Vancouver, Day 14: Pizza, Storm Crow Tavern, and More

When I got up, I decided to go to Caffe Rustico again.  They weren't open for another hour, so I went to Slickity Jim's.

I had the "I See Food", a crab cake and avocado benedict.  Usually I don't like crab cakes, but these were good.  After my meal, I went to Caffe Rustico.

I spent a lot of time there (I think from 9 AM to 2 PM).  Over that time, I got two shots of espresso, a Sprite, a slice of Paesano pizza (pesto, olives, feta, and artichoke), two slices of the veggie pizza, and a Napoli (like a biscotti, but filled with chocolate and topped with sliced almonds).  Some would say this is too much, but for this place, I beg to differ.

Eventually, I went to the area around Maria's work, where we were going to meet.  I got there early, and hung out in the Davie Community Gardens.  It was a really nice place; I ended up meditating there for half an hour.

After meeting with Maria, we walked to a nearby JJ Bean.  Alex met us there after a bit, and we took public transit to Commercial Drive.

Commercial Drive has a lot of nice, cheap places to eat, but it can also be pretty sketchy.  Our destination was the Storm Crow Tavern, basically a pub for geeks.  Sounds just right!

We walked in, and ordered our food.  We pondered playing a few board games, but we just wanted to eat.  (Also, the games were a bit complex).  I ordered the Mexican Vampire Bordello Mac n' Cheese of Cthulhu.

That name alone would lead any sane person to run out of there, so I stayed to eat.  It was definitely worth it.  The toppings (black beans, tomato salsa, cilantro, onion) made it even better.  At one point, I looked up over my table and noticed a sort of altar with a statue of my macaroni and cheese' namesake, Cthulhu.

Imagine sitting down and having this guy watch you eat his macaroni and cheese.  Trust me, it's even more awkward than you think.

Afterwards, we went home.  I prepared a bit for the trip to Seattle the next day, and went to bed for the last time in Vancouver.