It was a shiny evening–bright blue sky, late-evening final rays of sunshine, green street. After a lazy morning, I packed up to head to West Vancouver. Why? Because it was the day for my market research! Sometimes, I spend my day off to spend time at new places and learn what other places are like. This time, my destination was a cafe named Crema (1495 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver). I rarely go outside the City of Vancouver or Burnaby, so it felt like I went on a day trip to a new place.
It was quite a pleasant trip, crossing the bridge and enjoying the sunshine, although I had to transfer a few times. My destination was close to the bus stop, so it was not so much a walking trip. There was another restaurant beside my goal, which seemed to be closed at the time of my arrival. I worried that my destination would be closed, but it was fine!
The street where the cafe was had a proper name, as Bellevue means beautiful view in French. Just across John Lawson Park, I could see the seawater from the place! Once I entered Crema, a beautiful interior of woods and bright lights welcomed me. Large windows made the store look much more roomier than it was, making it feel like I was in an open area.
It took me forever to choose what to try! I was excited to have a Cold Brew with Soft Serve since the day was hot, and I saw the sandwich board advertising soft serves. Unfortunately, the ice cream was sold out, so I just went with regular cold brew.
There were so many sandwiches to choose from, too. I could have ordered pizza, as they seemed to have proper wood ovens to bake them, but they were a bit pricy. After spending enough time, I chose a sandwich called the Duo. It was an Italian ham sandwich with salami, spicy capicola, spinach, onions, and havarti on Foccacia. The sandwich was a bit small but was packed with flavour! It was a satisfying sandwich, much meatier than I expected. The cold meat was genuine, and the veggies were fresh!
Please consider me biased because I could not have the one with soft serve. But for the cold brew, it was nice and chill, but I felt that I would prefer something more from it. Or perhaps, I was just too used to Wicked Cafe’s cold brew!
For dessert, I had tiramisu–I love these. It was a typical and traditional one, with a cute chocolate cookie (or a cracker) on the top. Of course, I believe there is no bad-tasting tiramisu in the world–it tasted good, with every layer rich with flavour!
After finishing the food, I felt that perhaps I was being too conservative, choosing a menu that would not fail. For my other market research, I will try more new stuff! When I came out of the cafe, it felt like John Lawson Park was calling on me to have a visit–I could not resist.
I spent some relaxing time in the park, watching the sunset and waves of water–I felt I could stay forever like this. It was already dark when I resisted the urge and finally stood up. West Vancouver in the evening was a calm and beautiful place, with illuminations taking over the streets. That was different from the lively views in the afternoon, bustling with people leading daily lives. Although I started the day late, it was a satisfying and filling day off, which I would love to share!
