One of the things that’s always struck me as odd about Vancouver is the lack of a vibrant street culture. One would expect a city with such a temperate climate and outdoorsy citizenry would be chock-a-block with patios, street food and the kind of street level hustle and bustle you see in places like Paris or Montreal. But that’s not the case. Maybe folks here would rather spend their time outdoors doing insert stereotypical Vancouver yuppie outdoor activity here than having a beer on a patio. A more likely culprit is Vancouver’s famously antiquated, byzantine and draconian food and drink regulations that keep patios shut and street food limited to hot dogs and roasted chestnuts (the latter never fails to elict a hearty “WTF?” from me).
That’s why it’s nice to see the city taking a positive step towards pulling its stick out just a little bit with the announcement of a pilot project that will allow more food carts onto Vancouver’s streets this summer. We were blown away by the food cart phenomenon in Portland when we visited in February and it would be great to see that kind of thing take root here in No Fun City.
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In other news, a while back I mentioned that I was kicking around the idea of moving this thing to a new blog platform, one that allows comments. Well, I think I’m going to go ahead and do it. So look for a new and improved me coming your way soon with comments, links, a new design and maybe, just maybe, a new name. Until then, questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome via e-mail.
