48 hours in Vancouver

I spent the last 48 hours interviewing for a position in Vancouver. I’m on the job market for a position after I graduate in August and I am very thankful to be interviewing in some pretty incredible places with equally incredible prospective mentors.

I got into Vancouver on Thursday and went to Wildebeest for dinner. The tip to tail cuisine was tapas style and well-executed. They had a great drink menu and while everything we tried was great (smoked olives, beet salad, beef cheek and pork jowls), my favorite was steelhead trout.

On Friday I spent the day interviewing on the beautiful UBC campus and was treated to an exceptional panoramic view of Vancouver from my prospective mentor’s 40^th floor apartment.

Like me, my prospective mentor is a bit of an overachiever (I only wish I was as good at achieving science-related things as she was) and while she was faculty at her last position got certified as a bartender. Lychee gimlets may be my new favorite drink. She recommended Sushi Mart for dinner but it was closed, so I stumbled into a small sushi place, Miko, that only had room at the bar and was full of people who looked like they could discern and appreciate good sushi.

One of my favorite sushi tricks is to order Omakasa, or Chef’s Choice. It’s typically more expensive, but it allows the chef to serve you what (typically) he thinks is best that day. I eat sushi widely and freely and am a bit of a snob- I hate ordering rolls (if the fish is good, I want to eat good fish, not good fish covered in rice and bad sauces) so I typically get sashimi. The sashimi I had at Miko was hands down the best sushi I’ve had and had large portions for a reasonable price. Miko will definitely be my go-to sushi place when in Vancouver. I even learned how to eat prawn heads! Hey, when in Rome, er, Canada…

On Saturday I spent the day walking. I went out with a rough agenda to go to Stanley Island and grab lunch downtown. I should have gone out with more of a plan because I ended up going everywhere- I did nearly 10 miles of walking, and was able to enjoy some incredible views of both city and nature.

 

Next time I’d rent a bike to see things more quickly, but it was nice to stretch my legs and earn the porchetta sandwich I had at Meat and Bread. This sandwich was a complete and total game changer. It was so amazing that in the middle of eating it I thought, “Everyone needs to know about this sandwich” and then I paused to take a picture so that you could start to (but not fully) understand how amazing this sandwich is. Then I googled it and will direct you here for better pictures and a recipe!

I also had some other food recommendations which I unfortunately didn’t have enough time to try, but based on how good the ones I tried were, I have no doubt these will be a hit, too:

 

Japadog (hot dogs with Japanese toppings)

Kintaro (Ramen)

Shabusen (all you can eat sushi)

Guu with Garlic (Japanese tapas)

La Belle Patate (Poutine)

Bubble World (bubble tea)

Pourhouse (mixed drinks and beer)

Alibi Room (best beer selection and a recommendation to try the beet salad)

Nuba (Lebanese)

 

What do you love to do in Vancouver?