When you think of Christmas, the beach might not come to mind. However in White Rock, the two will go hand-in-hand this weekend.
Photo credit:
GlacierTim on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
What Christmas at the Beach
When Sunday, December 18, 2011 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Where West Beach (short strip near the pier)
Presented by local merchants and the White Rock Business Improvement Association, the day will include a horse-drawn carriage and carolers, Christmas crafts, festive treats, along with Santa and his elves at the museum. Bring a non-perishable item for donation to the White Rock Food Bank and your hot chocolate is free.
Headquarters for the event will be at Marine Drive and Vidal Street. You can also pick up a Rock Holiday Experience Card to collect stamps from merchants. Get a minimum of five stamps and your card could win you $1,000 in White Rock Dollars.
Follow @inwhiterock on Twitter or Facebook for more information.
There are few things I enjoy more than being a tourist in my own hometown and when I’m offered the chance to experience the city like a visitor it’s rare that I’ll pass it up. Last week, I was invited to participate in the Taste Vancouver Food Tour’s Gastown Tour. Meeting up with ten others, who hailed from cities around the globe, I received my ear-piece, my lanyard, and set out on foot behind our guide, John “Gassy Jack” Deighton himself for the next tour hours.
Right off the bat the tour became more than a culinary adventure. The first few stops mentioned the history of the waterfront, from its very first years as a part of Vancouver up until the last twenty years.
Our first bite was of lobster macaroni and cheese at Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar. I’ve been to Rogue before and I’ve ordered the lobster mac n’ cheese, and I would do so again. The portion was about the third of the size of the actual menu item and was a nice way to warm up our taste buds for the rest of the tour.
The second tasting stop was Steamworks where we met brewmaster Conrad Gmoser who told us a bit about the IPA we sampled next.
On our way again, we stopped next door at Rogers Chocolates for a sample, complimented with a quick story about the founders. The sweet treat was followed up with some rolled maple syrup from Canadian Maple Delights.
Heading West down Water Street we crossed over and hopped into the arcade where we learned more about the building and the unique tin ceiling in the hall.
Ending up on Cordova, we looped back into Brioche where owner Eduardo Bilardelo spoke to us about his style of cooking, his ingredient choices, and a little bit about his hometown in Sicily. We were each given a healthy portion of freshly-made tortellini.
Lobster, pasta, beer, maple syrup, and now cheesecake. Trees Organic was the next stop where we tried two of their top-sellers. The key lime and the mocha cheesecake.
What tour of Gastown would be complete without the compulsory stop at the steam clock? I was happy to hear our guide note that it was indeed a creation of the 1970’s and not as old as some might think it to be.
I then stepped foot into the Water Street Cafe for the first time. We heard about the history of the hotel building in which it sits, its significance during The Great Fire, and the story of the cafe. The sample crab cakes were moist and packed with meat, not over-powered by any sauce at all.
Our food tour took a few more detours, winding in and out of the John Fluevog store, the Smart Mouth Cafe (where Greenpeace once met, since it was formed in Vancouver you know), and ended up on the corner of Water and Carrall. There, we found Peckinpah
This North Carolina barbecue joint opened up on the corner of Maple Tree Square, just behind the statue of Gastown’s namesake. The smokey aroma gives you a great big hug when you walk in the door and our sample of briket and pulled pork was enough to make me run home (not immediately of course) and tell John we’re returning for a full meal very soon.
Looping around to Gaoler’s Mews (pronounced Jailer’s Mews) our last tasting stop was in Apres Midi, a quaint teahouse whose selection was reminiscent of Silk Road in Victoria.
We sampled their market spice tea which had floral, cinnamon, and honey notes. Our tour then finished up, fittingly, at the foot of the Gassy Jack statue.
I look at Vancouver with the eyes of someone born and raised in the area — and someone who regularly does historical research — so it’s not everyday that I learn something new. I have to give the organizers credit for throwing in at least two tibdits about Gastown that I had not previously heard. To me, that makes for a winning tour for locals and visitors alike.
The tour was $39 a piece which is reasonable based on the information, the ground covered, and the ample tasting opportunities. This Gastown Tour runs daily from 2:00pm to 4:00pm until January 8, 2012. You can also book private tours for your group of 6 to 16 people throughout the year.
Update for Summer 2012: The food tour is now open every day. Check the official website for exact times.
If you would like to head out on the food tour yourself, they have offered up two Gastown tours to one lucky reader of mine. You can explore Gastown with a friend or treat an out-of-towner. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post naming your favourite hometown attraction (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. Must be 19 years of age or older to do the tour as there is the stop in the pub.
Update The winner is Linda (@lindabook)!
This afternoon a bear was tranquilized in downtown Vancouver after hitching a ride into town on a garbage truck. Reports and photos have been pouring in across all social and traditional media outlets including a set of images from the Vancouver Public Library.
CBC News says that the truck was stopped near the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in the area of Georgia and Cambie.
From The Province: “It’s a yearling, probably one or two years old,” said Desjardins, who tranquilized the youngster. “The driver had made a pickup on the North Shore, and he came downtown for another pickup.”
From CTV News: “The police just patted its back and coaxed it down,” said Karyn MacDonald, who arrived at the scene shortly after the animal was spotted. “I can’t believe they just pet it.”
Bear sightings in Vancouver are about as rare as they come but they weren’t that uncommon in the city’s early days. In fact, several families even had black bears as pets.
1900’s man with pet bear cub on Hastings. Archives item# CVA 677-378.
