My wife is away in Toronto visiting her 89 year old mother. Next month I will go to Europe.One main purpose is to visit my 93 year old uncle in Sweden with whom I am very close. I guess we are all getting older.
Tonight I went to dinner in a small fish restaurant in one of the two main villages of West Vancouver, called Dundarave. Our little community has become so sophisticated it seems. I had a scallop and arugula salad with thin slices of pear. I followed that with a lobster tail with a wasabi avocado sauce and salmon roe all on top of thin slices of cucumber. I ate that with a delicious glass of California Cabernet. Just a little snack. The place was lively and full of people. There are three separate raised bars to eat from as well as tables. There is an outdoor patio. It has atmosphere. They started as a fish store one year ago and then expanded.
All of this would have been unimaginable 20 years ago. Next door to the fish store is a British style pub where people in their 30s and 40s were gathering to have dinner and drink beer after their mixed slo-pitch softball game. On the other side is an espresso cafe. Across the street is a little restaurant run by a fellow from Switzerland and beside it a sushi restaurant. In our little area there more sushi restaurants, French restaurants, Italian restaurants, West Coast restaurants, Thai restaurants etc. A new Adriatic Patio just opened up where I had lunch today. A delicious soup and home made spinach pastry that was just awesome.Reminded me of an improved version of Cong You Bing (Chinese fried onion tart).
Next week my wife comes home and I will be eating at home again. I am looking forward but still enjoying the nights out. Cooking for one is no fun.
It seems that the community has become more lively than it was when my wife and I were parents of school age children. There is more variety today. Despite the unimaginable garbage on TV, the plague of computer games etc. many things are better now. Oh to be young again!
