Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

This July, Karmavore patrons have been taking advantage of a huge 25% off their bill, valid all through July, for dine-in. If you haven't been back there in a while, they have wiped out their retail and supermarket, and are now just a cafe, with a shelf on the side for a few leftovers. They have also paired up with vegan-friendly Chau Veggie Express! Here's how the ad copy reads. Notice the extra goodie they threw in (in bold): Exclusive Karmacard Holder Offer! SAVE 25% OFF YOUR BILL [ Deal Ends July 31] Karmavore would like to THANK YOU all for your continued support over the years, with an exclusive offer to our most valuable supporters! Simply pop in anytime now through end of July, and mention the following coupon code, and you will receive 25% OFF your table bill, no spending limit, and no menu item exceptions!  karmacardpromo25  You may also use this promotion as many times as you like for the entire month of July! Additionally, you can share this special of

Appy Hour at The Flying Pig is during that dead-for-restaurants pre-dinner time from 3pm to 5pm. However, if you polled all your friends, you might find a surprising number can show up for it. Maybe they work downtown and can zip down for a bite or leave work a bit earlier. Or maybe they are free from the 9-to-5 pigeon hole and are happy to get cheap eats downtown. The menu has a good assortment, and for the most part, what you get for $5 or $6 is a good deal. Quantity varies A LOT based on what we got last Friday at The Flying Pig's Yaletown location. Overall, the food hovers around "good" to just under "great". It's simple appy fare and already at a discounted price, so let's not be too picky, 'eh? Shrimp and Cod Fritters ($5) pickle and dill tartar sauce ( picture ) Tried a bit of this and I have to say I couldn't pick out any shrimp flavour. Looked like there was a lot of potato, though. The four fritters is sort of OK portion for $5 a

This past weekend, if you went to the EPIC Fest booth *inside* the festival grounds -- you know, where they were selling EPIC T-shirts -- you could have picked up a coupon book for $10 (Greenster, if I remember correctly) , filled with discount coupons. Amongst these coupons was a 2-for-1 for entry into the EPIC Fest. But wait! You would already have been *inside* the EPIC fest. Which is too bad, because the adult entry is $21. Two adult entries is $42. Plus coupon book for $10 makes it $52. BUT if you bought the book first, you could immediately use the 2-for-1 coupon and save $21, reducing your net two-person entry cost to $31. Net savings $11 and you get a coupon book for even more savings. They could have moved so many books that weekend.

It's curry in a can! At first I was pretty leery of it, but once I tried it... WOW! First of all, it's really easy. Just add a half can of milk They also have a super-easy recipe on the back, involving fried onions and chicken (or veggies, seafood, or other types of meat). You basically just let it all simmer with the curry sauce until it's cooked and hot. The cooking required is ludicrously easy. What results is a surprising amount of curry that can make 2-4 meals depending on how much naan, bread, rice, or other staple you eat it with. It's also surprisingly tasty. The curry is rich and flavourful as a curry should be. It's also quite thick -- thicker than a lot of curries I've had at Indian restaurants. The main problem with it is that it isn't spicy-hot. It's rated at "medium" spicy, but for me there was no real heat at all. You'll have to add your own chili, preferably during "cooking" (i.e., when you heat it up) so t

After much wrangling over where to go for good poutine, our dining group settled on Dunn's Famous. Some had already been to La Belle Patate and they reported with horror that the gravy was vegan. I've never been there, but if it is, it might be worth checking out for vegan fare. Hmm... Anyway, I'd been to Dunn's Famous before and the tenderness of the smoked meat is good (the whole concept of smoked meat is another matter). This time I wanted to try something different, plus dessert. Latkes ($6.99) Traditional potato latkes fried up golden brown. Served with sour cream.  ( picture ) Four latkes for $7. Each maybe added up to the volume of a pack of cigarettes, so that's almost $2 per potato pancake . Very salty. You really need the sour cream to temper it, but the salt is still there of course. Enough onion to make its flavour known, so if that's what you like, then you'll like this. Overall I feel this is too pricey for the quantity you get. Bu