Articles tagged with: Alcohol
Vancouver 2010 Olympics – Irish House
I went to the Olympic Irish House (620 Nelson Street) preview last night, a 9,000 square-foot pavilion house which is open to the public between February 8th to 28th. Located in a makeshift tent beside Doolins Irish Pub, this country pavillion reminds me of a typical beer garden crossed with a sports bar – complete with TV projections, a Nintendo Wii Station and a live band. Drink tickets can be bought for $8 to $9 – a preview of Olympics prices for the next month. There are two separate balconies accessible by stairs, and a sales booth by the entrance selling Celtic patterned jewelry. Click for photos and to continue reading.
Smiley’s Public House
The The Donnelly Hospitality Management group (Pop Opera, Bar None, Library Square, etc.) has reopened the downtown pub Smiley’s as “Smiley’s Public House” (911 West Pender Street).
The space has been given a sleek makeover that has drawn both thankful regulars and new clientele. Smiley’s Public House delivers the style of a modern, British-style pub while retaining the warmth and character of a traditional pub. The open-concept room boasts 240 seats and a range of table sizes, including 16-seat picnic tables. Guests come in to loosen their ties, tuck into modern pub food, watch a football match and engage in good-natured banter around the pool table. The dance floor brims on busier nights, and a DJ spins to the after-work crowd on Fridays.
Bombay Sapphire – event at the Shangri-La Hotel
It was a highly educational evening as we learned that Bombay Sapphire is no ordinary gin. Instead, it is a premium gin like no other and highly unique. 10 perfectly balanced botanicals obtained from various regions of the world are infused and released upon drinking it. These botanicals include almonds and lemon peel from Spain, grains of paradise from West Africa, liquorice from China, and orris root from Italy to name a few. Each ingredient complements another and are carefully added such that no single botanical overpowers another. The natural flavours are infused to create a subtle yet highly aromatic taste and thus, appeals to both gin and non-gin drinkers.
Taste BC 2009
…”a celebration of local food and drink” with 40+ wineries, 10+ restaurants and 600+ attendees gathering at the Hyatt Regency in support of a charitable cause.
Modern Mix Monday – The Blarney Stone
Looking for something to do? Every Monday morning, we present to you “Modern Mix Monday”, a brief but link-filled one-liner review of our past weekend loaded with suggestions to inspire you for your next!
Despite being the the midst of exam season, I still managed to go out and celebrate a friend’s birthday at The Blarney Stone on Saturday night. The Blarney Stone is more “grungy bar” than modern Gastown joint. However, I was quite impressed by the size of the venue! Two floors with a pool table and a moderately large dancefloor on the bottom floor. On the second floor, picnic-style benches fit about six to a table – perfect for having a drink or looking out of the castle-like window openings to the floor below. However, despite spending my previous New Years Eve Celiah (“cay-lee”) dancing in Scotland, the live Celtic music at the Blarney Stone is not my preferred genre of music. Then again, with 2 for 1 shooters for $6.50, you could just drink a lot and drown out the music.
Modern Mix Monday – Traffik at Tunnel
Looking for something to do? Every Monday morning, we present to you “Modern Mix Monday”, a brief but link-filled one-paragraph review of our past weekend loaded with suggestions to inspire you for your next!
On Friday I went to Tunnel Multi-Lounge (622 West Pender Street) for their Traffik Fridays. I haven’t been to Tunnel since May when they first opened for their media/industry party (I wrote an entry about it here) but the service at Tunnel was as if it were opening night all over again. Friendly bouncers, patient bartenders and an efficient door girl who instantly sorted out my guest list issues. The white couches are definitely comfortable to just chill on when you’re taking a break from the dance floor and we didn’t get snobby treatment for turning down bottle service although we definitely gave more than enough business to the bar with our rounds of jagerbombs and gladiators!
POP OPERA – grand opening review
…the same architectural structure as the old Club 686 yet modern updates, including lighting and artwork, gave it an upscale feel…
Tunnel Bar|Lounge – Industry and Media Reveal
Last night I went to the Industry and Media Reveal for Tunnel Bar|Lounge (622 West Pender Street) which was an invitation-only event to preview the club before it opens to the general public. By 10pm the club was already starting to fill up with groups of people who know a lot of other people from working in “the industry”. The Tunnel venue is a long, rectangular club. Looking through the entrance, you could see right to the end of the club, where the DJ booth is located. Coatcheck is on the right, a small, veiled VIP lounge is on the left. Beyond that, the bar, its white counter stretched down on the left side of the club while couches were opposite it on the right. Behind the bar were wide TV screens flashing scenes of a driver’s-seat view of (appropriately) driving through a tunnel. At the back end of the room, with the dance floor and DJ booth, the walls and ceiling curved where they met to give the impression of a tunnel.
