April was busy, despite my declaration last month that it’s okay to have a slow month every once in a while. Let’s see what the Sip Family got up to with another jam-packed calendar:
Early on, when visiting friends to see their new home, I picked up the Verve Tequila Soda Mix Pack (Pineapple Piquante, Grapefruit Blanco, Mango Tropicale, Salted Lime), which I really enjoyed. Amusingly, I had originally wanted the get the Verve Tropical Vodka Soda Mix Pack (Coconut Lychee, Mango Lime, Pineapple Lemon Basil, Passionfruit Orange Guava), but they were sold out and when I finally did get my hands on the case, I did not like it. This was the first time I’ve felt disappointed by a Verve product.
That night, we ordered in from Cactus Club and I tried the Feenie Burger for the first time. This burger was very good and you can’t go wrong with the restaurant’s Sea Salted Fries, which I’d rank among some of the best fries from chain eateries.
Our Easter weekend started with a trip to Abbotsford to visit Taves Family Farm. Prior to that, we had lunch at Loudmouth Brewing, which has always been a go-to stop for food for me over their beers. To eat, I had the yummy Single Cheese Burger, while Mrs. Sip and I shared some Waffle Fries with a delicious Truffle Aioli dip. We tried a few of their beers as well, in the Hurt Feelings IPA, North East IPA and Nevada Cascade Pale Ale. Despite arriving as the place opened, we had a long wait for food, getting in our order last amongst all the others who beat us to the punch.
For our Easter family meal, I created the Easter & Chill cocktail, which was comprised of Vodka, Honey-Yuzu Lemonade, Sprite Chill (new cherry-lime flavoured edition of the soda) and Egg Whites. The drink was very good, one of the best I’ve ever created, and when garnished with a Peep marshmallow, was perfect for Easter consumption.
As the Easter long weekend came to an end, I wasn’t ready to return to work just yet. With Mrs. Sip heading to Kelowna for work, I played chauffeur and tagged along for the journey. On our way there, we stopped at Old Vines, the Quails’ Gate Winery restaurant for happy hour. We put together quite the feast of appies, including the Caramelized Buffalo Milk Brie Cheese, Yarrow Meadow Duck Wings, Truffle Parmesan Fries and Ahi Tuna Carpaccio. Each was tasty, with the tuna perhaps being my favourite. To drink, I began with the Sweet Basil Heat (Tequila, Limoncello, Basil, Hot Sauce, Lime Juice) cocktail, followed by a glass of what the server called a Chestnut Winter Ale. She didn’t seem to have much knowledge about the beers offered, saying it was from Neighbourhood Brewing, although the only chestnut beer I could find in my searches was the well-established release from Whistler Brewing.
After settling into our room at The Royal Kelowna, we were off to The Hatching Post Brewery and Smokery, which was offering a trivia night, hosted by Tremendous Trivia. We really enjoyed this trivia – it helped that we placed first – as well as the location, which makes you feel like you’ve walked into a saloon. Having stuffed ourselves earlier at Quails’ Gate, we just split the Smoked Queso with Corn Chips, as well as a slice of Cornbread. Over our stay, I drank the Ghost Pony Hazy Pale Ale and a pair of The Saint Winter Ale, which we learned was only $5 for a pint for clearance purposes. Our reward for winning trivia was a tall can four-pack of their Parlour Tricks Hazy IPA. Also of note, this was the Sip Advisor’s 250th brewery visited, an achievement I’m very proud of!
The next day, Mrs. Sip and I went for lunch at Cantina del Centro, which had amazing food and even better cocktails. My An Avocado, Thanks! (Mezcal, Tequila, Avocado Cordial, Tomatillo-Cilantro Syrup, Lime) was interesting and paired well with our meal of Quesabirria Tacos, along with Mushroom, Al Pastor and Camaron Tacos. Being the only ones in the restaurant, we received top notch service from Nicole and we hope to return to try other feature menus in the future.
Continuing our crawl of sorts, we next found ourselves at Rustic Reel Brewing for happy hour. Despite a cool vibe to the place, I didn’t love that beer pours were only 10 ounces for $5, although it did come with a tiny serving of popcorn. I went with the Amber Ale, but was happy to move on after one drink.
The Office Brewing was our second stop, where I was served The Receptionist Blonde Ale, although I’d ordered the Second Draft Hazy IPA. I didn’t realize my brew wasn’t hazy at all until I’d drank a few sips. Mrs. Sip went with the Orange You Glad It’s Friday Cran Orange Hefeweizen. To finish, we shared a Cocktail Flight (Blood Orange Margarita, Mango Mimosa, Salted Caramel Shaft, Broken Down Side-by-Side), which looked amazing and was fun to try.
Wanting to enjoy our hotel more, we ordered takeout from the nearby Cactus Club. I enjoyed my Tuna Poke Bowl, but felt it may have been better to eat in house. Speaking of the hotel, it was cool that they not only allowed you to have drinks at their rooftop pool and hot tub, but seemed to encourage it with plastic glassware available and even an ice machine.
Before heading home, we had to stop at Born to Shake when it opened the next morning. This amazing cocktail bar offers numerous syrups, salts, cocktail kits and more, while also serving up their lineup of scrumptious drinks. I tried the Take Me Away (Anejo Tequila, Cherry Bomb Syrup [cherry and warming spices], Lime, Spicy Ginger Beer), which was spectacular. Mrs. Sip tried both the Clover Club and Carrot Cake Old Fashioned, not having to worry about driving.
Our next adventure was hosting a murder mystery dinner, where I decided to make a cocktail for each character of our Saloon Stand-Off game. I’d say one of the drinks was a total hit, fours others were good and one was a slight miss. The best of the bunch was comprised of Spiced Rum, Root Beer Schnapps, Honey-Yuzu Lemonade and Lemon-Lime Soda.
Our last event of the month was attending the Banksy Exhibit. Prior to the eclectic art experience, Mrs. Sip and I had dinner at Arcana, which is an occult-themed speakeasy in Gastown. Part of the draw of eating and drinking here – as if we needed any more inspiration – was their witching hour, which runs from 5-7pm every day. My meal consisted of the Beelzeburger, which was so delectable, paired with a glass of Parkside Dreamboat Hazy IPA. After eating, I spun the Wheel of Fortune to figure out my next potion for the evening. Here, daring drinkers spin once to find out the spirit that will be used in their beverage and another time to learn the style/flavour of the cocktail. I ended up with Gin and Savoury, which resulted in a strong drink made with Absinthe, Green Chartreuse and Crème de Violette. Other cocktails tried by myself and Mrs. Sip included the Empress (gin, cranberry, rose and tonic, chilled with dry ice and decorated with edible glitter), Lovers (mezcal, crème de cassis, crème de violette, rhubarb liqueur, amaro, lime, and apple foam, garnished with boozy gummy bears) and Magician (rum, pineapple, lime, banana-coconut foam, electrodust). To sum up, this place was so cool and I can see us returning for more beverages (each themed after a tarot card) in the future.
Following the Banksy Exhibit, Mrs. Sip wanted some cheese and another drink, so we ended up at Water St. Café. There, I selected the Saturn cocktail (Gin, Lemon, Passionfruit Puree, Falernum) and the Mini Duck Springrolls for a bite to eat. Both items were quite good for our little nightcap.
And that wraps our quiet April! Who needs busy months when our “quiet” ones are filled to the brim. I won’t even bother saying May will be easy and breezy, as we already have events dotting the calendar.
Sip Advisor 