L'Abattoir in Vancouver is offering cocktails named the Stanley Cup #1, the Bloody Luo and the Green Men Cocktail.Laura Leyshon for the Globe and Mail
You're wearing your Canucks jersey, you're donning your Canucks hat and you're armed with your hand-painted "Go, Canucks, Go" sign for Game 4 Wednesday. After Monday night's drubbing, the team's going to need the support. So why not feed your orca-sized appetite with food and drinks to match? Vancouver bars and restaurants are fully embracing the Stanley Cup spirit, offering hockey-inspired specials. Aiming to score extra points with Canucks fans, Boston Pizza has even temporarily changed its name to "Vancouver Pizza" in British Columbia to show where its loyalty lies.
Across the province, bars and restaurants are expected to rake in about $23-million during the final four weeks of the Stanley Cup playoffs, says Ian Tostenson, president and chief executive officer of the British Columbia Restaurant & Foodservices Association - roughly the same amount they took in during the Winter Olympics last year.
According to the CBC, an average audience of 5.6 million Canadians watched Game 1 of the final between the Canucks and the Boston Bruins, making it the highest-rated NHL game in the history of Hockey Night in Canada. For an event as big as this, many sports fans are preferring to tune in from a bar or restaurant rather than stay at home, Mr. Tostenson says.
"You pick up the energy of people around you. It goes beyond watching hockey on a screen somewhere," he says. "You get caught up in an atmosphere." It makes good business sense for chefs and bartenders to join the party.
"Restaurants that, just by their format, are not 'in the game' - they don't have TVs and they don't do that kind of [game-themed]stuff - they actually don't do well during hockey," Mr. Tostenson says. "But what we're seeing now is there's such a hockey thing going on … everybody is sort of figuring out ways of jumping on the bandwagon."
Here are a few winning examples:
Burrows' Bites
Brandon Thordarson, executive chef at the Opus Hotel's glam pop art-themed 100 Nights restaurant, a known favourite of Canuck Ryan Kesler, is offering "Burrows' Bites," a platter named after Canuck Alex Burrows' apparent bite of Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron's finger in Game 1. Befitting its name, the dish is composed of bite-sized finger foods: lamb popsicles, a mini bacon and grilled cheese sandwich, and a small lobster poutine as a nod to Mr. Burrows' Quebec roots.
Earlier in the playoffs, Mr. Thordarson had also created a Sedin burger, made with twin patties, Swedish pickles, orange "Canuck" cheddar cheese and a deep orange mustard, tinted with ketchup to get the right shade to match the Sedin brothers' hair.
"It was a mean-looking burger, you know?" Mr. Thordarson says. He has, however, since replaced it with the Burrows' Bites since he believes it will be Mr. Burrows, not the twins, who clinches the Stanley Cup. In the event of a win tonight, Canucks fans are hoping that will happen when they return to Vancouver for Game 5 on Friday.
Canucks Rolls
Jimmy Hon, owner of Shota Sushi & Grill in Vancouver's upscale Kerrisdale neighbourhood and its Davie Street outpost the Roll Factory, was serving up "Canucks rolls" long before the team made it to the playoffs. But lately, he says, his hockey-inspired roll has suddenly become much more popular. Mr. Hon says having the roll on the menu hasn't increased his sales per se, as most people who order it have only a single roll for their meal. Still, he says, many are eager to try it because of the name.
"Customers … [are]like, 'Oh, let's cheer for the Canucks,' and then they will order the Canucks roll," says Mr. Hon, who counts the Sedin brothers and Mikael Samuelsson among his regulars.
The roll comprises tuna tempura, avocado and cucumber, and is topped with spicy tuna and bonito flakes. "Because for the Canucks, the [mascot]is the whale … so the whole roll is more seafood," Mr. Hon says.
Bruised Bruin cocktail
Kent Rock, bartender at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel's Lobby Lounge, is shaking up a Bruised Bruin cocktail and a Vancouver 1915 for fans.
The Bruised Bruin is a modified version of a bourbon sour, a concoction made with Woodford bourbon, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white. Mr. Rock says a splash of blue curacao is added to match the Canucks' team colour.
The Vancouver 1915 is a twist on the classic French 75, so named in honour of the last time the city took home the Stanley Cup (back then the team was the Vancouver Millionaires) . The drink consists of Victoria gin, lemon juice and a late harvest riesling from the Okanagan's Mission Hill Winery and it's topped with a sparkling wine from Sumac Ridge Estate Winery.
Bloody Luo
The Bloody Luo is Shaun Layton's mash-up of a bloody mary and a michelada, a Mexican drink made of beer and tomato juice.
"We called it the Bloody Luo because, as you know, in Vancouver, we love to love or hate goalies," says Mr. Layton, head barman at L'Abattoir restaurant in Gastown. The mixed reaction to Roberto Luongo's performance in Game 3 exemplifies the complicated relationship fans have with the Canucks goalie. While some believe he was hung out to dry, others felt Mr. Luongo was off his game.
The drink is made with bourbon, gin, tomato juice and beer. It also contains horseradish and a small dollop of grainy mustard.Mr. Layton also offers a Green Men cocktail, named after the bodysuit-wearing Canucks superfans known for taunting the opposition during games, and a version of a traditional Pimm's Cup called the Stanley Cup No. 1.
The Green Men is a refreshing, herbaceous drink, made with chartreuse, mint, fresh lime, gin and tonic water. The Stanley Cup #1 includes gin, vermouth, Aperol, Angostura orange bitters and aromatic bitters, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer and whatever fruit Mr. Layton has on hand.
"You really want to make drinks that people are going to have more than one of and not be too heavy, because you want them to stay for the whole game," he says.