Vancouver, British Columbia

I never really knew what to expect when I first visited Vancouver, and I think that's why I ended up loving it so much. I was able to appreciate the city for what it was rather than what I expected it to be. And that's when the city's charm really stood out. Ursa and I made a point to stop and stay for a while as we were driving north from Denver to Anchorage. We were taking our time on the drive, making frequent, prolonged stops in Boise, Portland, and Seattle; so we briefly considered forgoing Vancouver. Thank goodness we didn't. I was immediately awed not only by the beauty of the thoroughly modern metropolis but also by the natural beauty of the area. For anyone traveling to Vancouver I would advise using the public transportation, it is cheap and convenient, and far easier than driving.

THE SITES

Vancouver's Chinatown is a area town that spotlights the city's cultural diversity, and is one of North America's largest historic Chinatowns. Chinese immigrants began settling two streets known as Shanghai Alley and Canton Alley between 1890 and 1920. With it's historic buildings, restaurants and small shops, Chinatown has become one of Vancouver's favorite tourist attractions.

Be sure to visit the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden while in Chinatown. I love Chinese Gardens anyway, but this one is one of the finest that I've seen. There is a masterful balance between the care and precision to which everything is built, groomed and maintained, while still maintaining it's natural garden appearance. It is built upon the harmony of it's four main elements: rock, water, plants and architecture. It is a much needed place of serenity in the heart of a bustling city.
One other interesting Chinatown note is that Vancouver actually has more than one. In recent times a large segment of Vancouver's Chinese-Canadian population has moved to the suburb of Richmond along with many of the Hong Kong and Taiwanese immigrants and the area is now referred to as the Golden Village, which is also well worth visiting.

Gastown is another historic area of Vancouver; in fact, as Vancouver's first downtown core, Gastown is THE historic area. It was named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a steamboat captain who arrived in 1867 and opened the city's first saloon. After being incorporated into the city of Vancouver in 1886, Gastown was promptly burnt to the ground by the Great Vancouver Fire that same year, losing all but two of it's buildings. Today Gastown is the hub for visitors and locals alike who come here for the restaurants, nightlife, and boutiques, and in the 70's was referred to a "Haight-Ashbury North".
The famous Gastown Steam Clock is one of the most notable sites in the district. Originally erected over a steam grate to keep the homeless from sleeping next to the  warm grate. The steam mechanism has been recently restored and instead of bells, it's steam whistles chirp the Westminster Chime.

For many visitors to Vancouver, iconic Canada Place will be their first experience. Canada Place is much more than just a port for the cruise ships, it's also a convention center, and Pan Pacific Hotel. Take a walk around the scenic pier for a breathtaking view of the city, and just to the southeast is a little plaza with a equally breathtaking view of Canada Place.

Let's not forget that Vancouver is one of the greatest places on earth for winter sports, and played host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The skiing at Whistler is legendary, and the neighboring resort community is a vacation unto itself, with plenty of outdoor activities in both summer and winter. Go during the summer months and experience everything from whitewater rafting, to the zipline tours, or their extensive biking trails.

THE FOOD


Lots of good eats in Vancouver. Lots of 'em. We took full advantage of Chinatown and hit the ethnic food pretty hard, the Bao Bei is really good, or for sushi try Shabusen, which is easy to find, just a couple blocks up from Canada Place. Another excellent place we ate was The Wicklow Pub, we went there for a late lunch, but after seeing the beautiful view and the wonderful menu, I kind of wished that we'd made it back for dinner. The Wicklow is located in the Olympic Village, overlooking a little marina and with a great view of the city.

Home Cooking

One dish that everyone should associate with the Northwest, Alaska, and the western coast of Canada is Salmon. This is a salmon dish that I found some time ago and has become my favorite way to cook the fish. Try to use a good, fatty salmon filet; the butter will accentuate it's tenderness. Also, be sure not to overcook the salmon, you're looking for about medium/rare.

Salmon with Creamed Leaks and Red Wine Butter

1 Cup red wine

2 shallots (1 roughly chopped, 1 finely chopped)

8 Tbs butter (6 Tbs softened, 2 Tbs cubed)

2 tsp chopped flatleaf parsley

3 medium leeks (white and light green parts only)

1/2 Tbs marjoram

1/2 Tbs thyme

1 tsp crushed fennel seeds

1/3 cup dry vermouth 

2 Cups heavy cream

1 Tbs lemon juice

4 8oz salmon fillets

3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 clove garlic

Combine red wine and roughly chopped shallots in 1 quart sauce pan, bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until reduced to 1 Tablespoon, strain into small bowl and discard shallots and let wine cool. Add chopped parsley and softened butter. Stir with fork until well combined. Roll in plastic wrap and chill until firm. This can be done a day or more in advance.

Heat remaining butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium/high heat, add leeks, marjoram, thyme, fennel, and season with 1/2 tsp salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly wilted (about 2 minutes). Add vermouth and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated (about 8 minutes). Add cream and lemon juice, cook until leeks are soft and cream has thickened (about 25 minutes). Keep warm and covered over low heat.

Heat oven to 275 degrees. arrange salmon on foil lined baking sheet. In a small bowl add remaining shallots, olive oil and garlic. Rub salmon with shallot mixture, roast salmon until medium rare (about 12 minutes). Cut 4, 1/4 inch slices of red wine butter and let melt slightly in oven.

To serve: spoon some of the leeks onto 4 plates, and place salmon filet on top of each, garnish with parsley.


THE TUNES

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good, and such was the case when we scored tickets to see punk-pop legends The Offspring playing at Vancouver's Vogue Theater. As expected, the Offspring blistered through a set of classic hits, but sprinkled in some new songs. The highlight was when they went into the wayback machine to pull out "Genocide" off of their Smash album.
Other great music venues to keep an eye on are The Commodore Ballroom, and the city owned Orpheum Theater. And if you see that local punk heros The Japandroids are playing, jump on it! We saw them at Bumbershoot last year and they rocked.