Cactus Club Cafe, Vancouver, BC Canada

Ordered at the Cactus Club Cafe on the beach (English Bay) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

I was surprised to find out I only knew one person living in Vancouver. Just one. I was there on business, in between Seattle and Vail, and had just one night out. Well two – the previous day I had arrived early in the evening and wanted to try the Blue Water Cafe, a restaurant my brother had recommended… which was absolutely fantastic. But honestly, I had always wanted that night to myself, with an early start the next day. So really in my mind, I had but just one night to share in Vancouver.

My search on Facebook had revealed a single friend living in Vancouver. Chris. Chris I had met in Fes, Morocco back in… gosh, 2007 if I remember correctly. I had just arrived from two nights alone with a Berber in the desert and he had spent the past few weeks hitchhiking from England. Those are fun stories for another time.

Chris and I met up once again in Boston, in ’08 or ’09. With that said, it was 2014 and I hadn’t seen him, or really spoken to him, since, but when he offered to meet up for dinner on my only free night in Vancouver, well, how could I say no?

We met up for a beer, shared some laughs, and he took me on a simple walking tour through the city towards the beach, where we strolled with his girlfriend to our dining destination: The Cactus Club Cafe.

“The Cactus Club is a chain,” Chris said. “Do you have one in Boston?”

“We do… but it’s fairly gross and I highly doubt it’s part of this chain,” I replied, hoping beyond believe that those words didn’t come back to haunt me…

And they didn’t. This Cactus Club resembled nothing like the one back in Boston. It looked fresh, new, and stylish. Their location was right on the beach, and we arrived in perfect time to watch the sun set. A medium sized line at the door, I was happy Chris had made a reservation. Good friend! We sat down upstairs next to the window (great view!) and the waitress came over, full of smiles, to join in on our conversation about the New Amsterdam Café (I had walked by this place earlier, and it left me nothing but confused) and take our order.

Grilled Tuna Club. The name jumped off the menu. But it wasn’t just the title that put me over the edge, it was the description. On top of unique ingredients, this club boasted a trademarked tuna: Ocean Wise. I had seen this brand all around Vancouver; popular, and well respected, so it seemed.

Chris and I caught up while we waited for our food to arrive. It was great learning about life in Vancouver/ British Columbia; Chris really sold me on it. He made me want to come back, and this time for vacation… one day I will, but for now, I wanted to enjoy the moment.

A complete meal, I thought, as dinner was placed before me. Club sandwich and a side Caesar salad, which I hap opted for instead of the sea salted fries. I couldn’t have been happier as I sat before my meal. But how would it taste?

“Delicious!” I exclaimed to Chris and his girlfriend, with a huge smile plastered across my face. I was really blown away by the overall taste and flavor of this unique club sandwich. The seared rare albacore tuna was delightful. The bacon – which one might think is a weird ingredient to couple with tuna – added a delightful smokiness to each bite. Arugula was a perfect choice of greenery to compliment the hint of cilantro and smooth tarragon tartar sauce… no need for plain old mayonnaise on this club sandwich!  And the ciabatta… just a great choice of bread to hold this sandwich all together.

Wow, I was really blown away by how savory and distinctive the Cactus Club Grilled Tuna Club was. Overall flavor was fantastic. I highly recommend this club sandwich… and I couldn’t stop telling Chris and his girlfriend this great news. The only sad part was thinking about the fact I would not get to have this club sandwich again for a long time coming… but I tried my best not to think about it as I topped off my appetite with the Caesar salad side; yum.

Well done, Cactus Club. Next time I am back in Vancouver, you will see me again. Perhaps for lunch? Because the Blue Water Café really stole my heart for dinner…

Side note: I found it odd that both the “Blue Water Cafe” and “Cactus Club Cafe” were called cafes but were clearly restaurants… a Canadian thing? A BC thing?

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