Recently I received an invitation to experience the food, wine, and music of Vancouver FanClub in downtown Vancouver. Loving all three things, I readily accepted. My guest attending with me was Dianne Chow, who is well known in the tweeting and blogging sphere here in Vancouver. Walking into Vancouver FanClub, I was transported to New Orleans, with the interior brick walls and the wrought iron railing around the 2nd floor of this venue, overlooking the stage. It reminded me of many of the buildings and venues I saw when I was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
What is Vancouver FanClub?
Vancouver FanClub opened its doors in August 2012, catering to adults of all ages. This is a performance venue offering live and electronic music, dining and dancing. Waide and Joe Luciak, owners of Vancouver FanClub, found inspiration for this venue during their trips to The Big Easy, New Orleans.
Vancouver FanClub blends New Orleans French Quarter and contemporary West Coast design. It features 6,500 square foot over 2 levels. It has one performance stage, a DJ booth, satellite dance locations, and a Bourbon Lounge tasting room.
What Kinds of Music Can I Hear?
Vancouver FanClub’s eclectic roster of local and international talent covering the best of live blues, funk, soul, rock, jazz, world music, and more. On this evening we enjoyed the singing of a primarily Vancouver-based pop-classical crossover group called Vivace. Vivace’s group consists of four singers; Melody Mercredi, Tiffany Desrosiers, Marc Devigne and DJ Calhoun , plus 2 musicians. I really enjoyed listening to this group with their varied repertoire of songs.
Vivace was formed in 2010, and has toured through the US and Canada and performed at such events as the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. They recently released their debut EP which is available on iTunes and other retailers.
There was no sotto voce this evening with Vivace, but plenty of gran voce, which was quite uplifting. There were many songs that you may know that they sang, such as Unchained Melody and The Prayer. Below are some links to their songs, which I thought you may enjoy.
Senza Catene (Unchained Melody)
Wine List
This evening I sampled the 4 wines that Vancouver FanClub has on tap; two whites and two reds. The move to wine on tap is growing in Vancouver. With the wines in sealed tanks, you get fresh wine from the beginning to the end of the tank. Our wines were:
- Roaring Twenties Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) – light herbal nose. Soft and dry on the palate with more herbal flavours.
- Blasted Church Hatfield’s Fuse (BC) – a fuller bodied, round white that was quite herbal, but as well had some spice and cinnamon on the palate.
- Roaring Twenties Malbec (Argentina) – Dark fruit nose. Full bodied with lots of dark fruit flavours. Cassis and vanilla become more prominent as you let the wine breath in your glass. Fine tannins with a bit of an acidic prickle on your tongue.
- Hester Creek Merlot (BC) – Nice nose with aromas of plums and vanilla. Medium plus body, with flavours of bitter blackberry leaf, dark fruit, cocoa, and vanilla. Quite high in acid with medium minus tannins.
I appreciate seeing BC wine by the glass, as well as International wines. To me, the two BC wines stood out and really complemented the food we selected.
The Menu
The food menu is varied with both New Orleans inspired food as well as regular pub type fare, such as burgers and sandwiches. For our meal we shared a:
- Slider Trio appetizer
- Jambalaya Quinoa Lettuce Wrap appetizer
- Smoked pork ribs with yam fries entree
- Prawn Po’Boy with spicy hand-cut potato chips entree
To the appetizers, we tried our two white wines. The Slider Trio were 3 mini burgers, with each one having a different filling. We tried all 3 fillings, which were smoked beef brisket, smoked chicken, and pulled pork. Of the 3 sliders, I think I liked the pulled pork the best. I liked the hickory smoke flavour. The pork was not too dry, and not dripping with sauce or coleslaw in the bun. The Roaring Twenties Sauvignon Blanc was a nice accompaniment to the sliders.
The Jambalaya Quinoa Lettuce Wrap had all the parts you would expect from Jambalaya; shrimps, sausage, and chicken, but did not have the spice I expected. I liked the crunchiness of the lettuce with the Jambalaya. The quinoa added a bit of chewy, grainy texture to the appetizer.
The Smoked Pork Ribs were tender and again not too much sauce. You could also taste and smell the hickory smoke. The fruitiness of the Hester Creek Merlot went very well with the smokiness of the ribs.
Finally the Prawn Po’Boy came battered and deep fried, on a bun, and topped with a creamy herb (dill?) sauce. The prawns were fat and juicy and not overdone. I enjoyed the flavour of the creamy herb sauce with the prawns. A note of caution though about the hand-cut potato chips; they are quite spicy. So if you do not like spicy food, do not get the potato chips as a side, otherwise, please do order them. I am a spice lover.
More Info on Vancouver FanClub
Vancouver FanClub is located at 1050 Granville Street between Nelson and Helmcken in downtown Vancouver. Please visit their website at this link for more details. Enjoy!
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