This is the Last Monday…

Ooh, that’s so ominous; the last Monday. Dunt Dunt Duuh. Ok enough fooling around, what’s this last Monday stuff all about anyway? Well since 2013 this blog has posted on Mondays and as of next week the blog will publish on Thursday instead. Monday has become very busy both in my real estate business and with my other Monday blog and website, Urban Living in the Couv. So I decided to move some of my writing to a lighter workday that turns out to be Thursday.

This past weekend I managed to get Downtown with my wife to check out the new Witness Tree Lounge at the Indigo Hotel on the Waterfront. Saturday was a crazy weather day with snow flurries, snow graupel, and rain falling most of the day then the heavens parted and a glorious sunset was revealed. This lovely sunset happened while I was visiting the new lounge. Witness Tree is an upscale hotel lounge run by the legendary El Gaucho which has its newest restaurant on the lobby level of the hotel. This lounge is small and cozy and sits on the eight floor looking out over the Columbia River. There is an outdoor covered patio which was actually pretty nice since the foul weather had passed and the temp rose to about 43º. Although eight floors is not quite a high-rise experience, it is high enough that you look out over the water with nothing impeding your view, not trees, or cars or even the waterfront park below.

The lounge offers a lovely view and had a bit of a 70s vibe with soft jazzy music and tuck and roll velour upholstery on the booths and 360º circular sofa. The staff was warm and friendly with fast and studious service on drinks. It was pretty busy in there and as the evening wore on it got busier. The menu features some nice specialty cocktails as well as the full run of classics. I had an old fashioned and my wife had a margarita. The beer selection is minimalistic, but this is a true ‘cocktail lounge’ not a tap room so all is forgiven there. The drink service was excellent but the the food service was slow. It took quite a while for our little plate of hummus and veggies to arrive. There are no entrées just light appetizers.

This is a great place to grab a drink after work or after dinner cocktails. The vibe was great and the views are quite nice. Later this spring they intend to open the rooftop outdoor lounge upstairs on the ninth floor. That will be fun for sure when the weather improves. Forgive the pictures they were all taken with my phone, not the best, but they do the job.

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2023 is starting out warm.

After a nippy December the New Year has decided to come in warm and wet. That so called ‘bomb cyclone’ felt a bit like a classic pineapple express to me. I have had nothing but rain since Christmas and only a few mornings with any winter crispness going on. I like chilly winters myself and I don’t mind rain, but this has been pretty soggy even for us 😉

It looks like the Witness Tree Lounge has opened up on the roof of the Indigo Hotel on the Waterfront. I’ll be taking to wife out this week to sample the wares. El Gaucho is running it so it should be a quality experience. The Indigo Hotel is quite the player in the food and beverage department. They have 13 Coins on the two floors facing North, El Gaucho has some 8000 SF facing the river along with the Witness Tree up top on the 8th/9th floors. 13 Coins also has a coffee shop on the riverside as well. That’s a lot of choices for a 138 room hotel.

My wife and I had a late lunch at 13 Coins last month. We both liked it and I’d say she loved it. She can be hard to please, that one 😉 I haven’t been to our brand new local El Gaucho but I have always had an excellent experience at the location at the Benson Hotel in Portland. In the tempestuous winter weather, indoors is often the preferred location for activities, dining is a good way to enjoy that.

Don’t forget that Downtown Vancouver features literally hundreds of food and beverage establishments to choose from. Come down and help out your local businesses and enjoy this warm and wet month we are having. Local weather expert Steve Pierce suggested February could be cold and snowy so get out now while its California warm, well Northern California warm maybe.

Ah the Couv life; it is good.

Best Coffee Places, City Center

I ran a poll on Urban Living in the Couv last week asking readers what their favorite coffee place is in the urban center of Vancouver. That poll included coffee spots in Uptown, Midtown, Downtown, Waterfront, and Columbia Shores. So far Relevant Coffee in Uptown is tied with Kafiex Roasters on the Waterfront. I figured my readers here may want to chime in on their favorites so here is the poll. Choose up to three of your favs. I’ll publish results at some point in a few weeks.