Our “hood” needs help getting some soul!
Here’s my vision: I want one or two new restaurants to come and add some life to our neighbourhood. We need it!
It doesn’t have to be cutting edge! Traditional food, well-cooked, open for lunch and dinner or even to drop in for appy’s and a glass or two of wine or a beer! That would suit us right down to the ground! A place that is just a short walk from home, that’s the ticket! There would be no need to taxi to and from dinner because you want to have a bottle of wine!
Our neighbourhood, situated between Cambie and Oak, just a bit shy of the ritzy Shaughnessy area, is sort of a place in “limbo”. Something is missing. We need some vibrancy in our little area, especially in the evenings. And a little ethnic restaurant would fit the bill, maybe with an outdoor patio; it would be a great way to meet up with neighbours who you hardly ever see or if you do, it’s when they are getting into their cars and driving off. The two blocks of retail on Oak Street is quite the mix! We have a pet supply store (handy for us because we buy our neighbour’s cat treats), a corner “grocery” store, a nail place, (great for me every month for a “pedi”), a health-care clothing store, a take-out pizza place, a deli that’s pretty busy, although we have never understood why. A laundromat, a pet day care, a small sushi place (don’t like sushi) and lastly, a very casual Middle Eastern place that seems more suited to dropping in for a quick lunch. So there you have it! Of course, within a half mile radius there is an abundance of Asian restaurants to be sure…but one doesn’t always want Asian, no matter how good!
It really brought it home when we were in Italy a few months ago. Both places we stayed in were in residential areas but just up the road there were to be found at least two or three choices, just what we wanted on some evenings when we didn’t feel like trekking far afield; it was terrific!
Friendly places that welcome you warmly, have a comfortable atmosphere and good honest food and drink, that’s what I’m on about. The patio doesn’t need to face out onto the stunning Chianti countryside either!
That would get my vote!!
Perhaps the “good news” here is that on one corner a building has a redevelopment sign on it and a block away an old rental apartment is also going to be redeveloped, keeping the existing “heritage” building but building an 11 storey high-rise on the site. Now, what all this means is a lot more people moving into the area and fingers crossed, demand will increase! One can only hope!
So where exactly was this Phyllis?
The B & W photo is the main street near where we live aka the dead-zone. Really makes it look solemn and not much fun! Of the other two I mentioned, the one in the photo is Il Colibri in Rome. It’s in Prati a few blocks from the Vatican, the other one was Panzano in Chianti a place called Oltre in Giardino. At each you got good well cooked food of the region…nothing fancy, although the one in Panzano has an awesome view let me tell you!!