1300 Robson Street, Vancouver (Robson Street District)
If you ever was looking for a place that was stereotypically Canadian to celebrate your Canadianess and sport your red and black flannel without being questioned, then Timber is your go to place to celebrate your patriotism. With the promise of always showing the hockey game, waitresses wearing plaid flannel and beaver hanging out by the entrance, there certainly is no other place in this city that screams "O Canada". Cleverly named for what must seem like an entire forest in their restaurant, Timber's long wooden bar tables and benches are lined with beautiful wood, or timber as they say in the industry. The space itself is very spacious, with long communal bar tables on the leftside when you walk in, a massive bar, a less rambunctions right side with tables for two or four, and a large area in the back for parties. The kitchen is completely open and you can look into it and watch the staff cook up the dishes. Timber takes no reservations, but on a Friday night (Black Friday night) at about 5:45 and a hockey game on, my friend Mateo and I were able to seat ourselves no problem. Timber has a lot of great looking cocktails and serving up a classy wine selection and a fantastic local beer selection. We decided to split a draft beer flight, which was $15 and so worth it. Probably my favourite part of the whole night. We had the Dageraad Blonde, Bridge Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat, Powell Street "Old jalopy" Pale Ale and a house Radler with fresh grapefruit juice. Radler was the first "beer" I ever had, so I had get that - and I loved it!. My other favourite was the Blonde. However, the food was a little less impressive. We ordered a bannock to share (which was half off, thanks to happy hour that runs from 3-6PM!), I had the perogies and Mateo had the elk (elk?!) tourtiere. The last time I had bannock was in grade 4, when my class did an overnight stay at one of the Coast Salish Big Houses in Squamish as part of Outdoor Education. We cooked bannock on a stick over an open fire. Nearly 10 years later, I was eating it again with a delicious plum chutney. This dish took me back to grade 4, and I was hooked. The bannock was nice and soft and perfectly cooked, and the plum chutney was incredible and paired so well with it. I was unfortunately not as fond of the main dishes that we ordered. I was debating between the mac and cheese and the perogies, and ultimately going with the perogies made me question my choice. The three perogies were served on a small plate over a blanket of sour cream and topped with roasted Ambrosia apple, cheddar, smoked onions and sauerkraut. I personally love perogies, but I did not like these at all. For starters, I thought that the center was a little bland, and the flavours of the sweeter apple and sour sauerkraut made for a confusing dish. As well, the wrap of the perogies were incredibly soggy - probably because they were swimming in sour cream - and were the consistency of Chinese dumplings that sit in soup. It was really weird for me, and I was expecting to bite into a pork center; instead, I was faced with a colourless, flavourless unknown. I had the option to add bacon (+$4) or brisket (+$6), and in the interest of saving money I politely declined. It might have been worth my while to do so. Oh well. Mateo offered me a few bites of his elk tourtiere that had a lard crust and was served with a green tomato ketchup. I couldn't really get past the lard crust, but it was good - like puff pastry but a little denser. But in all, it was just the crust and the minced elk, which made it kind of like a shepherd's pie without the mashed potatoes or the peas. In a word, really underwhelming for the price, but I guess it's made up for in size. From what I saw at other tables, the bison burger looked delicious and the mac and cheese looked like a fair size as well. But bone marrow? I'm not too sure if I can stomach that. While the food wasn't that great, the service was quick and friendly, something that I appreciate in a business. Timber is definitely a walk on the Canadian side, but I think that I can be a Canadian and afford to leave this out of my national identity. Timber also serves a weekend brunch, which I might check out one day. However, I would only suggest making your way out to Timber if you happen to be in the area or if you have a car. Walking from either Granville or Burrard station takes about 12 minutes, and if you aren't fond of the unknown parts of the animal or soggy wannabe perogies, then don't make a special trip. Perhaps cozy up at home in your own plaid flannel, get yourself a cup of tim Horton's coffee and enjoy some mac and cheese in front of a roaring fireplace.
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