Dinner with Friends

It was a relaxing Saturday, something I enjoy a lot when it happens. Started off with a trip to the gym and then breakfast at Joe's, as usual. The afternoon was catching up on stuff on the PVR including watching the movie Wimbledon with Paul Bettany. It was OK, but I'm certainly glad I didn't pay to see it at the theatre. This seems to be the case with a lot of movies he's in. Don't know what it is, but he just doesn't seem to get the best roles.

This evening we were meeting our friends Nicole and Mario for dinner at the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. in Kitsilano. Since it was a nice evening outside, we decided to take the 25 minute walk across the Burrard Bridge to 1st avenue where we would meet them. We got there about 5 minutes early and noticed that they had extended Dine Out Vancouver until the end of February. This mean that we could have a 3 course meal for only $18.00 each, which was better than putting pieces together for dinner.

The restaurant is also a 'Green' restaurant that serves mostly local organic family friendly food. The state on their website, "Seven years down the road we are proud to say that all our restaurants are now carbon neutral (maybe even carbon positive)". This is something that is not seen very often, but more and more restaurants out here are trying to find ways to serve out a healthier lifestyle to their customers.

My choices for dinner tonight were:

• Appetizer - A Tomato Bocconcini salad with fresh basil, olive oil & balsamic reduction, black pepper and sprinkled with sea salt. The sea salt was wonderful on this salad as was the balsamic reduction, nice and thick for dipping my bread in after.
• Entree - I couldn't resist the Genoa flat bread pizza. A combination of natural nitrate free Genoa salami, sliced brown mushrooms, caramelized red onions, cherry tomatoes, freshly cut bocconcini cheese, Kalamata olives and fresh chopped basil. I also wanted to note that the flatbread pizza base was made with a blend of organic unbleached white flour and whole wheat flour milled at Anita's Organic Grain in Chilliwack & sweetened with a touch of mineral rich maple syrup. Delicious!
• Dessert - Here I chose the gluten free peach cheese cake over the double chocolate brownie and was definitely pleased with my choice. The chocolate would have been too overpowering after my dinner, and I wanted to savour the flavours of the evening.

Would I go back here? Definitely. The service was good and the atmosphere was very casual. It was good that we had reservations, as when we got there at 1800 the next opening wouldn't have been until 1930. It was nice seeing our friends again, and look forward to meeting up with them again and trying someplace new. Mind you, I think Mario wants to be on the patio at the Keg Yaletown next, so it won't be new eating there, other than we would be on their fabulous rooftop patio. Depending on when we meet again though and where we go will definitely be dependant on the weather. But I know it will be as enjoyable as always.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that I finally checked out the cherry tree in back of the youth hostel down the street and sure enough, it was in bloom. It actually looks like it had been blooming for a while, but as I haven't walked that way for a bit, I hadn't noticed when that happened. The past few years have seen it start in early January, but with the cooler weather then, I think it might have been a little later, but most likely before the beginning of February. Yes, it's the small things that remind me of why I live here, in what I consider one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

And now, it's time for bed. Have another gym scheduled in the morning, and I don't want to get there too late or tired. So until then, have a great rest of the evening and talk to you tomorrow.