Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

It was 8:30pm Friday night. Rainy out and Gastown's very busy. From the outside, The Irish Heather looks dark and packed. It's a smaller space than where it used to be, narrow and deep (and without haunted bathrooms ). There's a fellow outside with a clipboard and he asks if I have a reservation. When I tell him I'm part of a party meeting here for drinks, he checks his clipboard, then admits me. I'm not usually out clubbing and pubbing so I can't admit to having seen a bouncer for the Irish Heather before. I chatted with him briefly and he says he's there to keep out the riff-raff. It's a busy enough place that he can diplomatically turn people away by saying it's full and reservations-only. He also says the Irish Heather is not a pub-crawl destination, and that's something he keeps an eye out for. The Irish Heather's menu is more drinks than food, and everything's got a name, so it's the sort of place to go when you know what y...

I've heard from several people how Dunn's Famous downtown has authentic Montreal smoked meat. If you're hankering for exactly that, then you should definitely try it. I'm not going to give points for authenticity, however. I tried the 8 oz. "Giant Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich" and will be basing this review as if I'm basically new to smoked meat and don't care about some eastern province's tradition. There is a take out menu, and on Thursday, that's all I had time for. If that's all you're looking for at lunch, the waitress will wave you in and point you to the bar where the bartender will take your order. It was just a single sandwich, so it came quite quickly. I wasn't asked about a choice of bread, so there's just the "light sourdough rye" (as indicated in the menu) available. The three cuts -- lean, medium, or fat -- basically asks just how much fat marbling you want in your meat. That'll determine from w...

It looks like yummy green martian meat, but the Hariyali chicken at Soho Road Naan Kebab is just tandoor oven baked chicken with a mint and cilantro marinade . A full naan wrap (using an approximately 6" naan) is $10 (exactly, tax included, so it's actually more like $8.92). It's pricey compared to, say, a donair. However, as street food goes, it's probably par as you can expect food carts to be pricier than sit-down restaurants. In comparison, it's about the size of two moderately sized burgers, but with somewhat more meat involved. A half order is $6. Value-added features of eating at Soho Road Naan Kebab  is that their oven is inside the food cart. The day begins early with cooking the meat inside the cart. Naans are continuously made, and you can expect a hot, fresh, naan with a decent amount of charring for flavour (but not overdone to bitterness) to be used to make your wrap. Also, if you watch them make the wrap, you will notice that it is folded tigh...

My friend doesn't come in from Chilliwack often, so I'm always nervous choosing restaurants for us to go. Fortunately, Calabash Bistro turned out to be a great choice -- with caveats. Let's get the big negative out of the way: The neighbourhood. Within a few blocks of its Gastown location are some notable dining spots like The Irish Heather and Cartems Donuterie  (now open till 6pm!). But just on that walk up Carrall are also some really seedy places with equally seedy people. No folks, despite all the construction and new businesses hanging out their shingles, Gastown isn't gentrified. I considered Calabash for a get-together earlier this year when it was dark in the early evening, but nixed it. It just wasn't an appropriate choice to bring a lady . But she was intrigued by the place and its casual vibe, music, and small bites, so we did eventually try it just this past weekend on Saturday. It was bright out at 6.45 pm when I got there, and still bright when w...

Got this in my inbox on the weekend from the Food Bloggers of Canada ... Hello to our BC Members! While we try to keep the email noise to a minimum, we wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that we are hosting a food photography workshop on June 30th in Vancouver. The number one thing we hear from all our members is that they wish they could improve their photography so we wanted to give you an opportunity to do so with a fabulous instructor. We are hosting two sessions with professional food photographer Jackie Connelly at Sugar Studios in Vancouver: The first will focus on hands on food photography with one on one instruction from Jackie. She’ll be showing you how to get the most out of your camera – be it point and shoot or a DSLR, how to cope with poor lighting and how to work with different types of foods. The second will focus on the business side of food photography, including how to find clients (restaurants, magazines, stock imagery, on-line), prepare f...

