Vancouver Outdoor Art

Art. 

Everyone has their opinions, us included. Sometimes staring at that white canvas with paint splattered on it just doesn't do it for you. We get it.

BUT.

There is also some really cool art out there that even the most cynical can appreciate. We like to try to find the fun, whimsical stuff that everyone can see and have it sparks a smile. Take a trip around Vancouver, BC with us to find some of their best outdoor (which equals free) art exhibits! 

Digital Orca - Douglas Copeland

What do you get when you merge technology with nature? Well a digital orca of course! Overlooking the Burrard Inlet this leaping, lego-like sculpture takes something we are familiar with and offers a surprising double take. 

The Drop - Inges Idee

This steel sculpture is supposed to represent the power of nature. It is the moment when a raindrop hits the ground, multiplied by like a trillion times in size. Because, science.

This is a great one to see at night as well! 

The Words Don't Fit The Picture - Ron Terada

When you first stumble upon this work of art you say, "Oh wow, look at that." and then you read the sign and immediately wonder what the heck it means. We read up on it and we think the Terada himself explains it best:

“Taken within the context of a public library, the work touches upon – in a very poetic way – the use of words and language as boundless and imaginative, as a catalyst for a multiplicity of meanings.”

People flock to these sculptures to imitate the poses of hysterical laughter. 

Try not to crack a smile when you see these guys. Pure joy.

A-maze-ing Laughter -  Yue Minjun

These shirtless, laughing men live as a permanent installment by English Bay. They cost a pretty penny (1.5 million) but we think it was worth it for all the joy they bring the people of Vancouver.

Bright and completely out of place, but at the same time they seem to fit right in.

Love Your Bean - Cosimo Cavallaro

These giant jellybeans sit along the False Creek Seawall in Charleston Park. You can't miss them as they are, well, giant jellybeans sitting in a field of green. 

A map for your art viewing pleasure!

You don't have to visit all these in one day, but if and when you do visit them you'll find them at the places marked above. The Digital Orca and The Drop are both located at Canada Place. 

Meet the Maker: Bryan Jarr of JarrBar

On the backside of the market inside a small, unassuming blue door is one of our favorite watering holes. Owner and creator, Bryan Jarr, opened JarrBar a Spanish/Portuguese inspired cocktail bar, in November 2015. We went the first time to try the infamous Iberico ham, and we kept coming back for the good company and delicious drinks. Now that the sun is shining more days than not, we make sure to grab a seat by the windows, which are thrown open to let in the sun and fresh air. When you sit in those wicker chairs, sipping a glass of Iberian wine in the sun, and popping olives in your mouth you can feel yourself transported to the Mediterranean. 

The bar has a great Happy Hour from 4:00 - 6:00 PM, 10:00 PM - 2:00 AM, and all day Sunday (see the HH menu here). They also host Sunday Night Cinema every week where you can come and enjoy a film on their giant projection screen (they do accept movie requests, but no promises!).

As for their specialties, JarrBar is a great place to find a large selection of sherries and vermouths, as well as a large wine list from Spain and Portugal. Their cocktail list was hand crafted by the amazing Jesse Spring and features our personal favorites, the El Cochino and Westside.

Bryan Jarr

Meet the Maker: Bryan Jarr of JarrBar

What inspired JarrBar? 

I did a research trip to Portugal and Spain where I researched ways they dealt with preserved seafood. While traveling I fell in love with the small, intimate neighborhood bars there. You'd get a plate of anchovies, a glass of wine, and watch soccer. It was perfect any day, any time.

What is a little known fact about the bar?

This is one of the only places in Seattle serving Iberico Bellota, a gourmet cured ham from the Iberico black pig in Spain. The special organic diet of the pig creates this great buttery, sweet flavor you can't get with any other meat.

There is also a typo on the clock in the bar. My wife ordered it as a gift and spelled bar with an extra "r," so it reads JarrBarr. 

What is your favorite thing on the menu? 

Food? I always find myself going back to the organic piquillos with oil-cured anchovies. The oil cured anchovies in Spain are a real delicacy. You get a nice salty flavor with the sweetness of the pepper, which is delicious.

Organic piquillos with oil-cured anchovies

Drink? This time of year I really love the Txakoli wines. It is great with seafood. I have this rosé that is a little bubbly and perfect on a warm day. It reminds you of being on vacation.

Rezabal Txakoli rosé

Some might label you a foodie, what are your favorite places to eat in Seattle right now?

I like Sushi Kappo Tamura. Anything there is incredibly good. The sushi is great, the entree dishes are amazing. Babirusa and Blind Pig are owned by the same person, and their food is a great value. Stateside in Capitol Hill is a cool space with great cocktails, and their dishes have amazing flavor. Manolin is awesome; amazing seafood there.

