Oliver Street Bar & Grill

23 Oliver Street
Williams Lake, BC  V2G 1L6

250-392-5911

opened M-Su (lunch and dinner)

Nov 1, 2010

My lunch companions today were not the usual suspects… WTWL’s very own Cailin and LeRae were able to take time away from their hectic schedules to join me for a meal at the Oliver Street Bar & Grill on this very sunny autumn day.

I haven’t been to this establishment in years!  Seems like I could never find the time to make it out this far, which is sadly irrational.  I mean… it’s not like the downtown core is that all-encompassing by any stretch of imagination, and yet… somehow my mind has created this substantial distance between here and there.  Oh Oliver’s… why must you sit so far away?… er… all the way down there at the end of the street?

But I digress.

On a weekend when I should really be stuck at home diligently studying away for a midterm I instead find myself reacquainted with this place!  Now, for those of you who have never been here, it’s a seat-yourself establishment.  LeRae and I arrived first and decided on a table that sat fairly close to a large screen TV, just in-case we needed to catch up on the latest football score (turns out we didn’t).  Our waitress was quick to greet us once we sat down.  She was attentive and very personable as she took our drink orders and informed us of the special, which happened to be a roasted beef and cheddar sandwich, with a bowl of turkey vegetable soup.

Shortly after that we were joined by Cailin.  We gave her a few minutes to peruse over the menu and the waitress was quick to return to take our orders.  I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, Cailin decided to try the special, and LeRae, our vegetarian friend, asked for a spinach salad, which was slightly customized to meet her needs.

How was it customized?  Out, darn bacon… out I say!  A chopped up veggie patty replaced its stead, and I must say, from a practising carnivorous point of view, the patty actually looked like real meat.  The salad also included tomato wedges, sliced cucumbers, a sliced boiled egg, and shredded mozzarella.  Two slices of garlic bread and a small container of vinaigrette finished off the dish.  The veggies looked very fresh, although LeRae commented that it was perhaps a tad on the unimaginative side, which I had to agree with.  A little carrot for a splash of colour, or sunflower seeds for some crunchy texture probably would’ve bumped it up a notch or two.

...veggie patty...

...spinach salad... redux...

Cailin’s sandwich arrived on whole wheat bread and contained tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar and roast beef.  However, the bread was not toasted like she had asked and it was a bit too cold for her taste.  But once again, the ingredients looked very fresh and overall it was good sandwich.

...le special...

...soup and sandwich...

My sandwich arrived in burger form.  The pulled pork was very tender and saucy, the coleslaw in it quite creamy, and a good blend of flavours.  But unlike most pulled pork sandwiches that I’ve had in the past, the meat was cold so I didn’t get to experience the contrasting temperatures of hot meat against the cool coleslaw that I was expecting.  As well, the buns came un-toasted and the poor things didn’t have a chance in holding up against all the saucy goodness.  The whole thing soon became a limp, soggy mess that required the use of fork and knife.  The fries that came with them were pretty hot though, and appeared homemade and were very tasty.

...bbq pulled pork sammy...

...super fries!...

Throughout the entire meal, our waitress checked in on us occasionally and refilled our drinks without request.  The atmosphere inside was very casual and relaxed, and I imagine it would be a really great place to watch the game or enjoy a cold one in front of the many different TV screens.  In fact, while LeRae enthralled us of tales of meals that would typically take up to 4 hours in Italy, we actually ended up staying there for close to 3 hours!  Perhaps a testimonial of how much we dug the ambiance?

We had a great time.  And while I will say that the food was quite good, I felt that it had the potential to be something so much more with just a bit of polishing.