I haven't been to the Bel Cafe since December, so I happily went along when Posh Pudding suggested we drop by to see what they had after a lacklustre dinner on Friday at Taza . Although she is enamoured of their little lemon tart, we spotted the lonely Crispy Choux left on the plate and snapped it up. It's the last one left, so it had to be good, right? Happily, it turned out that it was really good! The Crispy Choux is about the size of a tennis ball. It looks crusty and crispy on the outside, but it's not (or maybe because it was the end-of-the-day pastry and the shell had softened?). It's not exactly leathery or even chewy, however. Overall it's very much like a cream puff, just with a bark-like appearance on the outside. The chocolatey cream is shot in from underside, and there's a nice full amount of it. I've had problems with finishing something that's too much (or basically made out of) cream (such as some of the offerings at Giovane ), bi...

It was around 5pm on Friday that Posh Pudding and I were wandering downtown Vancouver, keeping out eyes open for an interesting food cart. She nixed the idea of Japadog, which was one of the very few that were still open. Somehow we ended going up Seymour when I spotted Taza. Something about the fresh, clean look of the exterior compared to its neighbours suggested this was possibly a new tenant in the building and maybe a new restaurant. We decided to give it a go. I immediately spotted a couple of breakfast items (not listed in the brochure below), but it was too late in the day and apparently they weren't available anymore. That dulled my enthusiasm right there, but Posh Pudding persisted and tried to order a Veggie Lovers Plate. Oops -- out of spinach pie. So she went with the Chicken Shawarma Plate. Maybe it was end-of-the-day chicken, but the shaved chicken shawarma cam across as a tad dry. And curiously, there was a clear taste of rosewater, probably from somewhere els...

If you were at the City of Bhangra on the weekend, you may have wandered into the small and boring food area at the Vancouver Art Gallery venue. It was tiny. Maybe two food stalls selling food prepared from frozen food products (I know -- "Huh?"). But you may also have notice PopChips, especially as they were giving away free sample bags of their potato chips, which are "popped" instead of fried or baked. And apparently this version of potato chips is not only healthier, but has won quite a few "awards" . PopChips has been in the US for about five years now, but is apparently only just invading Canada (hence the massive giveaway on Saturday). Notable about Popchips is... They don't use capital letters except in the "Nutrition Facts" section. I'm not sure if this is some sort of reflection on contemporary schooling. The blurb at the back says "we start with wholesome potatoes, add a little heat and pressure, and pop! it's a...

With so many Neapolitan Pizza places popping up in Vancouver, I decided to go back to "normal" pizza and arranged a Meetup with Food Bloggers to try Urban Fare . Although it's "thin crust pizza made fresh in store", Neapolitan pizza purists will probably gag. But if you're not anal about getting your pizza flash-burned in a traditional wood-fired oven, it's surprisingly good! At the moment, only the Shangri-La location has pizza , probably because they're the only ones equipped with a nice pizza oven in the luxuriously large store that has several counters and cafe seating all around the windowed perimeter. The pricey MARKET  restaurant is upstairs, so you may be worried that Urban Fare will serve up similarly sized (read: "small") pizzas -- $16-$19 for an 8" specialty Neapolitan-styled crust pizza. Fortunately, that is not so. Even better, in the generally-considered-pricey grocery store that is Urban Fare, you get a reasonably g...

The Courier just dropped off a stack of their weekly newspaper outside the Condo in which I work. Along with this week's news was a short stack of brown paper bags from COBS: Bring in this bag to receive 6 complimentary buns with purchase of any large loaf . Be sure to read the fine print about the buns: Valid at COBS Main Street (2994 Main Street; 604.708.4935) Bring in bag to receive offer. Buns include: White, Whole Wheat, and Country Grain Valid until June 27th, 2012 One offer per customer. Flip over to the back for a bit of additional info on COBS: We promise to bring you the freshest, highest quality baked goods every day. Each morning our dedicated bakers are up early making bread from scratch for you to enjoy. At the end of the day, all of our leftover bread is given to local charities . View Larger Map

Fraudulently using your RFID-enabled credit card without having to even touch it is more than theory. In January of this year, a hacker demonstrated it in front of a live audience . I have friends with RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) cards, and they buy special sleeves to protect the cards while they are in their purses. But what happens when you have to pull it out to make a purchase?  It turns out that even though new credit cards are issued with the RFID or "Pay-Wave" feature, you can opt out. I called CIBC today about my credit card, and after the operator made some inquiries, she confirmed that she could put in a request for my card to not have it. Even so, there was some sell of the feature: The operator emphasized that the Pay-Wave was for my convenience. It was faster, transactions would be limited to $50 or less (depending on the merchant), and in any case I could opt out of using the Pay Wave at all and demand to enter a PIN. If you are concerned about t...

