BC Ferries take passengers around beautiful British Columbia (BC) Canada by sea. Start off in bustling and cosmopolitan Vancouver, and ride the ferry over to Vancouver Island. On the island you’ll find Victoria, the capital city of BC and a popular tourist destination.
Looking for a longer trip further off the beaten path? Visit the smaller towns on the Island such as Tofino, Ucluelet, Naniamo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay, and more. The ferries will also take you to the serene and scenic Gulf Islands.
This summer I left the mainland quite a few times, and fortunately for me, there is food service available on board the ferries and in the terminal cafeterias.
Pictured below is some sushi and a ham sandwich (around $10) purchased from the Bread Garden cafeteria at the Swartz Bay Terminal. I bought it while I was waiting in line to go back to Vancouver (incidentally after playing a piano gig in Victoria with vocalist Peggy Hogan’s group – live recording here).
I am a little hesitant to admit that after my 4th ferry trip this summer I started developing a taste for – or rather, an addiction to – the Bread Garden sushi. It is now one of my favorite items offered by the BC Ferries food service – but sushi aficionados will tell you that is a far cry from what you can find in most land-based sushi restaurants in Vancouver or Victoria. One upside about the Bread Garden sushi is that a generous amount of wasabi and pickled ginger is provided, as well as chopsticks.
I put together a short travel video (accessible in the player below, or on Youtube) from a trip I took last year on BC Ferries from Vancouver to Victoria. The video shows some of the food and shopping available at the Tsawassen Terminal and sunset views of the Gulf Islands taken from the ferry itself.
For more ferry food, check out my photo of the salmon entree from the on-board BC Ferries White Spot cafeteria, or the smoked salmon bagel I had at the BC Ferries Tsawassen Terminal (on the Vancouver side). Happy sailing!
BC Ferries Bread Garden Sushi (California roll, around $5)
Ham and swiss sandwich from the BC Ferries Cafeteria (around $5.00)
19,995 views - Posted Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Looking for a great breakfast or brunch spot in the Mt. Pleasant / Main Street area on the East Side of Vancouver?
Check out Seb’s Market Cafe (map, website, 592 East Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, phone: 604-298-4403).
Owner operator Francois Godbout found success in the Vancouver film industry catering business before deciding to open a home-style, family-friendly breakfast and brunch place in a neighborhood that is growing and becoming more “happening” by the day.
A friend of mine is a regular customer here, and he recommended that we try it one Saturday morning. The food was fantastic – I had the Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs (pictured below, $9.00) which were made with smoked salmon (of course!), red onions, and cheese, and served with homecut potatoes, toast, and homemade preserves. I also enjoyed the freshly squeezed orange juice (also pictured below) which was the real thing (and had no sugar added so it was a little bit tart, but very refreshing nevertheless).
My friend is a bit worried that if more people discover this secret amazing brunch place, it may get too busy! But that would be a sign of success for Seb’s and in the event they needed to expand, I’m sure they could handle it quite well.
Smoked salmon scrambled eggs ($9.00) from Seb's Market Cafe in Mt. Pleasant area of Vancouver BC Canada.
Freshly squeezed orange juice from Seb's, a great breakfast and brunch place in East Vancouver.
The Templeton (web site, map, 1087 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-685-4612) is one of my favorite places to visit on the Granville Street strip downtown, for healthy nourishing food. The decor is retro with the original furnishings of a 1950’s diner, including juke box controls at every table, swivel bar stools, and lots of stainless steel. The modernized menu is packed with vegetarian options as well as some non-vegetarian choices for those into something a little more meaty.
This area of Granville Street is a colorful mixture of new, high-end restaurants, older greasy spoon places, night clubs with pounding beats, and a couple of remaining sex shops left over from seedier days. The street is in transition with the sidewalk widening almost complete, making it a safer place to walk at night (along with the sometimes rowdy crowds of night-clubbers). It’s only a five minute walk from the upscale Yaletown shopping and restaurant district to the east, and about the same distance to Burrard Street to the west and beyond that the West End residential neighborhood.
Some of my favorite items to order at the Templeton are the Macaroni and Cheese (around $10, served with fresh tomato salsa, three kinds of cheese, and an organic green salad), and the Med Quesadilla (also around $10, made with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, aged white cheddar, fresh tomato salsa and sour cream). On my last visit however, I had already eaten something substantial earlier in the evening, so opted for the ultra healthy and “good for you” Dinner Salad (around $6.50, pictured below).
The Templeton is one of the few dining spots that is open with full service food late at night in the downtown area. I was there a little after 10:00pm on a Sunday night and they did Last Call for food at around 10:30pm. That’s pretty good for a Sunday. If it’s late and you’re hungry, it’s worth a shot – why not give them a call (604-685-4612) to find out if they’re open? =)
For more photos (and info about their breakfasts) please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.
Dinner Salad from the Templeton on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.
