J and I went to the Vancouver Canucks game on Thursday and not only do I LOVE going to watch hockey but I also love the opportunity to go out and eat. A hockey game is the perfect excuse to wonder around finding food to eat. A friend recommended going to Chambar that’s right by Rogers Arena. I have been here before in the past and ate a terrific meal but I was more in the mood for casual food so we walked up to Library Square instead. I have also been here before but it’s been a while so I wanted to review it.

We arrived around 5 or just after and it was already packed, any later and we would have been out of luck. We sat up on the bar stools’ that overlook the pub which was actually pretty ideal for people watching and also right in front of the big screen too. Our server came up right away with menu’s and let us know that there was also beer specials as well. Looking around, I could staff everywhere! This was a definite step up then our pre-game experience at Finnegans’s pub in Abbotsford. I still can’t believe it took Finnegan’s almost an hour to bring our food. Any restaurant should be prepared for game day!!  Anyway, back to the Library. Our beer came out with lightening speed and we were probably only half done our pints before our food was placed in front of our hungry faces.

J ordered the Pressed Hot Pastrami Sandwich with a house made pickle slaw, havarti cheese, sweet mustard on Point Grey organic rye. He got his with a tossed salad that was also organic greens, crans, feta, and pecans with lemon vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was very mild, but with all the other toppings you wouldn’t want anything over powering. In fact J asked for ranch and the server said no. I tasted the sandwich and it was great! The pastrami has a nice smokiness to it and the pickled slaw gave it the perfect amount of tanginess. The pickled slaw was also a nice change to your typical sauerkraut that most places would use.

I also wanted to order the pastrami sandwich but I hate it when order the same thing so I had to be different. I sort of wanted the fish and chips, then I changed my mind to the braised beef dip, but I couldn’t get my mind off the thought of warm rye bread. Luckily another sandwich also offered Rye so I finally decided on the Carvery Roast Beef Sandwich. It had Farmstead cheddar cheese, butter lettuce, tomato, and house made horseradish aioli also served on the Point Grey organic rye.  I ordered mine with fries. I was very satisfied with the Rye and the roast beef was delicious, perfectly cooked, and very tender but compared to J’s my sandwich definitely fell short. I could barely taste the cheddar, in fact I completely forgot it had cheddar until I started to type this out and double checked the menu. I also couldn’t really taste the horseradish either. I will never really understand why pubs/restaurants need to dilute horseradish with mayo and then start calling it their version of an aioli. Just slop on the horseradish as is, and lets its tangy flavour stand out against the beef!! So basically I was eating roast beef on rye with some lettuce and tomato which is still a great sandwich but it sounded so much better when reading it off the menu. The fries were fries, good but could have been a tab crispier.

When we got to the game and told a friend where we ate he seemed utterly disappointed and said we should have just gone to his house for a burger. He mentioned something about garlic infused beef patties which made my mouth water even though I was stuffed. Perhaps we will take him up on this next time and I will just review his cooking instead. If you’re looking for something within walking distance to the stadium and don’t mind ordinary pub food then Library Square will work. The food is great for a quick bite before a game but if you’re looking for something a little better or different then keep walking.