Basically, I want to go to a place that is welcoming, and I like going to a place that will have food I'm not going to cook at home. 

What do you do when you aren't running the bar?

I go out to eat a lot with my wife. Currently, I am doing a lot of planning on my new spot in Pike Place Market. 

That leads us to our last question: What's next for you?

The plan is to open a place in the new Marketfront Building in the Pike Place Market expansion. It is going to be a restaurant, bar, retail, and food production venue, all in one spot. We are going to use artisan methods for preserving seafood, so canning, smoking, and preserving on sight. The name is still TBD, but it will be opening Summer 2017. 

Grab a table by the big window!

Iberico ham is worth every single cent.

Painted mirrors decorate the white walls.

8 Best Mexican Spots in Seattle

Creating the perfect taco is an art form. A science. Many people try and many people fail. You have to know which ingredients go together, how to properly prepare these ingredients, and then get the perfect ratio of said ingredients together in a tortilla. When someone succeeds at all three of these variables then you get fireworks. Taco Fireworks. That's right, explosions of guacamole in the sky.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (which, full transparency, when doing research we discovered we had no idea what this day was actually in honor of. Educate yourself, people) we compiled you a list of our favorite Mexican places in town. We would like to note that we understand people can be very defensive about their tacos. If your favorite spot isn't on this list maybe it's because we haven't been there or, ya know, maybe it's because your favorite spot is Taco Bell. 

Alright, here we go! 

El Borracho is definitely one of our regular spots in town. We love the food, drinks, and people!

Our recommendation: Tacos de Hongos. Meat lover? Go for the Carnitas Burrito.

Tacos Chukis is a tricky to find dive in Capitol Hill, but so worth finding and waiting in line for these little tacos.

Our recommendation: Adobada Tacos with a Dos Equis

El Camion has a few food trucks around town and are always serving up a wide variety of awesome grub from the window. 

Our recommendation: Fish tacos with a Jarritos (go for the pineapple!)

La Carta de Oaxaca is one of two Mexican restaurants owned by the same family and check off all the boxes for great Mexican food! 

Our recommendation: Mole Negro Oaxaqueno

Cantina de San Patricio is located in Post Alley in Pike Place Market and has a good happy hour with a small patio you can enjoy your drinks on during a sunny day! 

Our recommendation: This one makes the list for their Margs (which is a food group, right?) and outdoor seating.

The Saint would make the list for character alone. It has a unique building and atmosphere and to top it off the food is awesome too.  

Our recommendation: Any of the Quesos Fundidos, and if you are feeling frisky get a flight of their tequilas.

Agua Verde Café & Paddle Club is a fun, sunny day spot. It sits on Lake Union and doubles as a kayak rental hub for paddling around Lake Union. Grab some tacos and a drink, then get out on the lake to enjoy the city!

Our recommendation: Bacalao Tacos and a view of the lake!

The Yard is not a Mexican joint, per se, but they do have some amazing Mexican dishes on the menu and their outdoor seating is the icing on top of the ...err..  salsa on top of the taco?

Our recommendation: Any of their tacos, but especially the Adobada and for something different try the Ensalada Quesadilla.

Honorable Mention: Gracia is new on the scene in Seattle (former Matt's in the Market chef, Chester Gerl, is behind it!) and we haven't had a chance to drop in yet, but we hear it is great so we wanted to include it for everyone to go try. You're welcome.

Our recommendation: We haven't been here yet, so we don't have one! But word on the street is their tamales are awesome.

Let us know your favorite spots in the comments! 

Top 20 Places to Visit at Seattle's Waterfront

The Seattle Waterfront is going through some MAJOR renovations right now, but don't let the construction deter you from visiting. It is a great waterfront and all that clanking and drilling just means they are working to make it even better.

Sidenote: If you haven't checked out the Seattle Waterfront Office on Western Ave. to see what they have in store for us definitely plan that into your next trip! 

Anywho, coming back to the original point, Seattle's waterfront has a lot to offer! Many places have views of Puget Sound that make you want to stay forever and even though it gets crowded in the summer it is a big place, so there are always places to escape and relax (see picnic tables, Pier 66 viewfinders, or a gondola in the Great Wheel). We picked our top 20 favorite places for you the check out. 

Possibly the best hotdog in town.

Picnic tables that come with a view.

