River House

Riverhouse
6255 River Rd, Delta

Dining on the River

On a spur of the moment,  our close-knit group of six decided to go out for dinner now that eating out rules had been relaxed during COVID-19. We found the closest restaurants with a nice patio were booked solid apparently others had the same idea, Our friend June suggest the Riverhouse Restaurant, Pub and  Marina just east of Ladner.

Since they did not take patio reservations we were advised to arrive early. We pulled into the parking lot at five minutes to five. Upon entering we were quickly greeted and given the grand tour in search of the best table for six to be seated comfortably. Seems we were the first customers for dinner

Riverhouse is home to one of the largest patios located on the banks of the Fraser River. Our table gave us a grand view of both the marina and river.

Barbara ordered the Margherita Flatbread; four stars. She also ordered a side of yam fries, which turned out to be the best we have ever tasted five stars on that choice. June and Peter had the Halibut and Chips once again four stars.

Ken went for the pulled pork sandwich which he seemed to really enjoy. Jane had the Penne Primavera. I had (surprise) the Beef Dip. It was good, but not quite as impressive as Browns Social Club in White Rock makes.

Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Merlot seemed to be the choice for those preferring a red. The wine presented notes of dark plums, berries and spice with a hint of sweet toasted oak on the nose. The aromas carry through to the palate making this an easy-drinking merlot.

I had the Pinot Gris 2019 from Gehringer Bros. Excellent, exactly what one would expect in a fruity summer wine.

It was a wonderful evening, good food, nice surroundings, good weather and wonderful friends what more could one ask for!

A Good Breakfast!

Okay, even thou I used to work in Management for White Spot Restaurants I have never been a fan of their legendary hamburgers. To me, a hamburger does not require lettuce and tomato and especially a sauce to be good.

When everyone else in our circle has been ordering burgers I have always gone for the Beef Dip. However, lately, my wife and I discovered their breakfast menu.

We were in the Comox Valley driving with friends from our hotel in Qualicum Beach to visit 40 Knox Winery in Comox. We chose to drive the old highway a much quiter country scenic drive compared to the the faster newer highway. We thought we would find a quaint country cafe on the way, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic closures was everything was closed.

Having reached Comox and the four of us famished we settled on White Spot.  On the menu, they had Nat's Hearty Breakfast. Two eggs, back bacon, fried potatoes and toast. It was extremely good! As was the friendly service. The staff wore a  comfortable looking plastic face mask and social distanced.

Back home a week or so later Barbara and I had lab appointments. The appointments were for 10:30 am and required fasting beforehand. By the time we completed our testing we found ourselves once again famished.  It was a Saturday and all the local coffee shops were busy with lineups. So we headed to White Spot in The Shops (Surrey-White Rock area). Again, we went for Nat's Hearty Breakfast. Once again we had a very pleasant and efficient server. A tip of the hat goes to White Spot for two great breakfasts, and without wine!

The Rising Popularity of Wine.

It was 1992 when I started my website winesofcanada.com. The inspiration came when my wife and I honeymooned in the Napa Valley. It was a special time. In 1992 you could walk into a winery in Napa and be the only one in the tasting room.

We returned to the valley in 2011. The wineries have gotten crowed you could not even find a spot at the tasting bar. The same is basically true around the world. In the old European countries like France and Italy wines were a mainstay. In North America, it is a new habit!

Back in the nineties when you visited your friend they would most likely offer you a beer, rum and coke or coffee.  Today the choice is wine.

Across Canada back in the 90s, there were less than 70 wineries (give or take). Today we are looking at 800 wineries with the numbers growing. In fact, there are wineries in all ten provinces.

In the USA there are wineries in every state. Every major grocery chain has a wine section.

Is the popularity of wine a fade like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Will wine have its day and be replaced by some other exotic beverage. The way they are pulling out fruit trees and ploughing the land to grow grapes one would think not!

One exciting featuring about the wine culture today is the luxury of visiting the wineries. They range from the Mum and Pop operation to the massive million-dollar destination wineries.

In my first year of running my website, I thought breaking 100 visitors a week was amazing. Today less than a 1000 visitors a day is a disappointment.

When I started on the internet I became the third site dealing with Candian wines. I quickly became two. Today there are hundreds perhaps thousands of bloggers.  There are TV and radio shows devoted to wine.

Winery owners, vineyard managers are exploring new areas where no one ever thought of growing grapes. The recycling locations deal with as many wine bottles as they do beer cans.

In a fancy restaurant, you can be presented with a wine list of over 300 bottles to choose from. Your local fish and chip shop might just have a wine list.

Wine is the centre of happiness that’s why in every type of celebration and party we saw wine is on the table. Wine is so popular that even scientists are studying its health benefits. Image!