July 22nd, 2009

A side trip to Vancouver

 Isn’t it funny how, when something happens that you think is a problem, suddenly turns out to be a great bonus!This happened on my way to Chicago in June when the flight from LA to Chicago was cancelled and the only way a standby passenger could get there was via Vancouver!  I have never been so unprepared to visit somewhere. Normally I do lots of homework before I go to a new city but this was a true adventure.

What to do with 7 hours in a strange city? Well it was nearly  dinner time so I sought out a fish restaurant. I won’t bore you with the details of why I chose Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop house but lets say it was serendipity at work again.

My waitress Cole set the tone for the evening with her knowledge and understanding of the various fish choices and the wine to go with that. I discovered Joe Fortes follows the Ocean-wise programme which  promotes the use of safe (as opposed to overfished) fish choices  so I tried Sablefish (a black cod I understand)served blackened with a side of squeaky fresh asparagus and rice. She brought me a taste of a Canadian Gewurztraminer which I agreed was just right so I had that with my meal and then had a lemon tart and a short black before hopping back on the airport bus for my 11pm flight to Chicago!

I had a chance to get a feel for the city and it certainly piqued my interest in returning. It may just become my new route to Chicago each year.I have been told it has the feel of Auckland and there is an element of that and it certainly felt very safe for a woman on her own so next time at Joes I will look at  the huge range of oysters and compare them to the Bluff variety. see the link to the restaurant on the links column.

Posted by Sue Story  //  Filed in Gourmet travel, Uncategorized