High Tea Series: The Fish House at Stanley Park
4 Comments
Karen Hamilton
July 25, 2009
On July 11th, I was joined by 7 lovely ladies and 2 distinguished gentlemen for another tea party for my High Tea Series. The venue: the Fish House in Stanley Park, tucked away between the tennis courts and Second Beach inside Vancouver’s largest urban greenspace.
Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules
We started off slow due to guests being delayed by the changes to the Burrard Bridge, but that just gave us more time to admire each other’s creative choices of hat.
What wasn’t acceptable was the slowness of pace that continued even after our full contingent arrived. Tea took 15 minutes from the time of order; the food didn’t show until nearly 20 minutes of tea drinking had passed. By then, some of us who had deliberately fasted for this 2pm meal were getting frustrated and somewhat dizzy from hunger.
Our table tried 5 of the 7 teas on offer. Those who took cream and sugar favoured the Flowery Earl Grey. A couple were seduced by the concept of the Mountain Berry, a rose-hued tea that contained Saskatoon berries, red and black currants, hibiscus, and Seneca root.
I wish I could say a few good things about the tea that the Fish House served, but the general feel was that our drink was poorly set up, flat in taste and occasionally in aroma, and at best, forgettable.
Sad to report that the food verdict is similar. The overall selection was plainly presented. Overall tastings felt bland and lacking in contrast. A few piped up to defend the scones and the brownies, which were the best of the bunch, but I’ve personally had better at all of the other places I’ve been to for afternoon tea.
Photo used with permission from Julesjulesjules
The one true highlight for me was the Devon cream, whipped energetically to airy deliciousness. It would have been more appropriate to say that I took my Devon cream with scones – in fact, I might have eaten it on its own if I hadn’t been concerned about what my companions might think.
Despite this small bit of praise, don’t you think it’s a shame that something akin to butter is the best offering in the Fish House’s afternoon tea array? I do.
The verdict: don’t bother.
You can probably sum it up like this: while the Fish House does have afternoon tea on the menu, they only pay lip service to it. No one else was there to have tea. Not many people were present in the dining room, period. I guess they’re not known as a lunch or tea destination, as we learned the hard way.
Ah, well. Our $24 a person fees weren’t entirely for naught. It did give our party an excuse to don fancy clothes and frou-frou hats, and we did have a great time just being in each other’s company. But if I were you, plan your next afternoon tea excursion elsewhere – I’d rather you to enjoy both your friends and your food.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, Food, Restaurants, West End
Market Mondays at Raincity Grill
Leave a Comment Jessica FunkApril 27, 2009
Hello everyone! Jessica here blogging – I was introduced to you by Karen few weeks back.
Raincity Grill, one of Vancouver’s advocates of all things local, is running a cool new dinner series called Market Mondays, which takes place on the last Monday of every month.
Having had a chance to work with Chef Robert Clark at Nu, I share Karen’s view when it comes to honouring the best of BC. Market Mondays follows in the footsteps of Raincity’s 100 Mile Menu to spotlight the farmers, growers, and fishermen that Raincity Grill works closely with. I can’t think of a better way to chat directly with local producers over a meal that delights your palate.
Tonight’s 4-course producers’ dinner, available at $60 including wines, will allow you to interact with Poplar Grove’s Ian Sutherland.
Come brush elbows with fellow foodies and savour Chef Peter Robertson’s delectable menu.
Farmer’s Market Menu for April 27, 2009
Featuring Pemberton Meadows & Poplar Grove
Beef Tartare
Pemberton Meadows beef, Agassiz
Nettle puree, malt onion powder
Hannabrook Farms watercress
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove Syrah 200512-Hour Braised Beef Shortrib
Roasted North Arm Farms beetroot
Butter poached BC spot prawn
Purple carrots, beetroot paper
Blueberry gel
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove Merlot 2005Slow Roasted 40 Day Dry Aged Beef Rib Eye
Yorkshire pudding, traditional
Accompaniments, bone marrow jus
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove The Legacy 2005Milk and Cookies
Variations on a theme
Wine pairing: Monster Man Made 2008 A White Intrigue
If you can’t make it for tonight’s meal, get on Raincity Grill’s Preferred Guest List to keep yourself in the loop on dinners like this one.
Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street | West End
(604) 685-7337
Make a reservation via Open Table
Categories: Downtown, Events, Food, Food Purveyors, Going Green, Restaurants, West End
GE-Free Solutions pilot helps restaurants and diners rethink GMO
1 Comment Karen HamiltonApril 22, 2009
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
I’m marking the occasion with a topic that has caught my attention over the past year — GMOs — and what some people in Vancouver are doing about it.
