Vancouver Restaurant - Tap and Barrel Olympic Village

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

It was two years ago in 2014 when we first visited Tap and Barrel Coal Harbour and we loved their cocktails and shared plates.  

Now let's fast forward to 2016 when we discover that Tap and Barrel Olympic Village has sparkling wine on tap.  Tap and Barrel Olympic Village is a short walk away from Main Street/Science World skytrain station.  It's a beautiful short walk along the seaside and then you are at Tap and Barrel.  

We met on a sunny Wednesday evening and even though it was Happy Hour when we arrived at 5:30pm with house wines for $4 and Wine Wednesdays with wine flights on special at $1 discount, my heart was set on trying their new sparkling wine on tap for $9 a glass.

Carolyn ordered the Orchard Hill cider and when I ordered the sparkling wine the server said he needed to check if it was available.  Oh no!  My heart sank and I was browsing the menu to see what my second choice would be if he was to truly disappoint me.  Luckily he returned with a champagne flute topped with Tap and Barrel sparkling wine.  The sparkling wine was delicious, light and bubbly.  We enjoyed our drinks with an appetizer of deep fried pickles while we waited for our girlfriend to arrive.  

Tap and Barrel is a great place for sharing tapas style which is exactly what we did.  We ordered the Maui Wowie pizza, pulled bacon poutine and handmade guac and salsa.  I loved being able to try different dishes with my glass of sparkling wine.  Perfect evening combination with girlfriends.

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Pulled Bacon Poutine

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Handmade Guac and Salsa

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Maui Wowie Pizza

Flashback Friday: Vancouver Event - Tasting Plates Olympic Village

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Today is Flashback Friday and I found an old draft of a blog post that was just sitting there waiting for me.  It was taking me back to the sunny days of spring and summer.  During this Raincouver and grey clouds, it's refreshing to be able to look back at sunnier times.

In May I became fascinated and drawn to Vancouver Foodster's Tasting Plates series.  What is Tasting Plates?  Every month or so from May to September or those were the dates in 2015, Vancouver Foodster organizing this Tasting Plates event where you buy a ticket and then on the day of the event, you pick up your ticket which shows you the five or six locations that will have samples ready for you.  It's a great way to spend an evening with a girlfriend which is what I did and every time I was able to introduce Tasting Plates to new friends.  Fun times!
The pics below are from the Tasting Plates Olympic Village event in July 2015.

New Westminister Tasting Plates  

Cambie Village Tasting Plates

The key to Tasting Plates is to buy their early bird tickets to save money.  

It's best to plan ahead.