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Tag: Nick Bouton

5 Things Vancouver: Nick Bouton

by Dan
Travel + Vancouver / February 11, 2010

Nick Bouton has been building usable, social sites on the web for nearly 12 years.

He's the founder of Protagonize.com, a creative writing community based out of Vancouver, BC.

You can find him on Twitter at @nickb.

What neighbourhood do you live in?
I live in Burnaby, a large suburb that borders on the east side of Vancouver, in a relatively new neighbourhood called Brentwood. I commute to downtown Vancouver every day from there. It’s super convenient — I live right across from Gilmore Skytrain station, Brentwood Mall is within walking distance, it’s about 15-20 minutes drive (or transit) from downtown, and it’s modern and new, without the traffic congestion and noise of downtown. Not to mention, it’s significantly less expensive to purchase housing there. The whole area is in the process of being redeveloped incrementally; it’s been building up nicely over the last five years. I’ve lived in two different high-rises in the area in the last three years — when I moved into my first place there in early 2007, I had no idea Brentwood even existed. Now, I love it. My wife and I just moved into a nice southwest-facing corner unit in the same area last month. It’s definitely the best of both worlds.

Who is your favourite Vancouver author?
I’m going to have to go with a tie on this one, and they’re probably both easy answers that you’ll see from a lot of folks. I don’t read a lot of obscure local authors, but I do read a metric ton of sci-fi and fantasy (sorry, guilty pleasure J) and I’ve always been a big fan of both William Gibson and Douglas Coupland. I just picked up Coupland’s Generation A and I’ve started working my way through it, after enjoying JPod when I read it last year. The last Gibson books I read were Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. There’s just something about reading a book set in your hometown that makes everything a little more fun; the scenes from Spook Country that took place down by the docks in East Van were great in that I recognized landmarks and knew exactly the area of town being referenced.

If we’re including Vancouver Island, I’d mention Steven Erikson, who lived in Victoria for years before moving back to the U.K. recently. I’ve read all eight previous novels (and just started reading the ninth, Dust of Dreams) in his Malazan Book of the Fallen series and it’s waaay up there in my favourite epic fantasy series, beside only George R. R. Martin. Of course, he was only a Vancouverite by virtue of being nearby.

Where’s your favourite spot to eat on a budget?
I think, hands-down, I’d have to say Six Acres, a great little pub/tapas bar in Gastown. I worked down in Gastown for six years, and fittingly enough, Six Acres was a couple of blocks away. I’ll have to give props to my friends over at Nitobi Software for digging up this place; they have a great menu for the frugal among us, and a massive list of Belgian beer to choose from, rivaling the offerings at more well-known beer connoisseur hotspots like Chambar or Stella's. The only complaint I’d have is that they’ve been raising their prices a little much lately, but it’s still cheaper than pretty much anything else in the area and the food is always excellent. But really, the best reason to go there is for the beer.

What’s your favourite restaurant for a romantic dinner?
I think the best romantic meal I’ve had with my wife (then fiancée) was at Diva at the Met on Howe St. The night I proposed to her, I took her to Lumière for dinner, then we went back to the Metropolitan Hotel for a romantic package that included brunch the next morning (she said yes, obviously J) at Diva. Surprisingly, the meal we had at Diva was superior to Lumiere and I very much enjoyed the ambiance, even early in the day.

As a quick aside, I’d also recommend La Régalade in West Van — it’s a cute little French bistro with tons of charm and a spectacular menu and chef. If you’re in the area, definitely drop by for a meal; your stomach will love you for it.

What’s the most common misconception visitors have about Vancouver?
My pet peeve about people who discuss Vancouver without ever having visited — or having visited briefly — is that the city has no soul. A lot of people from out-of-town seem to think that Vancity is a shiny glass city full of Yaletown yuppies and Hollywood north types, where everything is brand new and nothing has any character. I’d challenge those folks to take a little time to leave the areas around their hotels and visit some of the more interesting parts of town. Meander through Gastown or take a walk down Commercial Drive. Spend a little time wandering around UBC, Kitsilano or Kerrisdale. There’s a lot more of the city than what you see in the heart of downtown, and I think we’re misrepresented when travelers come through and only see one facet of the city without exploring the rest.

Thanks Nick!