True to its British roots, the weather was absolute shit till the day we left. Like any major city it’s wildly multicultural; in particular it has a strong southeast Asian influence. This means my favorite two words in the english language: “cheap sushi.” I heard a lot about Vancouver being a really expensive city, but the sushi is surprisingly cheap for the quality you are getting. Two other things of note are the Japadogs and izakaya bars. Japadogs are hot dogs done Japanese style – with inspiration, ingenuity and attention to detail. I’m talking fried noodles, seaweed, bonito flakes and sriracha on top. And you thought it was genius to add chili and cheese. Izakaya is pretty much what it sounds like – Japanese style tapas. I’m pretty sure I’m late to the party on this and plenty of places (the west coast especially) have already capitalized on the trend. Also, according to wikipedia, calling it tapas is all just marketing anyway. But the one place we went was pretty damn good, so you won’t hear me complaining. My pants, however, are creaking audibly over the sheer volume they now have to encompass. Or that sound could just be my butt. The nightlife seems to relish in its exclusivity; everywhere on a Saturday night had velvet ropes and big ol’ Mr. Beefytits bouncers, even the normal bars. But we still did meet a lot of genuinely friendly and inviting people. Seriously, there is the legend of the friendly Canadian and then there’s Harry, with whom we were fortunate enough to cross paths one evening in town. He and his friends were friendly and hospitable, engaging us in conversation as soon as we sat down and sharing their drinks with us. So, Canadian as fuck. He gave us a bunch of great recommendations and even called a place himself and made us a reservation. I haven’t felt this baller since Amsterdam. We couldn’t outstay our welcome though – we had a firm deadline to be in Miami the week before Thanksgiving, so we had to bounce south towards Seattle and Portland.
[1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/97388931@N08/sets/72157638199199253/