Governments are listening and tinkering with their economies to foster creative industries like design, architecture, software, video games, and film. The benefits, those important-sounding economists say, are multiple: urban regeneration, higher wages as jobs upgrade from service and manufacturing, flourishing cultural scenes that attract tourism, modernized educational programs that generate talent… the list goes on.

I’m looking at how well-positioned Montreal, my home city, is for this new economy. What are the cultural and social structures that promote creative thinking? Where to the creative types gather to exchange ideas and launch projects? How effective are government incentives? How well do big companies scout creative talent and put their ideas to commercial use?

Vancouver, where I spent 10 days, can be considered Montreal’s rival creative city. Both provincial governments joust for the attention of foreign video game and film companies. Both have fairly liberal attitudes that attract artistic types. So my research has expanded into a comparison of both cities to see which has an edge.

Although both cities share much in common, they are astoundingly different: in attitude, in values, in expectations. Both have vastly disparate influences whether from immigration, natural setting, and political sensibilities.

It was fun coming up with single words that define each city and help understand their unique engines of creative thought.

Vancouver is water, Montreal is ice.
Vancouver is Asian, Montreal is European.
Vancouver is coastal, Montreal is continental.
Vancouver is mountain, Montreal is trees.
Vancouver is glass, Montreal is stone.
Vancouver is pot, Montreal is ecstasy.
Vancouver is nude, Montreal is lingerie.
Vancouver is an early bird, Montreal is a night owl.
Vancouver is androgynous, Montreal is feminine.
Vancouver is kayak, Montreal is patio.
Vancouver is organic, Montreal is cosmetic.
Vancouver is green, Montreal is mauve.
Vancouver is Javascript, Montreal is Python.
Vancouver is young and bold, Montreal is old and cautious.
Vancouver is extroverted, Montreal is introspective.
Vancouver seeks interaction, Montreal avoids eye contact.
Vancouver is latte, Montreal is café au lait.
Vancouver is India pale ale, Montreal is Weissbier.
Vancouver is sushi, Montreal is smoked meat.

What words would you use to describe both cities?

We were lucky to know a lot of people in Vancouver, long-time residents, who told us the best places to go. We happily pass their tips on to you.

Yaletown on the cheap

The downtown enclave of Yaletown is associated with yuppies, playboys, and gold-diggers. It’s not hard to see why with all the high-end boutiques and pricey restos the line its Modern-styled streets.

But we found a few gems for the budget-minded visitor:

Raw Canvas
1046 Hamilton St.

A total misfit among the swank businesses, this café-art studio is artsy to its organic chai core. Half of it is bar and bistro, while the back is a painting garage where, starting at $45, you get a blank canvas and full access to paints and brushes. Workshops, live music and poetry reading are regular events.

The menu is simple but bold: there’s a surprisingly tasty espresso chai latte made with actual chai spices, not a bag or a syrup. A sandwich of local cured meats and a knockout mustard was as remarkable as the decor. All of it came under $12.

Paige, the charming owner, tells me that all ingredients are bio-dynamic, which is organic squared: they are raised in a closed ecosystem that emulates natural cycles of nutrients: cow poop on pasture breeds worms, which feeds the chickens, whose poop fertilizes the pasture that feeds the cow…

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Rodney’s Oyster House
1228 Hamilton St.

Just a few doors down is a seafood eatery with a definitive nautical feel. From 3-6pm it has “Low Tide Specials”, generous servings of oysters, mussels, clams or salmon for $10 each. At the oyster bar, a staffer tosses the crustaceans like flair bartenders with bottles.

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Shakin’ not Stirred Lounge & Grill
1144 Homer St

The waitresses laugh if you say something they don’t understand, presumably thinking you attempted a joke, even though you were speaking in a foreign tongue to your dinner mates. This shows the somewhat forced level of service.

But no matter, you’re there for the cozy den-like atmosphere and appetizers sold at half-price before 6pm. “Appetizer” is a funny descriptor, as they’re enough to kill, not coax an appetite. I made the mistake of ordering two. I was full after the first.

Highly recommended is the spicy calamari, a half-fried, half-sautéed mess with Thai flavours.

Another gem about town

Medina Café
556 Beatty St

It’s always full, which speaks to the quality of its brunches and waffles. To them, eggs are accessories, not highlights. They’ll throw them poached in a tagine with Moroccan-style meatballs, or [see menu]

It’s not cheap, though: dishes range from $11 to $14, which makes them ideal for sharing among two. You’ll fill the remaining space with their fantastic Belgian waffles, which come with one of several incredible sauces, like lavender chocolate or salted caramel.

