I’ll admit it, I have to eat for work. Sometimes it is a good thing, “dessert tasting at 3pm!” and sometimes it is not as fun, “this is my sixth burger now and everything tastes the same”. Trust me when I say that eating, and differentiating between your first bite and your tenth bite, can be difficult at times.
Over the years I’ve developed a “two bite” rule. I take my first two bites of any dish, just so that I can “taste” the food and think about the flavours. If it’s passable, then I stop eating and move onto the next one. Any more than a few bites and I would have moved from “tasting” to “eating”.
Once in a while though, when a dish is really good and has an addictive profile that keeps you wanting more, I take more than two bites and work towards finishing the whole thing.
The goat cheese and feta flatbread, was such an item.
I remember the first time I tried the flatbread. I could smell the warm ciabatta bread and hints of olive oil from the oven. I took an end piece, the first bite on the edge was warm and slightly crispy, and then it gave way to a soft and airy middle. The goat and feta cheeses were lightly caramelized and soft, so when you bite into it the cheeses sort of smear and play off the sweet and deeply caramelized onion. I love the grape tomatoes! Each one bursts in your mouth with concentrated roasted tomato flavour. I like my piece of flatbread piled on with lots of peppery arugula (if you haven’t tried arugula yet, I would highly recommend tossing it in a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and having some on top of a slice of pizza!). And if you’re lucky enough to get the right piece, you’ll have a crunchy bite of maldon sea salt to bring it all together.
And after I fully devoured my first piece of flatbread, I went to reach for another. And then another one..
Cactus Club Cafe’s washrooms have been in the media spotlight and have won awards before, but never quite on the scale that they are now. Recently, the washroom at our Byrne Road location was nominated as one of the Top 5 Restrooms in all of Canada! The contest for best restroom has traditionally been held in the US and is sponsored by Cintas. This is its first year in Canada, hence the contest title best “restroom” instead of best “bathroom or washroom”.
Some things you might find in Cactus Club’s restrooms that you might like:
Exotic footflush – flush the toilet with your foot!
Automatic soap and water dispensers
Internationally acclaimed artwork like that of Brent Comber (at our Bentall location)
Large size – YouTuber Peter Chao gets over 340,000 views talking about our Ash location’s bathroom (warning: Language)
TVs built above the urinals or into the washroom stalls so you don’t miss a second of the game.
Designer lounge furniture
and much more…
In a recent interview with CKNW, our president, Richard Jaffray, chatted with host, Bill Good, to talk about the contest nomination, 2 new locations and to answer callers’ questions
North Vancouver native, Brent Comber is an internationally celebrated artist whose handcrafted wood sculptures, art and furniture are on display in hotels, restaurants and museums across the globe. Comber’s creations are constructed from fallen wood or environmentally sustainable sources such as cast-offs from mills that would be otherwise wasted.
It’s hard to describe the feeling you get when you look at or touch one of Comber’s pieces. He really says it best….
“Wood is the material through which I communicate my message and the stories that I want to share. The raw material has an even deeper appeal for me than the objects that I create from it. The sensory language of wood—its visual impact, fragrance, feel, even the array of sounds it emits as I work with it—engages and guides me.” ~ Brent Comber
We first encountered Comber’s genius when designing our Bentall location (seen above) where we chose the Alder Disks to bring warmth and dimension in contrast to our modern white washrooms. The varying sizes of branches within the Alder Disks mirror the light and dark reflections of a natural forest.
Originally known as Golden Mile Cellars, Pam and Mick Luckhurst purchased the winery in 2003. Road 13 Vineyards took its new name and branding in recognition of the winery’s specific place within the larger premium growing region of the Golden Mile region (and of course, the road they are located on).
Rockpile is in its rookie vintage; named in honour of the toughest vineyard the winery owns. It is a wild blend of 60% Syrah, 19% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Zinfandel, and 1% each of Viognier, Mourvedre and Grenache!
Wow. This is incredible. We just surpassed 10,000 fans on Facebook! We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has played a part in getting the page to this point, whether you a regular/occasional guest, BP or alumni that is part of the page.
It is more important now to understand what the community would like to see more or less of from this page in the future. Feel free to post comment on the Facebook wall, leave a comment here on this post, or email me directly at danelow[at]cactusclubcafe[dot]com.
I’ve never been to Paris before, but I know that I already love, love, love the beautiful city of lights and love!
Who wouldn’t want to spend their day strolling down the Champs Elysees – peeking through the cute window shops, watching the beautiful people go by and envying the French women and their effortless “thrown together” style. I would ride my bike to the market, pick up a fresh baguette, some cheeses a bottle of wine and neatly tuck them into my bike basket. I would spend my afternoons chatting with friends at a little outdoor patisserie, sipping on a café crème and slicing into a deliciously handmade petite galette aux pomme – an apple galette.
Bodegas Antaño is one of the best known wineries in Spain. Rioja is considered to be Spain’s most important fine wine producing region with a climate that is temperate because of its proximity to the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea.
This wine is a blend of Tempranillo (regarded as the number one native variety in Spain) and Garnacha (or Grenache—which is the most widely planted variety).
“In the future everyone will be world famous for fifteen minutes.”- Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol’s (1928-1987) art is desired throughout the world with many pieces displayed in galleries and museums including The MOMA, Guggenheim and the MET as well as his own museum. Cactus is quickly becoming one of the most prominent collectors of Warhol screen-prints in North America! We are proud to have these spectacular works of art in our restaurants.
“I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They’re so beautiful. Everything’s plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic.”- Andy Warhol
From the selective vineyard of Le Vieux Pin comes Chef Feenie’s inaugural venture into the world of wine: Feenie’s Blend, an easy-drinking white wine, soft and subtle in its acidity, with hints of pineapple and pear.
For the second year in a row the Richmond Cactus Club participated in “Cork, Canvas and Cuisine” a fundraiser for the Richmond Hospital. The event featured over 100 different wines and 50 stations for guests to sample culinary creations from local restaurants. Live music, local art to bid on and acrobatic routines kept guests entertained as they worked their way through the beautifully decorated Richmond Centre Mall venue.
