Summer’s annual Outstanding in the Field dinner showcases the region’s seasonal bounty in an outdoor setting.

Credit: Andrew Morrison

ON THE PLATE: Outdoor eating the key to enjoying summer

Although the past week’s weather has done nothing to remind us summer is on its way, it surely will be here soon, and for that we should count ourselves lucky. For lovers of food and drink, especially, it’s the time of year when the best of this city is put on display. Summer brings new restaurants that offer new sightlines of the water, the mountains, and our bustling streets. It returns us to our favourite (and soon-to-be favourite) patio chairs. It allows farmers’ markets to bring the country to our neighbourhoods. And it spawns a calendar of food-themed festivals that celebrate all the region produces. Furthermore, the outdoor-focused days and evenings ahead help to sustain us through the colder, darker months that so ruthlessly follow. For me, it’s the season that always turns Dickens on his head: “It was the best of times,” full stop.

Kitsilano is seeing lots of new action. Watermark, the massive beachside restaurant that never gelled despite its much-lauded architecture, has been turned over to the Boathouse seafood chain (1305 Arbutus, 604-738-5487, BoathouseRestaurants.ca). If its pedestrian fare — shrimp buckets, chili chicken, tiger prawn skewers — fails to excite your senses, count on the incomparable view and heated patio to seduce nonetheless. It’s the best waterfront location in Vancouver, enough to make the Boathouse’s “If you’ve tried one, you’ve tried ’em all” reputation seem beside the point. 

Across the street from the sands of Kits Beach, in the old Malone’s location, is the recently opened Local Public Eatery (2210 Cornwall, 604-734-3589, LocalPublicEatery.com), a stand-alone effort from the Joeys chain, which offers garage-door windows, countless TV sets, boot-shaped cocktails (no kidding), nachos, and hot wings. If it’s wildly busy, or if sitting down isn’t your thing, line up at its tiny take-out stand, dubbed Nimby Burger, instead. This diminutive, cutely-branded box features a menu that’s reassuringly limited — just burgers, fries, shakes, and pop — as well as cheap (as in $2.99 for a burger) and cheerful (as in fast). Bonus: The enthusiastic staff wear the kind of Rockwellian uniforms (complete with paper hats) that died with the drive-in. From there, it’s just a hop back to the beach and the scantily clad masses.   

For people-watching of the fully clothed kind, head first to Main Street, where Latitude (250 Main, 604-875-6246, LatitudeOnMain.com) has just unveiled its new curbside patio. It only seats 10, but it remains sun-soaked well into the evening, and the pan-American-themed menu always offers up something interesting.

In the West End, this week or next will witness the arrival of Adesso Bistro to the former L’Altro Buca/Parkside space at 1906 Haro. Expect regional Italian food from chef Sean Sylvestre (a Pino Posteraro protégé), and revel in what I’ve long considered Vancouver’s best, most secluded, and most romantic patio.

I’m also eagerly anticipating my first visit to the large deck at Oru (1038 Canada Place, 604-695-5500, OruCuisine.com) in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. A perfectly still summer night is sure to see me installed at this new pan-Asian looker, where I’ll indulge in chef David Wong’s extensive repertoire.

C Restaurant (1600 Howe, 604-681-1164, CRestaurant.com) is also on my radar. The sustainability-savvy seafood restaurant has just completed a makeover of its sunny deck on the False Creek seawall, adding low-slung sofas and tables to a sizable corner, giving it a much more casual, while-away-the-hours feel without surrendering a stitch of chic.

All around the city, our farmers markets have gotten underway, including my mid-week local in Main Street’s Thornton Park (every Wednesday from 3-7pm). If you pick the right market at the right time, you’ll come across La Bohème, a wandering crêperie-on-wheels housed in a purple catering truck, which was last seen at the market next to Trout Lake Park (every Saturday in the north parking lot of John Hendry Park, 9am-2pm). Visit EatLocal.org to find out which farmers market is closest to you.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t close with two of my favourite summer foodie perennials. First comes Outstanding in the Field, happening this year on July 19 at UBC Farm. The outdoor, multi-course dinner comes every year to Vancouver as part of over 100 stops across North America for artist/chef Jim Denevan and his band of merry men and women. They do this each summer to celebrate the continent’s great chefs, conscientious farmers, and most picturesque locations, serving over 7,000 people along the way. I go every year, and have never been anything but utterly flabbergasted by the quality of food and surroundings. This year, chef Robert Belcham (Refuel, Campagnolo) will be helming the exposed kitchen. Tickets, which are $180 U.S. a pop (and damn well worth every penny), go fast, so visit OutstandingInTheField.com soon to get yours.

Secondly, there’s Feast of Fields, an annual outdoor gustatory adventure put on by the FarmFolk/CityFolk organization, which this year hits the Okanagan (Aug. 22), Delta (Aug. 29), and Vancouver Island (Sept. 19). Each feast does indeed take place in a field, which plays host to cooking and sipping booths from dozens of fine area restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The Delta edition, which is closest for Vancouverites, happens at Wellbrook Winery from 1-5pm. Tickets go on sale June 15 ($85, adults; $15, children aged seven-15; free children aged 6 and under), so keep your cursor pinned to FeastOfFields.com for upcoming details.