Off to that wondrous gem of Vancouver, The Public Market on Granville Island. This is one of the great markets of the world–bustling, colorful, well organized. Counters of fresh fish–salmon (incomparable), sole, halibut, etc. Plus specialties like spiny sea urchins (a delight for Uni lovers), salmon caviar, wood smoked salmon (in a separate building about 50 yards away is The Lobster Man for lobster, mussels and oysters). Two large shops offer superb meat. There’s a chicken shop, stall after stall offering flowers, fruit and vegetables from nearby farms. Terra bakes superb baguettes and scones. A tiny shop stocks a variety of milk products—milk, sour cream, yogurt and butter. There are two large operations that sell cheese, fresh pasta, olives, olive oil and everything else necessary for Italian cuisine. A score of shops that sell specialties–Indian spices, Chinese herbs, nuts, chocolate, Canadian wines, pastries (including that Canadian specialty, butter tarts, unavailable in the USA), etc.,etc., ad infinitum. HG/BSK purchased yogurt and fruit (for breakfast), crisp salad greens, tiny potatoes. Baguette from Terra. Thus provisioned, HG/BSK arrived at their favorite shop—-Oyama. The name is Japanese but this is a French-Canadian place that stocks every conceivable variety of sausage, ham, bacon, mustard, pate, terrine, rillette, etc…Plus, three dozen beautifully curated and aged cheeses. It is charcuterie heaven. BSK’s favorite is the delicious pheasant pate while HG relishes the garlic head cheese. Both love the suave duck pate and the perfectly sliced prosciutto (from Parma). Cornichons, sweet mustard, duck and pork rillettes; Bavarian Weisswurst, sauerkraut were added to their order plus camembert and cumin gouda cheese. Lunched at Stockpot, purveyor of great soups. HG had old fashioned chicken noodle while BSK opted for vegetable. Tonight HG/BSK will devour the Oyama charcuterie and cheeses with a big green salad, crusty bread and plenty of red wine. Weisswurst, sauerkraut, little boiled potatoes, cornichons and sweet mustard are scheduled for tomorrow night.
The Public Market on Vancouver’s Granville Island is HG’s favorite market. This is an informed opinion. HG has visited the mind boggling public markets in Tokyo and Kyoto; the market in Florence; the market in Barcelona with its great food bars; the ancient fish and vegetable markets around Venice’s Rialto…and many more. The Granville Island market is the best. As expected, there is fresh fruit and vegetables from the Okanagan and Fraser Valleys; fresh fish and shellfish from the Pacific; meat from the Canadian prairies. But, there is cheese from every part of the world (the lush Winnipeg cream cheese tastes like the Daitch product HG enjoyed during his residence on Manhattan’s Upper West Side years ago). Bread and pastries galore (including definitive versions of Canadian butter tarts). Spices. Hard to find ethnic specialties of all kinds. And, more. Much. much more. HG’s favorite market stall is Oyama Sausage Co.. Here you will find countless varieties of ham, sausage, pates, terrines, rillettes. Plus select cheeses, mustards, pickles and Oyama’s own duck confit. Shopping and strolling in the Public Market always hones the HG/BSK appetites. So…off to Rodney’s Oyster House in the Yaletown neighborhood. HG and BSK dove into a platter of 18 oysters harvested from various Vancouver Island beds. Fresh bread. Sweet butter. A glass of Burrowing Owl Pinot Grigio (Okanagan Valley) for BSK and India Pale Ale for HG. Adding to the bivalve pleasure at Rodney’s is the joie de vivre of the staff. It’s a happy place.
Oyama Sausage Co.
HG and BSK had great fun spending part of each year year in a Vancouver loft (and then an ultra-modernist glass town house). A city of great architecture, mind boggling scenery, ethnic and cultural diversity. Posh skyscrapers and waterfront mansions; a nude beach; one section of town dominated by junkies and another (Commercial Drive) where the Sixties live forever. Much superior weed cultivated and smoked. Downsides: Rain. Homeless scavengers. Violent Indo/Canadian and Chinese drug gangs. Ridiculously high wine and spirits prices (because of taxes). For HG, the biggest plus was the food. The Public Market on Granville Island (and neighboring Island shops) is Foodie-Died-And-Gone-To-Heaven. There is such a large Asian population in Vancouver that locals refer to it as “Van Kong.” The neighboring city of Richmond is so Asian that New Yorkers may think of it as a vast Flushing. Obviously, this means there is a plenitude of Chinese restaurants. And, folks in Vancouver take Chinese dining seriously. So, while HG and BSK love their Southwestern life, they are pained when they read an article like the recent Vancouver Sun survey of its readership’s favorite Chinese dining experiences. Some 32,273 diners responded with glowing testimonials to such delicious treats as salt and pepper pork loin; Shanghainese pan fried buns; Taiwanese beef noodles; steamed Dungeness crabs; Stir fried prawns with eggs. Restaurants HG will try on next Vancouver visit: Fatty Cow Seafood (for hot pot); Sha Lin Noodle House (for noodles..what else?); Fisherman’s Terrace Seafood for dim sum; Hong Kong Barbecue Shop (for duck and pork). HG will not neglect his traditional favorites: Kirin. Congee Noodle House and Congee Noodle King. Chongquing Szechuan, Sun Sui Wah. Plus — Rodney’s for oysters and Vij’s for incomparable Indian fusion food.
