Yesterday our friend Henry, who works Chile but was raised in Vancouver, was in town briefly so we went out to dinner to catch up. Since Dine Out Vancouver is still going strong, I made arrangement for us to check out Regional Tasting Lounge (r.tl) in Yaletown.
r.tl is currently only featuring its Dine Out Menu which is at the $28 price point. To start, there were four options including a wild mushroom & truffle risotto, an organic quinoa salad (roasted corn, avocado, fresh herbs, lemon dressing), the oak house smoked duck (toasted pecans, greens, served room temperature) or the wedge salad (romaine lettuce, blue cheese dressing, crispy shallots).
John and Henry had the risotto while I tried the smoked duck – both were delicious.
The main course options were a portobello tacu tacu (black bean fried rice, onion salsa), maple & mustard glazed wild salmon (with warm potato salad), flank steak (with shallots & pommes sautee), or the alderwood bacon wrapped breast of chicken (with braised leek and garlic & chive potato puree).
Anytime you wrap something with bacon it makes it that much more awesome. Henry and I had the chicken while John got the steak. John’s steak portion was appropriately size and considering this was the $28 prix fixe and not $38 it was a good value.
For dessert we all went with the chocolate brownie.
They had a great selection of wines that included many Okanagan and Vancouver Island options (such as Venturi-Schulze), which made me happy.
Once Dine Out has wrapped up r.tl will be changing to a menu featuring South American classics (you can get a taste of the feature by ordering the quinoa salad with Dine Out in the meantime).
You still have a chance to check out Dine Out Vancouver at over 200 restaurants before it wraps up for the year on May 6th.
Disclosure cmp.ly/2
The Vancouver Sun Run, one of the world’s largest 10km road races, rolls through town this Sunday. A springtime staple in Vancouver since 1985 this fun run welcomes competitive runners, wheelchair racers, joggers, and walkers. They also host the Shaw 2.5km mini Sun Run.
Run Details
If you have signed up for this year’s event, stop by the Sun Run Fair at Concord Place May 6th, 7th, or 8th to pick up your race package (team captains can stop by Sun Run head offices on the 5th as well). You may also register last minute on those days however there is no race-day registration. Hours for the Sun Run Fair are 10:00am to 7:00pm (May 6th and 7th) and 10:00am – 5:00pm (May 8th).
Along the course there will be entertainment, water stops, and walking breaks for those needing a rest. The course itself winds through downtown Vancouver, across the Burrard Bridge, alongside False Creek and back over the Cambie Bridge.
Road Closures
The following road closures will be in effect this Sunday.
Georgia Street:
Seymour to Bute (start area) 5:00am – 10:30am
Bute to the Causeway (including all streets crossing Georgia) 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Lions Gate Bridge:
Access from Pender Street only 8:00am – 10:30am
All streets within Dunsmuir/Melville to Robson, Seymour to Bute: 5:00am – 10:30am
Denman: Georgia to Robson 8:00am – 10:30am
Robson: West of Denman to Stanley Park 8:00am – 10:30am
Beach Avenue: Stanley Park to Hornby St. 8:30am – 11:30am
Stanley Park:
Stanley Park Dr at North Lagoon Dr 6:00am – 11:00am
Ryan Rd at Park Lane/South Lagoon Dr 6:00am – 11:00am
Pacific Boulevard:
Burrard to Hornby (eastbound lanes) 6:00am – 12:00pm
Nelson to Abbott 6:00am – 1:30pm
Abbott to Quebec 7:30am – 9:00am
Bridges:
Burrard Bridge – all northbound traffic closed 8:30am – 12:00pm
Cambie Bridge – closed to all northbound traffic 8:30am – 1:00pm
False Creek:
W 2nd Avenue – Burrard to Fir 8:30am – 12:00pm
Fir Street – W 2nd Ave to W 4th Ave 8:30am – 12:00pm
W 4th Avenue/W 6th Avenue – Pine to Cambie 8:30am – 12:00pm
Quebec, Keefer & Abbott Streets – closed to all traffic 7:30am – 1:00pm
Spectators are welcome along the route and if you’d like to view part of the run from the comfort of your computer, check out the KatKam which points down at the Burrard Bridge and Sunset Beach.
Race results will be posted online by May 13th. For more information you may follow @VancouverSunRun on Twitter.
The Zolas are playing an all ages show this Thursday at St James Hall in Vancouver.
I had the chance to meet the guys from the band in Whistler at the Schick Fashion Exposed event for the Telus World Ski and Snowboard festival. As they shared the stage with We Are the City, hopping on and off the runway to their setup, their set was slick.
You may have also seen Zach Gray from the band in the recent Arts Club production of Billy Bishop Goes to War or heard their song You’re Too Cool on The Peak.
I have two tickets to give away for their upcoming concert. If you would like to see The Zolas (with Brasstronaut) in concert May 6th please leave a comment on this post or include the following in an update on Twitter:
A comment or tweet will get you one entry; I’ll draw a winner tonight around 5:00pm.
You can follow @TheZolas on Twitter for updates, news, and band information.
Update The winner of the tickets is Charlotte, congratulations and have fun at the show!
Vancouver is hosting a Garage Sale for Shelter on Saturday May 15th. This is inspired by the National Garage Sale for Shelter campaign from which proceeds are donated to local women’s shelters and violence prevention programs for youth and children via the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.
When Saturday May 15, 2010 from 10:00am – 4:00pm
Where 3333 Main Street, Vancouver
Aside from the garage sale there will also be food, entertainment and activities for the whole family, including the staple bouncy castle.
If you would like to donate gently-used items for the sale they can be dropped off or if you contact the team in advance (especially for larger items) they can arrange pickup prior to the event.
More information can be found on the National Garage Sale for Shelter site and you can follow @shop4shelter on Twitter for updates.
The 3rd annual GrapeJuice Wine Auction for Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland happens this Thursday in Yaletown.
When Thursday May 6, 2010 at 6:00pm
Where V at Earls in Yaletown
CameronMcNeill.com and McNeill Nakamoto created GrapeJuice to raise much needed funds to facilitate the matching process for over 100 at risk young girls on the Big Sisters waitlist.
Big Sisters of BC lower Mainland matches volunteer mentors with young girls who face a multitude of challenges. Many of the young children suffer from low-self esteem and social isolation due to poverty, abuse or neglect. For every Little Sister that is successfully matched with a volunteer mentor, a quiet revolution of hope takes place. It costs $2,000 to make and maintain one Big & Little Sister match for one year.
The auction will feature exclusive wines from around the world while guests enjoy hors d’oeuvres with plenty of mingling and socializing.
If you would like to attend this event, I have two tickets to give away. Please leave a comment on this post to enter or post the following on Twitter:
I will draw a winner at 10:00am tomorrow (Tuesday May 4th, 2010).
Update I just drew Cindy as the winner, congratulations and have fun at the event!