1909 – Little boy & a pet bear in Kitsilano. Archives item# CVA 7-13. Photographer: James L Quiney.
Onlookers and those hearing the story are concerned about the future of today’s urban bear. We don’t yet know what that is just yet but he’s currently being removed from the location while sedated. According to CTV News and a witness, the bear will be released back into the wild. The Province confirms this with a quote from Conservation Officer Desjardins: “He’s going to be translocated, most likely to the Squamish Valley.”
In May of 2010 a grey whale wandered right into False Creek and gave residents and visitor quite a thrill as well.
It was on this day, December 12, 1883, that the first local phone call was made — it was between Port Moody and New Westminster [source]. In honor of this, my theme for today’s archive photo collection is telephones with images from the Vancouver Archives and the old BC Telephone company.
1895 – Operators and switchboards. Archives item# CVA 1376-459.
1927 – Telephone & telegraph exchange building in Coal Harbour. Archives item# Out P967.
1940-1948 – Telephone operators at work. Archives item# CVA 1184-2832. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1940-1948 – Giant rolodex directories. Archives item# CVA 1184-2835. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1940-1948 – Switch operators. Archives item# CVA 1184-2838 & CVA 1184-2839. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1940-1948 – Service shortage ad. Archives item# CVA 1184-2864. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1940-1948 – Woman wearing ad for service shortages. Archives item# CVA 1184-2863. 1940-1949 – Women on a public phone & looking at phone service poster. Archives item# CVA 1184-2866. Photographer: Jack Lindsay
1905 – BC Telephone linemen & equipment. Archives item# Port P558.
1940-1948 – Technicians and equipment. Archives item# CVA 1184-2823. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1947 – BC Telephone workers on Robson Street. Archives item# CVA 1184-2894.
Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
1940-1948 – Operator and switchboards. Archives item# CVA 1184-3198. Photographer: Jack Lindsay.
The Westin Grand on Robson has been keeping a secret, Hidden Tasting Bar & Social Lounge. After coming in off the sidewalk near Robson and Homer, head up the large winding staircase toward the hotel’s lobby and there you’ll find Hidden. Windows stretching to the height of the massive ceilings surround the purple-coloured dining area lined with rounded booths. Here’s a sampling of the tapas-style dinner John and I recently shared at Hidden:
Our Hidden Experience
Bites
We started off by ordering a bowl of roasted hazelnuts, brazilian nuts and almonds ($5) while we looked over the beer list and the rest of the seasonal menu.
Earth
We’ve become big fans of beets lately and we really enjoyed medley that was offered. It actually went very will with a handful of roasted hazelnuts and almonds that we still had on the table.
Olive oil glazed baby vegetables with herb marinated grilled tofu ($8)
Candy cane, golden & white beet salad, cranberry hazelnut vinaigrette, goat cheese puree ($12)
Sea
Our friendly server, Bob, recommended these two dishes (below). I heard another server recommend them as well but he told us that he’s in love with the lobster poutine. My favourite of the two though was the black cod as it simply melted in my mouth – a nice follow-up to our crunchy appetizers.
Lobster poutine with Montreal cheese curds & béarnaise ($10)
Brown butter cauliflower puree, seared black cod, asparagus, fennel salad, lemon caper vinaigrette ($13)
Land
We went back and forth on this one as we were unsure if we had enough room left in our bellies. The temptation of something “bacon-wrapped” got the best of us and we’re glad we went through with it. Along with the black cod, the striploin was my favourite of the night.
Tiroler bacon wrapped striploin, truffle scented whipped potatoes & green bean bundle ($12)
Flight of crème brûlée ($9)
Indulge
Ready to skip dessert, Bob assured us that the flight of crème brûlée would be the best way to round out the night. We once again heeded his advice and were not disappointed. The three dishes each had their own flavour: nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. “All together, you get eggnog!” said Bob with a smile.
John and I decided to take advantage of the beer list, over the wine list, that evening. I went with the Whistler Bear Paw Honey Lager, Phoenix Gold from Phillips Brewing, and the Whistler Brewing Whiskey Jack Ale. John’s selections were the Double Decker IPA (he was a little disappointed there was only one IPA on the list), St-Ambrose Apricot Wheat (a bit of a miss as he’s not big into flavoured beer), and the 650ml Phillips Longboat Chocolate Porter, which was his favourite of the night. The Chocolate Porter even complimented dessert with its cocoa, coffee, and cola notes.
Due to the inexpensive “bites” menu and the list of over 40 BC craft brews, we decided that Hidden would be our new go-to place before a Whitecaps game or show (at the QE Theatre or The Centre). Although now that I’ve told all of you, it’s not so hidden anymore.
Hidden Temptations New Year’s Eve
On December 31st, Hidden will host Hidden Temptations one of Vancouver’s glitziest New Year’s Eve parties.
This food and wine gala will have gourmet chef stations, a chocolate indulgence buffet, live music and DJ’s, and more.
Tickets are $100 right now but they go up to $120 after December 25th. You can also book a hotel package that includes two tickets and an overnight stay for $369 (or $389 after December 25th).
The Westin Grand and Hidden have offered up the Hidden Temptations New Year’s Eve experience to one lucky reader of mine. The winner will receive 2 tickets to the party and a 1-night stay in a one-bedroom suite that night.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Answer on this post: What do you usually do on New Year’s Eve? (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at 11:00am next Monday, December 19, 2011. Must be 19 years of age or older to enter and win. Please enjoy your New Year’s Eve events responsibly and plan a safe ride home.
Update The winner is Brenda!
