Needless to say, when I finally rolled into my destination, I didn’t feel like perambulating around the city, so we headed to the nearest Ethiopian restaurant, which happened to be Gojo Cafe on Commercial Drive.
With it being Good Friday, there weren’t a lot of patrons, but it smelled pretty good, so we decided to stay and check out the fare — I’m pretty glad we did.
Everything here is served with injera to mop up the tasty sauces, and extra appears if you need it! We ended up sharing a mixed veg. plate, and a lamb dish, and while it initially looked like we’d have room for dessert after, we both ended up stuffed by the end of the meal. The meat is not too heavily spiced with just enough sauce to permeate the injera. The vegetable dishes, while standard Ethiopian veg dishes, have a nice seasoning balance, with each having its own distinct flavour profile. The cabbage and the spinach were especially good.
With it being quiet, we also had an opportunity to talk a little bit about the ingredients and methods behind their injera, and a little bit about the Ethiopian community’s celebration of the Easter holiday — they were busy in back getting ready for Sunday evening’s feasting after a period of fasting.
I have actually driven right by this place without noticing it on my way to the Latin Supermarket. If you want to try it out, keep your eyes peeled! It is right at Commercial Drive and 12th, a bit south of the hustle and bustle, but well worth the visit.
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When over in Vancouver, I like to opt for things you can’t get as readily in Victoria. Indian food being one, and awesome sushi being another. Since we anticipated heading downtown for apres-dinner cocktails, we opted to go to Sushi Aoki on Broadway — a budget friendly sushi restaurant with an amazing array of Japanese food, plus, a sushi chef who likes to have fun with his food, and wears an assortment of masks. For our dinner, he had donned a Pikachu mask! The fish is all first rate — sashimi that melts in your mouth, and lots of very well executed traditional sushi combinations, plus some very unusual ones such as the Pink Godzilla Roll :/
After missing the chance to get to The Refinery the previous night, I had been exchanging tweets through the late afternoon with Lauren Mote (@PoiveMedia) from The Refinery about the possibility of getting in before having to go back to Victoria. With Christmas nearing, there are lots of private parties in many of the downtown bars and restaurants, and that night, there was a private party at The Refinery that was booked for dinner through to closing. Feeling foiled again we had almost resigned ourselves to going down to the Pourhouse for a second night, when we got a tweet from Lauren saying she would make it work somehow!
So we headed back, and upstairs. Lauren found us a corner by the bar to sit at, made us a couple of cocktails featuring a couple of her House-made bitters, and generally made us feel welcome.
The second cocktail of the evening was a take on Whisky Sour, with Makers Mark Bourbon, lemon and simple syrup, some of the Autumn House Bitters, and a float of Chilean Pinot on top (spicy and dry!). I wouldnt have thought to put the float on top, but it all worked great together, pulling the spicy notes out of the bitters, and cutting through the sweet bourbon.
As we talked, Lauren explained that they are always doing something new with the bitters and infusions, so each visit back to the Refinery will bring something new in terms of taste profiles. Its exciting to see all the works in progress in the nooks in the walls, and am very curious now to see what the next visit might have in store!
Thanks again, to Lauren for hearing my disaapointed tweet from our Friday night attempt to come visit, and going above and beyond to make it work before I had to head back to Victoria!
]]>After having made my way tediously from the ferry through the tunnel (only took an hour ), I was definitely ready for some dinner and a cocktail. We [...]]]>
After having made my way tediously from the ferry through the tunnel (only took an hour 
), I was definitely ready for some dinner and a cocktail. We decided on Indian, and headed down to the All India on Davies Street, since we could then walk down to Granville and Yaletown from there. Dinner was nice and filling. While there is a buffet set-up, I recommend ordering off the menu. Any of the paneer dishes are pretty tasty. Fresh naan bread, and the tandoori fish was also pretty good.
From there, we headed to the Refinery, which was set up for a private party for the night. Disapppointing, especially since it was a chilly night! However, we trudged on, thinking we’d get a coctkail at George — No quiet cocktails here! The scene looked and sounded more like Studio 54!!! We were after somthing a little more subdued where we could talke, so we headed down to the Pourhouse. Successs!!!
Our Bartender, Brian was more than amenable to making a variety of cocktails. I started with a Negroni with Hendrick’s Gin and Punt E Mes, garnished with a flamed orange zest (nice touch!), while @doomcat87 tried one of the Pourhouse’s specials, the Centennial (rye, apricot liqueur, peach bitters). Hers got the thumbs up.
We finished the evening with a Whisky Sour (they ask if you want with or without egg white, AND will make with the whisky of your choice), and @doomcat87 tried an Aviation for the first time. They have Rothman and Winter Creme de Violette, which I hadn’t tasted, and is amazing stuff. Not at all as heavily floral and soapy as the Giffard, and a gorgeous, deep, dark violet colour! it really made for an outstanding Aviation.
One thing you’ll notice behind the bar is the absense of soda guns. All mixes are poured fresh from cans or bottles — quite a bit fresher! Citrus is squeezed at the beginning of the shift, but is fresh, and is measured, not free-p0ured. We were also happy to see drinks being tasted as it was being made
Thanks to Pourhouse, for a couple of tasty, well crafted cocktails! Worth another visit
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