Dining Out in YVR: The Fish House

As many of you have realized, I LOVE food.  Rob and I have become foodies of sorts, and we love the experience of good food, the creativity of it and the wonder of a good chef.

My folks took us out to the Fish House which (as you can probably ascertain from the name of the restaurant) is a seafood restaurant located off of the beach in the heart of Stanley Park.  Location-wise, it certainly doesn't get much more unique that that!  Despite being a party of 6, the restaurant staff were able to accomodate us on the patio which was a lovely treat. 

I had done my homework beforehand and knew about the chef, Karen Barnaby.  I was able to ask the server what working with a female chef was like, and as soon as I showed a knowledge of the chef our server was super enthused to be serving us.  He spent some extra time chatting with us about wine selections and the food - what a treat!

For an appy Rob and I had a couple of oysters - a lovely treat on a summer evening!  I was a tad disappointed that they were not served with a chef's special sauce - just your run of the mill horseradish and cocktail sauce.  My mom munched on a tomato-bocaccini salad that looked marvelous, and according to her tasted just as good.  My sister ordered shrimp spring rolls which I was able to sample - they were deep fried spring rolls, not much to write home about.

For the main course Rob and I shared the Seafood Cornucopia: a beautiful medley of crab legs, lobster tails and sablefish (which we requested in place of the salmon) - unreal meal!  My sister and my gramma shared the chicken, which was reportedly done perfectly. And my folks had the sticky chili sablefish which apparently is the signature dish, and unbelievably delicious!

At the recommendation of our server, Rob and I shared the Okanagan Buttermilk Pie - a dish I would never have picked out on my own.  I am soo glad our server recommended it - it was unlike anything we've had before and was simply YUM!  To finish off the night, our server brought us some complimentary truffles, which were such a delight.

The wine for the night was a chardonnay from the Okanagan: Joie.  Again, suggested by our excellent server, it wasn't too sweet nor too dry - a perfect summer treat!

For menues and more info visit http://www.fishhousestanleypark.com/

Last night, a friend took us to a local joint on Commercial called Timbre Restaurant (http://www.timbrerestaurant.com/).  This was a super small pub/bistro with a charming ambiance.  The architecture included exposed timbre beams, while the walls featured a smattering of eye catching art. 

The food was pub-inspired with a bistro flare.  For appies we indulged in a tomatoe bruschetta which featured goat cheese (an unusual twist) and we also shared some scallops & prawns done in a garlic butter with a bit of spice - both were very good.

For dinner, I am not one to say no to anything with truffle oil (decadent, I know!) so I feasted on a Wild Mushroom Ravioli which was bathed in a light cream sauce and drizzled with truffle oil - it was a great pick!  Rob had the Oyster Po Boy, which in my opinion had too much tartar sauce (that's all you could taste).  The fries were done in a house blend of spices including tumeric which proved unique and tasty!

Unfortunately, Rob and I both fell ill not too long after dinner - we suspect it was the Po Boy as our friends were fine.  That aside, it was a great time with a friend I hadn't seen in far too long - and the food was tasty!

Tonight, we're off to Las Margaritas - I'll be sure to let you know how that goes!

Until next time,

Jody

A Fab Quiet Weekend Away

Rob and I hopped in the car, and ventured West for a bit of quiet time this long weekend. Living in the heart of downtown, on a busy street, sometimes you forget what quiet sounds like - and we find ourselves longing for a bit of it.

We are so fortunate as to have some friends who own a condo in Sparwood (about 20mins East of Fernie) - and who are so generous as to give us the keys to use the space at our leisure.  It's a small place, a quaint condo but it's just what the doctor ordered! 

Sometimes I feel old when we sneak away on these little weekend hideaways.  Many of our friends would rather meet at the pub or party-hardy, we'd rather just tuck away and enjoy some solitude.  We jump at the opportunity to take in some quiet time for reflection, for reading...sometimes for nothing more than that.  Rob and I often indulge in a fab meal or two (we seem to have adapted foody habits) and a few beers or glasses of wine. 

If you haven't been before, I highly recommend venturing out to Island Lake Lodge just a bit of West of downtown Fernie. Aside from the absolutely spectacular backdrop (nestled amongst the Rocky Mountains with a crystal clear lake), the food is something to write home about.  We went for a hike on the grounds first (had to earn our beer afterall!), and then ventured back to the lodge for lunch.  We both sipped on Fernie Pale Ale (the Fernie What the Huck is AWESOME!, hard to hunt it down even in Fernie, but I recommend giving this light brew a try!), the Fernie micro-brewery churns out some truley delicious ales.  For lunch, Rob had the Lodge Burger - a delightful conconction of avocado salsa, black beans...ok, maybe the beer got to me, I can't recall it all but it was amazing! It got served with some smashed fingerling potatoes - YUM! I had a veggie burger made with chick-peas and lentils, bursting with more flavor than can be anticipated in a veggie burger. Even meat-eater Rob was a fan of this dish!  If ever you're in the neighborhood check them out at http://www.islandlakecatskiing.com/

Well, now we're back and I must get right back into routine.  Consumed more beer than I would like to admit - but less than I would have 2 weeks ago (that's an improvement right?).  Back to Bootcamp tomorrow - no question Terri's gonna kick our ass back into gear!  All I can say to that is: Bring it on!

Until next time,

Jody