#39 | Vancouver Visit

This past week Aashna and myself went to Vancouver for her birthday. This was her first time there so we took advantage of their cold weather and checked out all of the touristy spots and covered a lot of ground walking from Gastown to Kits to Yaletown. We had the opportunity to do the Granville Island Market, Stanley Park, Aquarium and Grouse Grind. For those of you who know me, I am sad that I didn't take food photos. We ate on the mountain, we ate fish n chips, Thai food, sushi and steak. The restaurants in Vancouver are crazy. Because of their market they can offer specialized food, for example rather than Chinese food they could have Szechuan or Cantonese style. I love the city because of it's beauty, culture, environment, food and everything else it has to offer. Thanks to those we got to meet and spend time with, we hope to be back soon!

Yours Truly

#38 | Cactus Club Cafe Opening

This past Thursday, Aashna and myself were invited to the Cactus Club's soft opening. The atmosphere is really cool, the restaurant feels warm with its lighting, fire and colours. Its well decorated with the abundance of lights, wine display, televisions and Andy Warhol images.

The restaurant is separated into three areas, the dining area, the bar and a sun room. We sat in all three areas to get a feel for what they were like. The dining area is more intimate being quiet and isolated from the other two areas and would make a good place for socializing and grabbing a meal. The sun room and bar you categorize together. A central bar with televisions is the focal point with table arrangements and a DJ around it. Aash and I even caught ourselves dancing with the bartenders to R&B and hip hop favourites. It's awesome for a late night drink and appetizers.

We spent our couple of hours at the Cactus Club drinking their Liberty School Cabernets and Jameson whiskey along with their tasty appetizers. The service was fantastic, drinks were never empty, food was brought to us in a timely fashion and everyone was happy (that was most important). The laid back environment was what I liked, people were friendly, polite and energetic. If the Cactus Club can continue to offer this environment along with good food and beverages, it will no doubt be a success in Saskatoon. We ate Szechuan chicken lettuce wraps, spicy chicken, kobe style meatballs, beef carpaccio, the BBQ duck clubhouse and a peanut butter chocolate dessert. I highly recommend the BBQ duck clubhouse (if you don't have nut allergies) and the tuna sushi cone was very good for an American styled cuisine.

 I would like to thank Cactus Club Cafe for a great first experience and you can definitely plan on having us back. The restaurant opens tomorrow, check it out and let us know what you think!

Yours Truly