a culinary exploration of vancouver

The first day we arrived into Vancouver, confused and jet-lagged, A and I agreed that we should just keep on going, determined not to waste part of one of our few days there sleeping. We were staying at Hotel Burrard in Downtown Victoria, just a short walk from most of the downtown area hotspots. We shopped along their famous shopping strip of Robson Street before making our way over to the harbor to watch early sunset over cocktails at Mahony & Sons Landing.

We learned that the food in that area was on the pricier side so we opted to explore a bit before settling on a place for dinner. We made a stop in at Steamworks Brew Pub Brewery for a quick bite. The baked spinach and crab dip was a perfect nod to our surroundings yet light enough to leave our options open for the rest of our explorations.

From there, we continued on to Chill Winston, which our server at Steamworks told us was a great spot for people watching and cocktails. It was already eight o’ clock, but the deceptive light outside made it feel closer to 6 o’clock. We sat just inside, situated against a large open window, perfect for taking in all of the fellow patrons as well as the foot traffic passing by along the front of the restaurant. I tried one of their cocktails called the Eternal return, which their menu described as “Bulleit Bourbon, Cointreau, West Indian Orange Bitters, lemon, fig jam served in a universe that ends again and begins again and again and again”. Such a dramatic description that definitely delivered.

Based on recommendations from our server at Chill Winston, we made our way on to Incendio, a pizza place in Gastown just on the fringe of where the neighborhood started to turn a bit. I was instantly sold when I saw their self-selected category – Italian Soul Food. We were so hungry that it was a bit difficult to focus on the menu. What to choose! Thankfully, we were almost instantly greeted with a focaccia of sorts, giving us a bit more time to ponder.

We finally decided on trying the Gastown pizza, which per the menu was spinach, roasted chicken, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, and gorgonzola. They were so kind as to substitute the gorgonzola for mozzarella per our request. We just made it under the window, with their kitchen preparing to close just as we were ordering. I’ll admit I think it was part quality and part hunger, but the pizza was just what we needed. And with a long day ahead (for a reminder, read here), we were excited to be able to stash leftovers in our fridge. Thanks to Incendio, dinner the next night was fabulous as well!

Mahony & Sons – Burrard Landing, Vancouver – 604.647.7513
Steamworks – 375 Water Street, Vancouver – 604.689.2739
Chill Winston – 3 Alexander Street, Vancouver – 604.288.9575
Incendio – 103 Columbia Street, Vancouver – 604.688.8694