Flavourful North Shore Vancouver, March 2013
Sunny skies, spring flowers, and good food! What more could I ask? Here are a few places that I recommend on the North Shore of Vancouver.
Lemon on the Water
Pier 7 is located right on the water at Lonsdale Quay, the perfect place for a relaxing meal as you watch the light fade over downtown Vancouver’s towers.
The Sous Chef, Theo Varju, is the son of a good friend so we had a chance to sample some of the upcoming menu items as well as the current features. The Mushroom Fricassee was rich in mushrooms and gravy – delicious. And the Meyer Lemon Cheesecake had me begging for seconds.
Morning Tea
I relaxed completely over a pot of tea at the Pinnacle at the Pier Hotel. They have a wonderful selection of teas – you can sniff each container before trying to settle on just one.
Tacos for Total Consciousness
The Café for Contemporary Art on East Esplanade serves the most creative tacos I’ve ever eaten. My burrito was stuffed with sweet potato tamale chunks, pumpkin mole with beans, habanero mango salsa, goat cheese, and guacamole. I can’t say I was impressed by the It’s to Die for Banana Bread though.
Dog Walks & Chocolate
Go for a walk along Coal Harbour, laugh at the dogs in the dog park, and then head over to Thomas Haas Chocolates for a decadent dessert. Tough choices, but I definitely recommend the Pistachio Sour Cherry Tart.
Pecorino Wine
We enjoyed excellent service and good Italian food at Mangia e Bevi, just off the West Vancouver Sea Wall. The Italian Pecorino wine was a completely new varietal for me, and the story behind it fascinates me.
“Pecorino Romano is the name of a famous sheep's milk cheese made in the Latium and Sardinia regions of Italy, while the Pecorino we're concerned with here is a grape grown on the other side of the Italian peninsula in the Marche and Abruzzo regions….The Pecorino grape is so named not because of any kind of direct link to sheep, but because it is said that sheep particularly enjoyed eating the grapes while they were being driven through vineyards from pasture to pasture.” (Fringe Wine) The varietal was reintroduced in the 1980s and is now expanding its range.
Doughnuts
It was snowing and raining on the cherry and forsythia blossoms as the bus made its way to Deep Cove, but it cleared up so I could enjoy a walk through the park and watch the clouds rising from the mountain sides.
The fresh-made baked goods at Honey Doughnuts & Goodies are definitely worth a visit.
Tulips
My very first purchase on arriving in North Vancouver was two bunches of pretty pink tulips. The staff at Margitta’s Flowers in Lonsdale Market were exceptionally helpful. They lent me a vase, added budding huckleberry branches to fill out the display, and reorganized them for me to take with me when I returned the vase and moved on to my next stop.
Lemon on the Water
Pier 7 is located right on the water at Lonsdale Quay, the perfect place for a relaxing meal as you watch the light fade over downtown Vancouver’s towers.
The Sous Chef, Theo Varju, is the son of a good friend so we had a chance to sample some of the upcoming menu items as well as the current features. The Mushroom Fricassee was rich in mushrooms and gravy – delicious. And the Meyer Lemon Cheesecake had me begging for seconds.
Morning Tea
I relaxed completely over a pot of tea at the Pinnacle at the Pier Hotel. They have a wonderful selection of teas – you can sniff each container before trying to settle on just one.
Tacos for Total Consciousness
The Café for Contemporary Art on East Esplanade serves the most creative tacos I’ve ever eaten. My burrito was stuffed with sweet potato tamale chunks, pumpkin mole with beans, habanero mango salsa, goat cheese, and guacamole. I can’t say I was impressed by the It’s to Die for Banana Bread though.
Dog Walks & Chocolate
Go for a walk along Coal Harbour, laugh at the dogs in the dog park, and then head over to Thomas Haas Chocolates for a decadent dessert. Tough choices, but I definitely recommend the Pistachio Sour Cherry Tart.
Pecorino Wine
We enjoyed excellent service and good Italian food at Mangia e Bevi, just off the West Vancouver Sea Wall. The Italian Pecorino wine was a completely new varietal for me, and the story behind it fascinates me.
“Pecorino Romano is the name of a famous sheep's milk cheese made in the Latium and Sardinia regions of Italy, while the Pecorino we're concerned with here is a grape grown on the other side of the Italian peninsula in the Marche and Abruzzo regions….The Pecorino grape is so named not because of any kind of direct link to sheep, but because it is said that sheep particularly enjoyed eating the grapes while they were being driven through vineyards from pasture to pasture.” (Fringe Wine) The varietal was reintroduced in the 1980s and is now expanding its range.
Doughnuts
It was snowing and raining on the cherry and forsythia blossoms as the bus made its way to Deep Cove, but it cleared up so I could enjoy a walk through the park and watch the clouds rising from the mountain sides.
The fresh-made baked goods at Honey Doughnuts & Goodies are definitely worth a visit.
Tulips
My very first purchase on arriving in North Vancouver was two bunches of pretty pink tulips. The staff at Margitta’s Flowers in Lonsdale Market were exceptionally helpful. They lent me a vase, added budding huckleberry branches to fill out the display, and reorganized them for me to take with me when I returned the vase and moved on to my next stop.
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