White Spot, South Nanaimo

My son and I decided to go out for a nice dinner last week, and we chose the White Spot across the street from his condo here in Nanaimo.  It’s an upscale family restaurant. 

The original White Spot was in Vancouver.  In the 1960s my father would sometimes take us there for Sunday dinner after church.  It was a drive-in restaurant at that time.  You parked in the parking lot facing the wall, which featured a giant mural of an outdoor Canadian scene.  To order, you turned your headlights on high beam and a waitress came to the car.  When your order was ready she brought it to the car on a long tray which fitted into the car, attached to the rolled down windows.  My mother always ordered a piece of boysenberry pie or strawberry cheesecake and a cup of tea, and the rest of us usually had a hamburger and an orange crush.  Sadly that favourite Vancouver-in-the-60s tradition is now just a lovely memory, as times have changed.

Now there are White Spots in several cities in BC.  Nanaimo has two of them.  The one we went to is near downtown and the seawall.  It has a pleasant ambience and friendly service.  We arrived just before 5 o’clock, beating the supper-time influx of patrons as the appy-hour patrons were leaving.  Good time to come, as our order arrived much quicker than the last time we came, when the place was already full of customers. 

Nathaniel ordered a burger and fries with a blueberry milkshake, while I had the cauliflower and chickpea curry with a glass of rosé.  The curry  comes  with mango chutney and naan bread.  So delicious  and satisfying! 

Our bill came to $50 Canadian altogether; about $25 each.  We can’t afford to do this often, but it was a memorable  way to start our evening  before going to the African Children’s Choir, always so lively and inspiring.