What’s a GMO, you ask?
It’s any living thing that has been exposed to genetic modification. I’m not talking Mendel here. More like Mutant X.
If you’re thinking, like I once did, that there was no way I was going to let shady organisms like that into my diet…well, sorry folks. It’s already in your diet…unless you have abstained from soy, corn, canola, vegetable oil, and honey in the past decade, which few people can say for sure.
When I first met Nigel Tunnacliffe of GE-Free Solutions at EPIC 2008, finding out that I was already eating GMO foods scared the living daylights out of me. However, the skeptic in me required further research, so for the following 2 months, I read up on the issue, from Monsanto’s point of view to the non-GMO extremists. My verdict? Crap, I wish I knew which foods were untainted, to be safe!
Unfortunately for North America, there isn’t a regulated infrastructure of labelling foodstuffs as genetically modified (in Europe, this practice is widespread). This is what organizations like GE-Free Solutions and GE-Free BC have been attempting to improve. Both are actively working to raise consumer awareness about the suspect stuff we’ve been ingesting and approaching government and business to be forthcoming.
An Ocean Wise for GMOs
Nigel has enlisted 7 restaurants in the Lower Mainland to participate in a pilot program for genetic engineering (GE) verification, which is similar in concept to Ocean Wise.
By participating in the GE-Free pilot, these restaurants are required to develop at least five verified non-GE items on their menu by working with local, organic suppliers.
“We all have the right to know what’s in our food,” said Nigel at the launch of the pilot program at Great Bear Pub. And with genetically engineered ingredients present in more than 70% of processed food, the push for a change in the way we eat is starting to gain legs.
Below, you’ll find an intro to each of the participating restaurants, whose GE-Free menu items will be featured for the next 3 months. On each successive menu launch, participants will contribute up to 25% of their GE-Free menu sales to a charity dear to them.
GE-Free Pilot Program Participants
Agro Café
1207 Hamilton Street, Yaletown
1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island
Agro Café grows and roasts their own beans and offer their fair trade, certified organic coffee in their Yaletown and Granville Island locations. It’s my go-to place for roast beef paninis and Cloverized brew, as I have mentioned before.
Launch day TBA.
babyeats
143-1233 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver
Babyeats offers delicious breakfast, lunch and dessert for you to enjoy while they take care of your kids.
On their launch day on April 10th, babyeats donated 25% of sales to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Current Coffee
4737 Victory Street, Burnaby
Current Coffee works to provide the best coffee in conjunction with 49th Parallel Roasters while choosing environmental friendly methods for their coffee deliveries. Current Coffee offers barista training, coffee catering as well as weekly coffee delivery service to your office.
Launch day TBA.
The Great Bear Pub
175-5665 Kingsway, Burnaby
The Great Bear Pub offers West Coast style pub food and entertainment and they aim to be the “greenest pub” in BC. Great Bear Pub is also the only Ocean Wise pub in Greater Vancouver.
Launch Day: April 26th
During their new GE-Free menu launch, Great Bear Pub will donate 25% of their sales to the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which benefits the BC Cancer Foundation.
Nature’s Garden Organic Deli
8969 University High Street, Burnaby
Located in the SFU campus, Nature’s Garden is committed to providing local and organic produce to the customers.
All of their items have been verified – way to go!
On their launch date on April 9th, Nature’s Garden donated a portion of their sales to the Union Gospel Mission.
Peake of Catering
4501 Main Street, Vancouver
Peake of Catering is dedicated to using locally sourced products and sustaining a green environment in Vancouver. They’re working with GE-Free Solutions to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to suit your next catering needs.
Launch day TBA.
Qoola Yogurt and Fruit
1116 Denman Street, West End
Qoola is a new “fresh frozen” yogurt shop in the West End that also serves wholegrain waffles and crepes, both made from scratch. I’ve written about them before.
On their launch day on April 20th, Qoola donated 25% of its sales from GE-Free verified items to the Ride to Conquer Cancer as well.
More GE-Free pilot coverage to come
Tiny Bites will take a closer look at each of these restaurants throughout the pilot period, so for now, take note of who is taking action and check them out if you can.
* Thanks again to Jessica Funk for assisting in the research and roundup.
Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Burnaby, Downtown, Food, Going Green, Granville Island, Restaurants, West End, Yaletown
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Articles by Karen Hamilton
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