Part 1 | Eating & Drinking in Vancouver, B.C.

A sales event took me up North to beautiful British Columbia, so naturally, I recruited Dylan to come along to explore the lovely city of Vancouver. We drove up two days early, rented a loft via aArbnb and ate our way through downtown. 

We went for a casual dinner the first night at Tap & Barrel in the Olympic Village. It was neat to walk around the village where the 2010 Olympic athletes lived for several weeks. Tap & Barrel is right on the waterfront featuring a great outdoor patio with lots of seating. 

Our seasonal beer sampler was refreshing with a raspberry IPA and a blueberry wit, both from local BC breweries. Dylan was a good sport and drank the fruity beers with me. :)

In addition to the 24 beers on tap, they also have 14 wines on tap. We found out that wine on tap in Vancouver is very popular. Check out my next post on the Vancouver Urban Winery and you will know what I mean. 

 

Fo dinner, I went out of my comfort zone a little and tried something unique on the menu - PB&J Burger! I did get the sweet potato fries though...a standard for me. The burger was complete with chipotle peanut butter, bacon jam and topped with a fried pickle! Dylan ordered the fish and chips after he saw it delivered to the table next to us. He gave it a thumbs up but said the cod didn't quite have as much flavor as halibut.

Check out one of their two locations for some pub fare and local craft beers! 

Tap & Barrel

open 7 days a week | 11am - midnight 

Olympic Village 

1 Athletes Way

Convention Centre

1055 Canada Place 

Date Night at Olympic Provisions

A few weeks ago, I was in the mood to try a Portland favorite - Olympic Provisions. Since this is a "meat" place, I knew it wouldn't take much to convince Dylan to go. We ended up having the perfect summer date night in SE Portland at the bar, overlooking the open kitchen.

We started with charcuterie, since this is their speciality. Olympic Provisions charcuterie is served in many Portland restaurants so we decided the Chef's selection of five meats was the way to go. Let the experts pick their favorites, right? We both loved the spice of the chorizo.The charcuterie board also came with some tasty pickled vegetables too. Did you know they have a Master Pickler? 

For dinner, I ordered something vegetarian, which I thought was funny. It was gnocchi with lemon, scallions and some other yummy flavors. The sauce was creamy and those little potato dumplings were cooked to perfection. Dylan had the braised beef short rib and it fell off the bone. This seems to be a staple on their menu but they change up the set depending on what sides are in season. 

The SE location is in an industrial area, but the inside of the building is comfortable and nice. It is an open concept with lots of windows and high ceilings. There were couples, families and larger parties dining. Even a classy looking group of men for a bachelor party. :)

There are two Olympic Provision locations, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. They describe the locations "as siblings, sharing the same lineage but each has their own identity." I just love that.



Our next visit will probably be for brunch at the NW location because we have heard it is just as lovely in the mornings as it is in the evening. Of course, if you can't make it to a restaurant, Olympic Provisions sells their goodness in many local stores - Whole Foods, New Season and Fred Meyer.

Olympic Provisions (Southeast)

107 SE Washington Street

Portland, Oregon

503.894.8136

Olympic Provisions (Northwest)

1632 NW Thurman Street

Portland, Oregon

503.954.3663

open lunch, midday and dinner | saturday & sunday brunch | see hours online