This Is Our #FirstStop Every Trip to Vancouver
Everyone has a #firststop in a city that they frequent. Exploring the world through the hyper-local lens of vetted musts is what our new travel series is all about. Here, we’ll be sharing those places with you via hand-plucked, first-person accounts from our favorite tastemakers. It’s going to be a melting pot of long-standing institutions and stumbled-upon dives. Last month we brought you my personal favorite alley in NYC — Freeman’s. This time, we’re headed to the West Coast for a tour of Vancouver, B.C., with director Conrad Vernon. Turns out the guy who directed Sausage Party knows where to find the best martinis.
Back in 2008, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jonah Hill pitched Conrad Vernon an idea for a movie — in Rogen’s living room. To hear the director tell it, everyone was in the “proper state of mind” to be receptive to the idea. Some eight years later, Sausage Party is hitting theaters as the R-rated animated comedy from the guys who brought you This Is the End. In its own right, Sausage Party is similarly about a group of friends facing the end of a world. The story by Rogen, Goldberg, and Hill follows a group of hot dog sausages as they escape their packages in search of a higher truth and/or buns. Yes, the NYT rumors are true. It is indeed an animated sex comedy that debates the existence of God… with food.
Co-directed by Vernon and Greg Tiernan, the non- (repeat non-) family-friendly romp stars Rogen, Hill, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Nick Kroll, Paul Rudd, David Krumholtz, Bill Hader, James Franco, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride. The first animated project from Rogen and Goldberg’s Point Grey production shingle promises to close out the summer with a wave of irreverent humor and endless sight gags.
Produced at Nitrogen Studios in Vancouver, Vernon split time between New York, Los Angeles, and the Canadian production office during the three-year animation pipeline. As such, we saw fit to tap the director for his favorite local hangs. Writing jokes about condiments and the existential beliefs of meat products is bound to work up an appetite.
OYSTER EXPRESS
“I grew up in Vancouver, Washington,” he tells us. “Vancouver, Canada, is an incredible city. It felt like coming home. I’m very nostalgic for the Pacific Northwest.” When asked to wax poetic on his favorite eateries, Vernon leads with an admittedly unlikely choice.
“I can’t talk enough about Oyster Express,” he says. “It’s one of my favorite places to go — obviously you have to like oysters,” Vernon tell us of the Chinatown seafood bar.
We especially love that Vernon kicked off his list with a hole in the wall joint. Off-kilter picks make for the best discoveries when traveling (in our humble opinion).
“I avoided going there for a long time,” he confides. “Number one, Oyster Express sounds like it might be fast-food. Who knows what other expressexperiences you’re going to have if you eat the wrong oyster. Barring the name, I also thought maybe all they served was oysters, which is not the case. They also have excellent Icelandic vodka.”
Located on Keefer Street just a few blocks from Nitrogen Studios, Vernon frequented the location with his co-director, Tiernan. “It’s this tiny, cool little dive that’s privately owned. You just sit and watch sports and eat great food,” he tells us. “The first time I went, their menu (which rotates) had 15–20 different types of oysters in all sizes that I’d never tried before — all freshly caught that morning from all over Vancouver, B.C., and Washington state. They have a fantastic habanero vodka sauce and an amazing grilled cheese. It’s the only place I’ll eat oysters in Vancouver.”
Vernon is a fan of local Los Angeles military-influenced fine leathergoods line, Killspencer. The brand’s signature Weekender bag features an open-top construction, waterproof lining, and multiple custom-cut pockets to fit all his tech. Vernon’s own Weekender is hand-stamped with his initials — a detail owner Spencer Nikosey added by hand at his Silverlake workshop.
For more #FirstStop recommendations in Vancouver, head over to MyDomaine.com. Do you have any to add to the list? Give us your locals-only tips below.
Originally published at www.mydomaine.com on August 12, 2016.