Other local-endorsed spots we didn’t try

Blue Water Café – 1095 Hamilton St.
Some good-looking seafood dishes.
Sha Lin Noodle House – 548 West Broadway
Authentic and cheap Chinese.
Gorilla Food – 436 Richards St.
Raw and vegan joint.
Finch’s Tea and Coffee House – 353 West Pender St.
Highly recommended for breakfast and sandwiches.

There were no naked people at Vancouver’s Wreck Beach, but there was a greying hippie feeding seagulls and a friendly bearded fella named Cloud.

This would have to suffice as a taste of this naturist mecca, where in the summer, thousands gather wearing nothing but a smile.

We happened on this notorious beach by chance: the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia was charging $14 a person, a few notches above the limits of reason for budget travelers.

So we walked around the building instead and happened upon a totem pole park and an art installation of tiny white plastic boats sticking out of the gravel. This, we thought, would have to be our discounted moment of culture for the day.

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But just beyond the poles was a promising nature trail that led to a steep zig-zag of stairs. It seemed to descend into the thick woods, with no end in sight. But soon a sign warned us that below was a clothing-optional beach.

Eight degrees and cloudy is too nippy for even the most dedicated nudist, but traces of the naturist savoir-faire were evident. Like the white-haired Tommy Chong lookalike with a throwing breadcrumbs at the seagulls. When we passed by, his birds took flight. For this, I apologized.

“They have wings, so they’re quite mobile,” he spoke in a lazy bullfrog drawl. “We only wish we could fly like them.” And without looking our way, he resumed his feeding ceremony.

Art?

Our attention was then caught by a young fella with a full black beard and an olive hoodie. He seemed to be drawing in the sand with two sticks that were taller than him. When I approached, I saw that he had carved an eight-figure in the sand, in which water from a nearby spring was flowing.

“It’s a filtration system for the animals,” said the friendly sculptor who calls himself Cloud. He’d been doing this for seven years, he told me. He comes to the beach a few times a week and arranges sticks and clay that trap impurities from the water dribbling down the beach cliff.

He pointed to an accumulation just past a miniature dam of sticks he made. “See, this is almost clean enough for you and me to drink,” he said. But it’s good enough for the dogs that come walking. But why the eight figure?

“So there’s a water circulation system. That way the mosquitoes don’t nest.”

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Cloud’s water purification system at Wreck Beach.

I asked his permission to take his picture. He took his sticks and walked towards the shoreline, saying, “I’m going to play. You can shoot me while I do that.” With this, he twirled his sticks like a circus performer or a martial artist. Or a West Coast beach filter engineer, for all we knew.

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The stairs back to campus were just as treacherous, and the sight of a hot dog stand claiming to be the best in town – or your money back – offered an irresistible challenge.

It’s manned by a friendly Asian lady and her Mexican assistant. Tourists emerging from an Olympic women’s hockey game,  drunk enough to fancy themselves great seducers, hardly managed to fluster them. “Oh, I’m too busy with school to go out with you,” the señorita would say as she handed one such lothario his dog.

A regular hot dog costs $4. One of eight flavoured “smokies” – sausages, essentially – go for $6.50. Not budget prices, but it’s understandable. They come topped with drilled onions and you have six condiments and 10 sauces to choose from.

I had the “volcanic” smokie, meant to be spicy, but it gave me a slight tingle. Bianca had the Cajun. Both were delicious. I highly recommend the cranberry chipotle sauce or the jalapeño barbecue sauce to give the dogs a little more emotion.

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Trip summary

Costs per person
Bus fare to UBC: $2.50
Museum of Anthropology: $14
Hot dog and drink: $8

Highlights
Stunning view of the sea and mountains
Brisk climb and and down wooded steps
Glimpse of Vancouver hippies/naturists in their element

Bob Blumer is a madman, and therefore, my favourite TV chef. So when we were invited to an event promoting BC tourism with him as host, we had no choice but to go.

He didn’t cook anything, which was a disappointment. But thanks to him, we learned what a geoduck is and that Hollandaise sauce is a perfect condiment for oysters.

And we saw that B.C. makes some pretty mean microbrewed beers and ciders. So the media event to which we were invited did its job: we’re convinced BC is serious about food.

Here are some photos from the event.

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Tourist-friendly First Nations dancers regaled the audience.

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Raw geoduck with an Asian-inspired vinaigrette.

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Bob and me: Like Barry White fathered thousands of children, Blumer has been responsible for many memorable dinner parties. He liked hearing this.

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Our first press pass as travel bloggers.

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