The latest Sun Peaks Resort Press Release announces July festivals, including several foodie events. And, believe it or not, Kevin Costner (yes, *that* Kevin Costner, the famous movie star) will sing with his band "Modern West" in a free outdoor concert. If you are planning a longer stay at Sun Peaks, you may wish to consider Delta Residences at Sun Peaks . Even the one-bedroom suites include the conveniences of home such as an en-suite washer/dryer. Coinciding with the July festivals is the weekly Sunday Farmer's Market  so you can prepare your meals in each suite's fully equipped kitchen with Stainless Steel appliances. === START PRESS RELEASE === Sun Peaks, BC - July will be the perfect time to soak in Sun Peaks’ outdoor ambiance at two festivals dedicated to fine fare and culture. The well established Wine & Culture Festival (July 6 to 8) will be joined by the new Liquid Gold: Beer & Whisky Festival (July 27 to 28), continuing to grow Canada’s...

Instead of EAT! Vancouver and a free entree at a new French restaurant , I cleared my schedule this weekend to go Eat with Jenny and have a civilized afternoon tea at ShakTea . I'd been to ShakTea and still had a fond memory of the quality of the food there. The vast selection of tea, however, I must admit is lost on me. I haven't developed any refined tea palate yet, and there's a bleak possibility that I might never get any better appreciation of the stuff. So when we were off to ShakTea, I was really just focussed on the food. Afternoon Tea Culinary elegance - Main Street style! Reservations required. $24.95 per person. Come and join us for an afternoon of indulgence!  Afternoon Tea at Shaktea goes beyond English tradition to present a number of thematic fusion menus, inspired by the culinary treasures of various tea-producing countries of the world, created by owner, Maria Ma. Our current Afternoon Tea menu includes: Tea Service for One (Select from over 7...

I bought a Groupon for Plöger Delikatessen ($8 for 2 hot drinks and 2 apple strudels ) last year, but didn't get around to finally going until this past Saturday evening -- yes, instead of going to EAT! Vancouver , I decided to hear all about my friend's recent trip to Peru, where she had Montezuma's Revenge and trekked up to Machu Picchu . When my friend and I were at Plöger Delikatessen on the sunny, sleepy Saturday afternoon, there was just one of the owners tending the store. It was past 4pm, and clearly things were winding down. We browsed a bit at the various imports and non-imports (including locally made, raw, vegan, organic, fair trade Zimt Artisan Chocolate ; both the bars and the newer 1-bite singles), and then settled on a square of Linzer Cake to try in addition to our strudels. For hot beverages, we were allowed to choose from the list posted to the left of the counter -- basically coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. I went with a black tea (normally $2.40)...

The Wallflower Modern Diner still makes the best chocolate cake ever -- rich, dense, moist, and you get a large portion for your money. But what happened to the chocolate sauce?! I'd been to the Wallflower a few times over the last couple of years, and even dragged some of my friends there. Good eats other than their wonderful vegan chocolate cake included hummus melt , blackened halibut . Just this Thursday morning I went for a late breakfast with a friend. The Wallflower opens at 9am, and by 9.30 am it was still completely empty when I walked in. Things got busy shortly after that, though, and closer to 10am, the restaurant was at least half full, with the buzz of conversation competing with the loud music. Although it was breakfast, I wanted to save room for the chocolate cake, so I went with just an appy -- $11 Crab and Apple Cakes ( crab, curry, onion, apple, peach, cumin mayo ). This came as three cakes, each about 2/3rds the size of a hockey puck. It was topped with ...