Italian Day on The Drive and Thoughts About Anthony Bourdain

We finally made it to Italian Day on The Drive! Something has always come up in years past that prevented attending, much to my consternation. Well, this year we made it and I am happy to tell you about it.
But first, it seems a little disrespectful to move on without a few words about Anthony Bourdain who will be missed by many. I am not in a position to write an "article " about him and I certainly didn't know him beyond what we could all know from his books and TV shows. I have been and will continue to be a big fan and have been greatly influenced by his attitude towards and approach to food. I would just like to share a few of my favourite moments and comments from the man, in no particular order ; "Chicken is for people who don't know what to order"; "Never order the fish special on Monday"; the moment in Vietnam when we watched him eat the still beating heart of a cobra; having eaten a sample of a fermented shark meat delicacy in Iceland (the birthplace of my maternal grandparents) he looked directly into the camera and said, "Worst thing I have ever put in my mouth"; not too mention episodes in eastern Europe and Russia when he and his friend Zamir Gotta drank prodigious quantities of Vodka and who knows what else. He never shied away from any local delicacy that he came across, and was never afraid to travel well off of the main roads and away from the tourist routes. We will always be able to see his photograph at Japadog on Burrard but more importantly we can buy into his drive to expand our cultural horizons. And I think he would love Italian Day on The Drive.
Marie and I started our afternoon with some sampling of DOP products in an area set up by the Italian Chamber of Commerce. We tasted some wonderful cheeses and meats, not to mention freshly made extruded pasta and even a couple of Italian sodas.
Prosciutto Di Norcia, Salsiccia Calabrese, Arugula, Balsamico, Olio and Pane
Pasta Extruder
Preparing sample plates
From there we wandered happily the length of the 14 blocks and back amongst the 200,000 +/- 
festival goers.
                                    We loved the Vancouver Fire Rescue Swing / Big Band!
And what Italian event would be complete without a sampling of the Opera.
I have to admit that even when I don't understand the songs, some of this stuff brings a tears to my eyes. And of course, there was more food!
Marie and I enjoyed Penne with a sausage meat sauce awkwardly feeding each other, standing on the sidewalk ( hands full, seating was at a premium) from Arriva and finished out our eating with a couple of canneloni from Canneloni King!
There was much more eating that could have been done! Italian day needs to be either days or a more than once a year thing! With literally over 100 vendors and participants and organisations, there was much we did not see or taste! I am already looking forward to next year!


2 comments:

  1. i would love to get some free calendars on the internet, are there are sites or company that gives one?:: naveed ahmed poetry

    ReplyDelete
  2. marketing online is of course a good business and also a great way to earn money online“ https://royalcbd.com/product/cbd-oil-1000mg/

    ReplyDelete

About Us

Are you guys eating again? At some point Marie and I became the kind of people who take pictures of everything we eat, whether in a restaura...