A trio of baby-friendly lunch spots during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games
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Karen Hamilton
February 22, 2010
Now that our daughter has graced our lives, it’s a lot tougher to dine around with her in tow – especially during the mayhem of the Olympics. I was happy to find a few places within a 15-minute walk of our abode in Yaletown that not only offered special hours and menus during the Winter Games, but allowed me to lunch with a stroller by my side without compromising on quality.
Joe Fortes and its Pacific Kiss Platter
Paula from the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA) emailed me last week about a BC oyster sampler that Monk McQueens and Joe Fortes were offering for the duration of the Olympics. As I hadn’t applied for accreditation for the Games, I missed the official media tasting. But that was fine with me – at an affordable $25, I was able to make a lunch reservation at Joe Fortes and experience this Pacific Kiss platter as a normal diner.
Armed with a handy trifold showing the map and tasting notes above, I slurped my way across 12 regions of BC oysters, with almost all of them on or neighbouring Vancouver Island. Amongst my favourites were the smaller varieties: the Kusshi, the Pacific Rim Petites, and the Effingham. Clear winner for me was the larger Fanny Bay oyster, pictured below. Guess there is a reason this baby is popular at my other oyster haunt, Rodney’s Oyster House.
Service at Joe Fortes was terrific. The hostesses reserved us a table by the Oyster Bar that allowed room for a stroller and our server gave tasting glasses of the wines we were trying to decide between.
We also witnessed her cater to a table of tourists with a Pacific Kiss platter. She returned to said table with 12 cleansed shells – now souvenirs for their niece’s shell collection. It was funny to note at the time, as I had mentioned to my friend at how tempted I was to take home the aesthetically pleasing exterior of my Chef’s Creek oyster (above).
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
777 Thurlow St | Downtown Vancouver
(604) 669-1940
Alpha’s Olympic lunch combos
My five-year love affair with Alpha is well documented, but one long-standing complaint is that they’re not open for lunch. I literally squealed with delight when they told me at one evening that they were offering lunch service during the Winter Games: 1-4pm Wednesday through Sunday until Feb 28th. We made reservations for lunch the next day, where I just had to order the $20.10 Olympic Combo, featuring three kinds of sushi and sashimi, mackerel, meatball stew, fish cakes, and other goodies. Next time I’ll try the $18 Vancouver Combo: chicken kara-age, breaded ebi mayo, pumpkin croquettes, three kinds of sushi, tuna garlic pepper and more.
Again, the stroller containing the little one was welcome during this less frenzied meal time, and our servers gushed over her newness as we ate.
If you are a fan of Alpha’s dinner menu, you won’t be disappointed at how many of the regular items are still available at lunch time. The only glaring omissions (to the chagrin of my lunch date) are the Grilled Toro Pork and the Miso Teriyaki Beef.
Alpha Global Sushi & Bar
1099 Richards St | Yaletown
(604) 633-0355
Hapa Izakaya’s Olympic lunch menu
Yaletown’s newest izakaya entrant normally has post-5pm service, but they similarly decided to be open for lunch during the Olympics. 11am-2pm Sunday through Thursday, for them.
Unlike the wide selection they have during regular service, Hapa’s lunch menu tallies at six mains. It wasn’t a problem for my dining companion, who had ordered the $12 tekka donburi combo like I had, but if you have a discerning palate you may be disappointed by the limited choice during the day.
If, however, you come equipped with a baby in a carrier or stroller – like I have on several occasions, both lunch and dinner – be assured that your family will not be turned away. Even if a Canada hockey game is on and you have to navigate said stroller to the back booth through a sea of people belting out our national anthem.
One word of warning: don’t come here if you are avoiding restaurants that have added auto gratuities for the Olympics. Hapa Yaletown has an 18% rate. I for one have had consistently attentive service at this location worth at least 18%, so I don’t mind. But you might.
Hapa Izakaya
1193 Hamilton Street | Yaletown
(604) 681-4272
Categories: Downtown, Events, Food, Restaurants, Yaletown
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Hi,
our oyster, the Okeover, grown by Okeover Organic Oysters in Okeover Inlet, was one of the 12 oyster varieties on the Pacific Kiss platter. The platter enabled many new people to discover our tray grown, beach hardened oyster that we take great pride in growing. Check us out at http://www.organicoysters.ca.
Cheers,
André Comeau