #
Yep! Michelle and her pulled pork. Meant to mention that!
Natasha on 15 Jan 2011 at 11:56 am #
Ha ha! I thought that pool looked familiar – my husband got to work on all the media installations in the room overlooking the pool… in fact, the tv you can see in the window, just above it. Sounds like you had a great trip! We’re so excited about the increased street-vendor food options we’re getting here now!
Vincci on 15 Jan 2011 at 5:31 pm #
Yum. Sounds like a great trip. But your to-do list sounds very similar to mine: redo blog index, redo blog layout (I’ve had the same once since December ’08!), and so on *shudder*