Today we left Victoria and headed to Vancouver via the BC Ferry. I won’t bore you with any more details about the amazing ferry ride except to say I also found a video arcade and Best Buy vending machine on board this trip. We also used the wifi on board. It wasn’t very fast but it did work. Before we left Victoria we saw the ship below. It is called the Sea Owl and sold for $75 million. It sports a crew of 18 and I am sure this comes as a shock, it is owned by a CEO of a Hedge Fund.
From the ferry we drove directly to our hotel. When we reached the city center of Vancouver we felt right at home. Traffic in Los Angeles is no worse than what we experienced here this afternoon. After getting settled we decided to just walk around the town and head from our hotel to the restaurant at which we made reservations.
Tonight we dined at Nightingale (1017 West Hastings) at the recommendation of our friends Chuck and Zara. We could not have been more pleased. They suggested we request to be seated at a Chef’s Table from which you can see the happenings in the kitchen.
We got to see (and smell) all the various dishes as they were being prepared. That alone was a wonderful experience. Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures but we had the 1.) Oven roasted cauliflower, sunflower seed, green harissa; 2.) Crispy fried chicken, preserved lemon yogurt, dill, espelette; 3.) Potato gnocchi, san marzano tomato, stracciatella cheese, basil and finally a 4.) Pizza with san marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, olive oil. For dessert we had Sticky toffee pudding, maple chantilly, candied walnut. I don’t know what half those words mean but all of it tasted delicious.
In addition to food and ambience, the service was flawless. The staff could not help us enough. At times I wasn’t sure who was our server since so many people asked if we needed anything. We got to talk to Ash, the sous chef, who explained some things about the dishes as they arrived. For those who have been reading this blog you might recall when I posted back in May [“BBQ and Baseball Tour 2017 Day #3”] I said that our meal at the Modern in New York might have been the best I had ever had. Well this place has it beat. You can check out their menu at https://hawknightingale.com/menus/.
Enough about food. I need to work out. I think I will rest first and hope the urge passes.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 