There’s been a lot of summertime drinking going on chez moi, but it’s been a while since I’ve posted a Happy Hour and it’s also been a painfully long time since I’ve been tryi
ng (and failing) to get to The Cascade Room. We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief because now both of those things have happened.
The thing about The Cascade Room is that they are trying to bring back the “golden age of the cocktail” so there are martinis on the list, but nary a cosmo to be seen. Instead there are drinks reminiscent of another time; gimlets, sazeracs, old-fashioneds and pimm’s. They also have wallpaper, but I’ll get to that later.
Last night I was drinking bourbon since I’ve been on a bourbon kick most of the summer and while you may not think of bourbon as an ethnic drink (coming as it does from our American neighbours), let me tell you why it is: We have no bourbon in Canada. Not any of the good stuff anyways. We have rye. And the Shebeen sees Scotch and Irish whiskies done well, as do a few other places around town. But most places (BCLD included) have only a limited selection of bourbon and it’s rare to see a bourbon cocktail on the menu.
So when I saw the mint julep I ordered it straight away. It’s been ages since I’ve had a proper mint julep.
Giant and full of crushed ice, it arrived on the table like an oasis in the desert. Minty and fresh, all subtle flavours mixing together deliciously and not struggling for dominance. I sat and sipped and watched the Main Street crowd go by while I waited for my drinking companion. In many ways the mint julep is the perfect drink for summer, but I wanted to experience the full range of what The Cascade Room had to offer, so I moved on to The Cascade Room Cocktail: “bourbon shaken hard with fresh pressed apple & lime juices, vanilla bean, bitters and egg white, served straight up with a shaving of roasted hazelnut.”
I’m generally of the opinion that the simpler cocktails are the better ones; rye and ginger, vanilla stoli and coke, scotch and ice…so i admit that I was a bit hesitant about this one. And…I didn’t love it. The bourbon, apple and vanilla flavours went well together and should definitely be attempted again in another experiment, but the hazelnut seemed like overkill to me and I think the eggwhite definitely ruined it. No matter, there are still several drinks I need to try in the full compliment of bourbon-based cocktails before I can move on to another section of the menu. Next up:
Sazerac: bourbon, bitters and sugar stirred over ice and strained into a chilled absinthe and pastis washed glass with a lemon twist.
Millionaire: Tennessee sour mash whiskey shaken with lemon juice, grenadine and egg white, served straight up.
and my personal favorite, the Whiskey Sour: bourbon, lemon juice, and sugar, shaken and served over ice.
Most drinks are $8 or $9 and all contain at least 2oz of premium liquor, which is why I only managed to have 2 this past evening. But I will definitely be back soon. I love the “novelty” of serving almost all classic cocktails (they also have some new concoctions on the fresh sheet), I love the decor, which is part modern mixed with gorgeous lush wallpaper. I love the signs on the walls. I love the blue neon sign on black. I even love the snacks. Of course I love the snacks! Rolled in lemon pepper batter and dipped in sundried tomato aioli, this is the best calamari I’ve had in quite a while.
About the only thing I didn’t love was the service. While it wasn’t exactly lacking, it was sitting right on the line. A puff of air from the kitchen could have sent it right over into bad. There was no smiling, there was no picking up of feet (by that I mean service was not slow but sluggish), and there was no…enthusiasm. We were looked after and suggestions were made based on what we were drinking (which could imply attentiveness) but even this was done so apathetically as to be disappointing. We’ll see how that goes. I will kee you abreast of any developments after future visits.
Tonight is a dark ‘n’ stormy night, so before I head off I will leave you with this parting shot:
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2616 Main Street, Vancouver
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5 responses so far ↓
Jules // August 8, 2008 at 10:22 PM |
I love The Cascade Room! I guess I was a little luckier with our service, we went right after it opened and were served by Nigel himself and of course I fell a little in love with him and his Welsh accent!)
Have never tried the food, but was really taken with the decor and the cocktails. We had a bunch ;o)
Lydia // August 9, 2008 at 6:07 PM |
I’m going there tonight for a bachelorette party (hopefully, we don’t have reservations.) Thanks for the timely review!
shokutsu // August 10, 2008 at 9:13 PM |
The mint julep looks so refreshing, and the calamari oh so crispy. A great little find you have here.
Raul // September 1, 2008 at 4:05 AM |
I’ve reviewed The Cascade Room before, and I have only had great experiences there (five times there already with five different sets of friends). Awesome!
Ping’s Secret Hideaway Cafe « Ethnic Eats - Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Town // September 12, 2008 at 9:14 PM |
[...] for a place to have some dinner before heading over to the Cascade Room, we decided on Ping’s Cafe, a place that has been recommended to me several times, but which [...]