Images and words by Ryan Walter Wagner / Good Side Photo
By 6:00pm on Friday night, the Shipyards at Lonsdale are already bustling with family and friends, there to enjoy the incredible view, delicious food and activities at the Shipyards Night Market, which is every Friday from May to October.
The aroma of food trucks filled the air as we rounded Polygon Gallery down Carrie Cates Crescent towards the Shipyards where we were greeted with the buzz of a cover band playing and the sounds of families enjoying the warm summer evening.
Our first stop was Tater for their famous potato dishes. A quick scan of the menu made it difficult to choose but we went with a classic; their take on a poutine that they call “Not Routine Poutine”. An all-potato menu made for so many choices with clever names like “My Thai Tater” and “See Ya Later Tater”.
Next up we bounced passed the kids park and around through the live music to another row of food trucks. The first one that stood out was a large sign proclaiming “Eat The Dishes”, so we stopped to inquire.
The owner, Marissa, was very friendly and explained that during her travels she noticed the one thing that was missing from a food truck scene was a company that is 100% sustainable. So she set out to create exactly that. Their 3-bean chili is served in an edible bread cup with sustainable napkins that come from offcuts of fabric rolls, and left us feeling great about our choice to grab a dish from Eat the Dishes.
After a few savoury treats we were in the mood for something sweet and Raphael’s Slavic Roll food stand was exactly what we were looking for. His pastry dessert cylinder, rolled in sugar and cinnamon and filled with blueberries, Bavarian cream and ice cream did not disappoint.
You can see the passion for what he does and it translates to the flavour and attention to detail that makes this stand a “must eat” whenever he’s at an event.
One more stop for a dessert takes us to a North Van local, Welcome Ice Cream Parlour. They have a permanent location up the road in the Hudson Building, but today we grabbed a couple scoops out of their cart at the Shipyards.
Even with a handful of flavour selections they still have variety and intrigue in their options. Birthday cake, mango pineapple and double chocolate all sounded amazing but we dove into the cookies & cream which was served up
with a big smile.
Now we were on the search for something to wash it all down and got drawn in by samples being handed out at the Aguas Frescas stand. So many colors and fruit flavours had a crowd buzzing and holding their hands out for tiny paper cups half full of sample sized sips.
Hibiscus was an easy choice and the evening sun was was still hot enough to warrant a liberal serving of ice to go with it.
This was my second visit to the Shipyards after stumbling upon them during a visit to Polygon Gallery and I’ve noticed myself suggesting it to people visiting the area. A great evening with amazing food, live music, stunning views and a ton of family fun.
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