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
What does a Vancouver progressive dinner look like?
2 Comments Karen HamiltonSeptember 25, 2009
The closest I’ve gotten to experience a progressive restaurant dinner was the Phantom Culinary Experience at the 2009 Culinary Tourism Conference. Our breakout group had jumped on a chartered Vancouver Trolley to explore 5 different venues around Granville Island, sipping and snacking on the edibles available at each.
As much fun as that was, I am nowhere near as fortunate or generous as Victor (Pick) Tang, who this July won our Top Donor challenge during Blogathon 2009. His $180 individual donation was rewarded with a 3-restaurant progressive dinner with Top Table.
Name doesn’t ring a bell? They’re the group that operates Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, West, and Whistler’s Araxi (which impressed chef Gordon Ramsay enough to sing its praises on The Hour and make it the focal point of this season’s Hell’s Kitchen).
I asked Victor to let me know how his dinner went. He went a step further and took Gigi as his +1. You may already know Gigi; she’s a Vancouver food blogger and the woman behind Ho Yummy. This week, she and Victor shared the highlights of their evening over a series of three posts.
- Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 1 – Blue Water Cafe
- Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 2 – West
- Top Table Progressive Dinner Part 3 – CinCin Ristorante + Bar
Check out her recaps and photos and drool along with me.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Culinary Resources, Downtown, Events, Food, Restaurants, South Granville, Yaletown
A closer look at the Tiny Bites grand prizes
1 Comment Karen HamiltonAugust 5, 2009
I know my descriptions of the Tiny Bites Top Donor and Grand Prize were a little slim, so in light of last-minute sponsorships and the fact that I had all the prizes sitting here in front of me, here’s a closer look at what Blogathon 2009 donors and prize winners Victor Tang and Jason Lau have to look forward to.
First, an update: Andrea came through with a $134.99 post-Blogathon donation to push our collection to an even $2500. We made our revised fundraising goal – hooray!
The Tiny Bites Top Donor Prize
For donating a cool $180 to be this year’s top individual donor, Victor won a unique progressive dinner experience for 2 at the Vancouver restaurants of the Top Table family. Here’s what he and his +1 might experience that night:
Amuses bouches and appetizers at Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar
Mains and more at West
Dessert and petit fours at CinCin
I am green with envy that Victor gets to sample these stellar restaurants in a single evening of chef collaboration. I hope he is willing to indulge us all in a recap of his dinner with Top Table. Having recently crafted a fantasy progressive dinner for Tourism Vancouver, I’d certainly be curious to see how a real progressive dinner plays out.
The Tiny Bites Grand Prize
Our Gold, Silver, and Bronze sponsors have contributed to this amazing prize package worth $450 $500. Jason, you’re a lucky son of a gun.
Alpha Global Sushi & Bar: bottle of Dan Dan shochu
My favourite izakaya called shortly after Blogathon to belatedly confirm their contribution to the Tiny Bites Grand Prize. I’ve discussed their bar menu in last year’s Blogathon and am so pleased that they were able to participate as a sponsor this year.
Artisan Sakemaker: bottles of Osake junmai nama and Artisan Kasu products
I had the privilege of trying local sakemaker Masa Shiroki’s new line of sakekasu a few months past. If you’re not already a fan of Artisan Sakemaker’s sake, perhaps the new citrus dressing and hot sauce – along with Masa’s suggested recipes - will give you cause to try them this year.
ChristaHoops: custom-fit rainbow hoop
ChristaHoops will custom fit Jason (or his friend of choice) with a beautiful rainbow hoop. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it – it’s a fun and energetic workout!
Farmstead Wines: bottle of Renato Fenocchio extra virgin olive oil
You may have already tried the beautiful artisan wines that Farmstead Wines imports to our fair city…but have you tried Renato Fenocchio’s exquisite olive oil yet?
Qoola Yogurt + Fruit: $100 gift card for Qoola
This gift card is the equivalent of 20 Qoolalas with 2 toppings or however else you’d like to spend the $100 credit. If you get addicted like I have, it can be reloaded to continue enjoying Qoola till your tummy is done with frozen yogurt.
Rouxbe: 1 year premium membership to Rouxbe’s Online Cooking School
Jason is already a loyal Rouxbe Lifetime member ($199) so he asked me to raffle away the $99 Annual Membership that was in his Grand Prize package (which George F. wound up winning).
Sebastian & Co: $35 butcher shop credit
Jason met me in West Vancouver to pick up 6 different types of artisan sausage plus a smoked applewood cheddar with his Sebastian & Co store credit. I think I’ll be inviting myself over to his house for dinner soon…
Social Bites: 10% off discount passes to future Social Bites dinner excursions
I’ve already said my piece about how fun Social Bites is, both as dinner guest and Hobby Chef. Jason has yet to experience it in either capacity so I hope he takes this opportunity to do so.
Tiny Bites Consulting: Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies
These are the cookies I had with me at The Workspace for fellow Blogathoners to satiate hunger pangs at 3am. Chock full of flax, oats, sunflower seeds, coconut with a little chocolate chip and brown sugar thrown in. Here’s the recipe.
Uva Wine Bar: bottle of 2006 Speri Valipolicella Ripasso
Below are Uva General Manager and sommelier Sebastien Le Goff’s tasting notes on this Venetian wine:
Rich, spicy, black cherry, brooding.
Intense, elegant style, pure and persistent. Fine acidity, balanced. Good length. Drink from 2010.
Speri uses only grapes from the Valpolicella zone to make its wines. In addition to the three traditional grape varieties, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, small quantities of other lesser known but long-standing varieties are used like Oseleta, Rossanella, Pelara, and Cabrosina.
The Corvina is considered the most important vine variety due to its tannin content and pigments. It imparts fruity aromas, particularly when it is cultivated on the hills.
The Rondinella is able to adapt to many types of terrain, to withstand drought and lends itself quite well to drying. It is vigorous and very prolific.
The Molinara is mainly used for the distinctive flavour and crispness it gives the wine.Bigger than a Valpolicella but smaller than an Amarone, the ’06 Speri “ripasso” has been re-fermented over the spent skins of Amarone. There’s a floral earthy scorched earth nose with bits of red fruit and spice and a warm, acidic, alcoholic finish. Best with a piece of Reggiano or Manchego cheese. The fruit comes off family-owned sites in the heart of Valpolicella Classico.
Why am I taunting those of you aren’t getting these prizes? Because I hope that you realize that Tiny Bites will be participating in Blogathon next year, and we certainly plan on rewarding you with prizes like these in 2010!
So mark your calendars and earmark some of your dollars for the last weekend of July for Blogathon 2010.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Downtown, False Creek, Food, Food Purveyors, Granville Island, Restaurants, South Granville, West Vancouver, Yaletown
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