Blog
5 Things Vancouver: Siobhan Long
by Siobhan
Travel + Vancouver / February 09, 2010
Siobhan is the Marketing Manager at Raincoast. When not thinking about books, she’s likely daydreaming about fabric patterns, paint swatches or heirloom tomatoes.
Where’s your favourite spot to eat on a budget?
This city is full of good sushi, but Toshi’s on Main Street is hard to beat. You may have to be patient to get a table (this place is always packed!) but personally I’m happy to wait just for a bite of their “box” sushi – a brilliant combination of rice and fish with the thinnest slice of lemon on top.
I also adore Guu with Garlic for the lively atmosphere (be prepared for lots of yelling in Japanese!) and the fun, tasty little dishes – try the grilled squid and the Kabocha-Krokke, a deep-fried ball of pumpkin with a boiled egg in the centre. Mmm.
What’s your favourite restaurant for a romantic dinner?
Grub on Main Street is fantastic. The menu is small and changed frequently, and their “Autumne Gatsby” is probably my favourite mixed-drink ever; it includes saffron gin and nutmeg. What’s more, Grub has the best wallpaper: one whole wall is covered in little doodles. It was designed by Vancouver artist Lee Hutzulak.
What is your favourite building in Vancouver?
The Dal Grauer Substation on Burrard Street is one of those buildings that’s fallen on tough times, but you know was a real looker back in her day. It’s a Modernist industrial building that is sadly in need of a little love to restore it to its former glory.
What’s your favourite free thing to do in Vancouver?
I love to walk down to the beach at English Bay, or along the seawall in Stanley Park, to check in with the ocean and the mountains. In the springtime, there’s a colony of herons’ nests near the tennis courts in Stanley Park –- they are a ridiculously loud, happy-making crew.
What’s the most common misconception visitors have about Vancouver?
That it rains all the time and that Vancouverites are unfriendly. Neither is true. Just look around you on the first warm day of Spring (and I’m talking February here!) and what you’ll see are happy people and an explosion of cherry blossoms.