FOOD AND DRINK

• Frankfurter serves the best sausages on the waterfront and with a wide variety there is something for everyone. Always add a lemonade to your order-- it is perfectly sweet!
• Elliott's Oyster House is a little pricey, but they are sustainable and responsible with their seafood, so we pay the higher fee. Grab lunch or dinner here and if the day is nice sit on their beautiful patio; we recommend the pan friend oysters or the crab cakes!
• Ivar's has been serving up fish n' chips on the Seattle waterfront since 1938. You can't say you've experienced Seattle without stopping here. 
• The Alaskan Sourdough Bakery wins in our book because they specialize in carbs, one of the most delicious of molecules. These guys make sourdough bread bowls that will put you into sleepy, full-bellied heaven. 
• Copperworks Distillery offers free tastings and tours of their operation for $10 (and more tastings!). Do we need to say more?
• Seattle Bay Creamery fulfills that need you get on a hot summer day walking through the crowds on the waterfront. It's cold, it's creamy, and (if you are smart) it is served in a waffle cone. Seriously, make the right choice and get the waffle cone.
• SixSeven is the swanky restaurant located in The Edgewater at the north end of the waterfront. We can't afford dinner there so we go for happy hour and eat their delicious food for a fraction of the cost. 
• The picnic tables located at the very end of the Pier 56 are some of the best free seats in the house. Take your frankfurter or your picnic lunch down here to enjoy the beauty of Elliott Bay.

One of the many ships in Argosy's fleet.

The Great Wheel gives excellent views.

ATTRACTIONS

• Argosy Locks Cruise is one of the touristy things Seattle offers that we FULLY recommend (for god's sake, stay away from those duck tours). Even for locals it is a treat to learn about the history of Seattle and little known facts and experiencing something many of us might not any other way: going through the locks.
• Seattle Aquarium is not the best aquarium in the world, we aren't going to lead you there under false pretenses, but it is still a place where you can see marine life that you would not be able to see otherwise. Kids will love the otters and the jellyfish.
• Seattle Great Wheel is a new addition to our waterfront, some love it, some hate it. Regardless of which camp you are in it is a unique way to see the city. On a clear day a ride in one of the gondola's is spectacular (and if you are afraid of heights it will also be terrifying). 
• Clipper Whale Watching Tours leave from the Seattle waterfront and are something that you should absolutely shell out the $$ for if possible. Our advice? Go for the Orca day trip in the summer because...well...you get to see Orcas. Killer Whales. Like Free Willy. It's unreal.
• The Edgewater was built for the 1962 World Fair (along with the Space Needle) and it is a Seattle establishment. Everything about it screams Pacific Northwest. The Edgewater was made famous when the Beatles stayed here on their 1964 World Tour and fished out of their hotel window into Elliott Bay. Since then it has become the place for rock legends to stay with the likes of Led Zepplin, David Bowie, and The Rolling Stones on the list. 
• Street Artists are usually present along the busier stretches of the waterfront and can be very talented. Don't overlook them just because they aren't selling in a traditional storefront.
• The Carousel in Miner's Landing is a great stop for people with kids. It is a bit hard to track down if you don't know where you are looking, but once you go inside the building labeled "Miner's Landing" it is all the way back at the very far end. 
• Pier 66 Viewfinders are located up the steps/elevator by Anthony's Fish House (in a big red building). This is a great, free way to see the city and doubles as a nice place to eat lunch.
• Take a Washington State Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island for a whopping $7/per person for a round trip. The trip takes 30 minutes each way and it isn't out of the ordinary to see whales on the journey. Once you get to Bainbridge check out its cute, island-town shopping and restaurants. 

The viewfinders are free!

The beautiful Edgewater Hotel.

SHOPPING

• Ye Olde Curiosity Shop is one of the weirdest shops in Seattle and we love it. People of all ages can enjoy all the strange items for sale. Our favorite: the mounted animal butts, because obviously the heads get too much attention. 
• Pirates Plunder is a shop in Miner's Landing that sells Seattle-themed items. We usually don't recommend these shops, but they have done a better job than most of collecting items you don't see at all the run-of-the-mill tourist shops. So in a nutshell, go here for the best variety of Sleepless in Seattle t-shirts and magnets.
• Seattle Antique Market is an antique heaven located right across the street from the Seattle Great Wheel. Go in to check out all their antique and vintage goodies. You can get lost for ages.

Ahoy! These pirates welcome you to Pirates Plunder!

Bonus points: If you want to walk all the way down the Seattle Waterfront (about 1.5 miles) you will run right into the Olympic Sculpture Park, one of our favorite parks in Seattle, which we featured on the blog earlier this year. 

Ultimate Challenge: Start at the ferry terminal and walk the length of the Seattle Waterfront. You can actually walk all the way to Elliott Bay Marina in Magnolia on paved sidewalks. It is almost five miles of scenic paths along Puget Sound.

Sidewalk signs so you don't get lost.

Little waterfront details.