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| Cactus Club Cafe at Coal Harbour |
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| Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Torch |
I usually have quite the bad impression on chain restaurants, but since my aunt was in town and spontaneously invited us to have lunch with her in Downtown, a foodie can't say no.
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| 'Indoor patio' with windows that completely open to Coal Harbour |
This particular Cactus Club is situated right beside Vancouver's Olympic torch at the Vancouver Convention Centre, making it a great tourist magnet. The restaurant is extremely large with outdoor seating lining the exterior and tons of tables inside. We arrived at noon on a summer Saturday and were seated promptly. At first, we wanted to grab a seat under their signature yellow umbrellas outdoors, but I'm so glad they were all full. We ended up sitting at the section facing Coal Harbour. There were huge windows on one side and the roof above, allowing tons of the warm summer sunlight to shine on us. What awed me the most is how the windows could open. The entire side facing the water was now completely open, creating an 'indoor patio'. The seabreeze freely blew in; it really felt like you were outside. If you have the chance to be seated in this area, it is just like the outdoor seating but even better because it has a view! Just the seating alone is worth the visit. The open-air windows was the best part of my experience here.
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| Cactus Club Menu |
Now, I didn't have high hopes for the food, despite what others have said. I've always viewed these 'higher class' chain restaurants like Earl's and The Boathouse as over priced for what you get. Items from fancy sablefish to simple spaghetti and casual tacos can be found on the menu. While examining their menu, I found a lot of dishes to be Asian inspired. Which usually turn out really good or really bad. Since I was dining with my grandparents, we didn't try any of the Asian-esque food. Also, there seems to be some special dishes by Rob Feenie from Food Network Canada which sounds exciting. Do remember that these dishes are not made by the celebrity chef's own hands but mass produced. It makes all the difference.
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| The Burger |
Getting on to what we did eat, both my brother and aunt ordered The Burger. It comes with Sea Salted Fries but you can substitute that with a salad or yam fries for an extra cost. By the way, the yam fries are really good! Fried till crunchy on the outside but still soft and meaty on the inside, yum~ This is probably worth order on the menu as my brother finished this in five minutes flat and my aunt continuously commented on what a great burger it was. When I was chatting with my dad at home, he said when he went to another Cactus Club, he remembers it being really good too. The beef patty is what makes this burger so good. It's juicy and tender. The numerous toppings also make this burger much more exciting. Every traditional burger topping is added, cheese, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, pickles, tomato, lettuce... Which is why this burger is called The Burger. The with a capital T. As a side note, I would avoid ordering the mini burgers because the patty may not be as juicy as the full size.
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| Raincoast Greens Salad |
