February 23, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Dining
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One of the most coveted passes in the Vancouver Winter Olympics – apart from tickets to men’s hockey finals – has got to be entry into the Molson Canadian Hockey House at Concorde Place in False Creek.
With 65,000 square feet of club & dining areas, VIP sections, giant high-def screens, plus celebs and hockey legends dropping by – it’s a big draw. The only snag being the cost – it starts at $99 for a full day Fanzone pass (including food).
Hockey being Canada’s national game, it’s surely what’s creating the biggest crowds and most outrageous costumes during the 2010 Olympics. The question is: where to watch the game if you don’t have tickets to the real thing?
Here are five of Vancouver’s best sports bars:
G Sports Bar & Grill (1208 Granville St) – A great spot on the Granville Strip, perfect for clubbing afterwards. Loads of big screens with HD TV, decent pub food and $4 Jager shots.
The Score (1262 Davie St) – the Official Pride House for the 2010 Winter Games, the Score offers 71’ Plasma TVs, PPV Canucks games, a long range of local brews, and specialty beers.
The Shark Club (180 West Georgia Street) – Just two blocks from Vancouver’s major sports venues: BC Place and GM Place, this is the ‘go-to’ place to either watch the game on banks of HD TVs or for post event beer & nachos.
Yagger’s (433 West Pender) – Get comfy on a high back cushioned bar stool and tuck into Jagermeister glazed chicken wings as well as specials on shots. Catch all the major sports games on big screen, followed by a round of Rock Band.
The Sunset Grill (2204 York Avenue) – my local pub in Kitsilano, the Sunset is a lot like the Cheers bar, where everyone knows your name soon enough. Great for a Sunday roast, big screens are strategically placed so no one misses a goal.
February 22, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Dining
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Taking over the red brick Roundhouse community centre for the Vancouver Winter Games is Casa Italia, and hearing about some decent food sampling – I headed down to Yaletown to check things out.
One of the more impressive Olympic pavilions, the Italian house offers air hockey, Italian lottery tickets, clothing and merchandise and even a cool art exhibition of retro-looking chairs, vases and sports gear.
As for the food, I happened to be there at lunchtime which is when they dish up free tastings of wine, delicious parmigiano reggiano, salami and bruschetta. Benissimo!!
Trendy Yaletown itself, offers some of Vancouver’s best restaurants, including the Italian celeb-hangout, Cioppino’s. For oysters and hearty chowders, try laidback Rodney’s Oyster House, or for West Coast and Asian fusion, head to Goldfish Pacific Kitchen or Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar. After dinner, the neighbourhood’s hip lounges come to life. Some, like the Keg, Earls and the Opus Hotel (where U2 recently stayed) offer view-tastic rooftop lounges.
It seems every whim is catered to in Yaletown. Salons are springing up devoted solely to eyebrows or blowdrys as well as full-service spas. And pampered pooches even have their own bakeries and spas. One quirky venue I love is the Raw Canvas Café on Hamilton Street. Customers can express their artistic streak by paying for a canvas, then, armed with a set of oil paints – produce their masterpiece.
February 19, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Dining
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While at the 2010 Aboriginal Pavilion in Vancouver for their Globespotting show, we decided to make a night of it and sample some Aboriginal food too. As it turns out, ‘Lounge Night in the Jack Poole Hall’ was the best choice we could have made.
Situated near the Romanesque-style Vancouver Library, Queen Elizabeth Theatre - and not far from trendy bars and boutiques in Yaletown, and historic Gastown – it turned out that the Jack Poole Hall was just about the ONLY place to eat, drink and sit and watch the Games. There was no cover charge and even a DJ. Every other bar or restaurant was jam-packed and the streets were alive with jubilant hockey fans.
Run by the Olympics four host First Nations: Lil’Wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, the Aboriginal Pavilion offers a full schedule of fashion shows, cultural films and music. And of course food! We tucked into pizza made with BC forest mushrooms, bison skewers, ‘bear paws’ – fried bannock (flat bread) and little quiches made from Salt Spring Island cheese.
February 18, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Dining
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At the heart of the Place de la Francaphonie or ‘French Quarter’ on Granville Island – is Club Adrenaline. By night it exudes a bustling, bohemian vibe as the Games are shown on big screens and French-Canadian comedians and musicians take the stage to entertain diners, drinkers and dancers.
By day a magnifique lunch can be had, to break a sightseeing tour of the artists’ studios and Public Market on the Island. I can recommend the tender Boeuf Borguignon with a side of poutine (French fries with cheese curd from Quebec). And a glass of French red paired perfectly with my Crème Brulee for dessert.
I could have taken a kayaking tour around False Creek to work off the calories, but chose instead to take a lazier option – the chic little Aquabus over to Downtown Vancouver.
February 12, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Vancouver, Dining
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After catching the Olympic Torch Relay on artist-haven Granville Island, it was time for a spot of lunch. Next to the Aquabus Ferry dock and the Public Market, sits Bridges Restaurant with its bright yellow roof and huge patio (one of the best for al fresco dining in summer). Now converted into the House of Switzerland, it offers Swiss athletes and everyone else, a chance to re-fuel, warm by the fire and catch the Games on flatscreen TVs.
As school groups posed in front of a huge photo of the Swiss Alps, we headed through the restaurant decorated with Swiss flags and memorabilia – to the back deck, where under heat lamps we could watch fishing boats, shoppers and even a Bernese mountain dog, brought in especially.
Bridges are offering a complete Swiss menu in addition to their usual West Coast fare. Depending on the day, freebies include gorgeous chocolate and Ricola sweets, accompanied by live music. We sampled fizzy soft drink, Rivella and contemplated cocktails named ‘Swiss Miss’ and ‘Glacier Express’. Calorific cheese fondues follwed, and we completed our foray into Swiss cuisine with apple strudel. Yodelay!