Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

I'm with TekSavvy as my internet service provider, and honest to God no past provider has sent me a letter that reads like this: Hello, We have some good news about your service with us. As you know, your current package with us for <masked> is Cable 10 Pro, with 300 GB of non-overnight download usage at a monthly cost of $34.95 . (Uploads, and overnight downloads between 2 and 8 am, are unmetered.) Well, starting with your first billing cycle on or after Monday, 16 January 2017, your package will become Cable 10 Pro, with 400 GB of usage at a monthly cost of $29.95 . No action on your part is needed, as the change will happen automatically. So, without me lifting a finger they've given me a fat discount. Thanks TekSavvy!

Lured down to Bogart's Bar and Restaurant by my friend for happy hour and found it nice and quiet at 4pm. We got our choice of seating -- normal tables, booths, and higher bar chairs around smaller tables. TIP: Some seats are close to the doors, and it being cold outside now, you may want to give those a pass if you can. Buffalo Cauliflower "Wings" ($8) buttermilk ranch sauce, celery sticks Wow was this salty. But the ranch sauce toned it right down so use it. Mildly hot with a heat that didn't linger in the mouth. Szechuan Brussels Sprouts ($8) crispy fried, spicy sesame dressing, toasted almonds NOT marked "V" for vegetarian, so there's probably something to the sauce, which had a meaty taste to it (borrowed from steak jus?) So salty! Maybe at one point it was crispy, but after being bathed in that sauce... not anymore. Veggie Burger ($15) house-made black bean, almond, and mushroom patty; aged cheddar; roasted tomato relish; cri...

Not really one for seafood but my friend picked Fanny Bay Oyster Bar for happy hour early dinner. Checking on Yelp, another friend gave it a good review, so I was game. Seating and table spacing felt kinda tight. Busy too for happy hour on a Saturday! Also, our server gave us a happy hour last-call warning, which was kinda nice. Pot of mint tea ($3) Looked innocent enough, and at $3 it's about on par with ordering hot tea at Starbucks. Hey look, it's Starbucks tea! Teapot of hot water had what appeared to be (and what I hoped was) leftover tea leaves. No way they didn't see that when they poured in the hot water. FAIL. Fried Oysters ($7.50 happy hour pricing) Deep fried Fanny Bay Oysters, house made tartar sauce, cabbage coleslaw Ordered this based on a friend's Yelp review, and price for value it's really decent! The sheer number of meaty oysters makes this more filling than a gourmet burger costing 50% more. Very crispy on the outside without...

Got an e-mail today from Canada-based GUSTO Worldwide Media -- There's a casting call ! Here's the blurb: CALLING ALL TALENTED COOKS! Gusto Worldwide Media is thrilled to be moving forward with a number of original cooking series and are looking for Canada’s next culinary superstars. Whether you’re a professional chef, inspired home cook or a passionate foodie, it’s time to show off your skills and personality! Gusto Worldwide Media will be producing shows non-stop throughout 2017 and are in search of all kinds of talent in a variety of categories: bakers, globally inspired cooks and/or a fun personality who could host a dinner-party show. We want to hear from you if: • You’re a foodie. • You know how to cook. Like really, really cook. • You have a BIG, fun personality. • You specialize in global cuisine (e.g. Korean, Cantonese, Szechuan, Greek, Caribbean, Lebanese, Moroccan, Turkish, etc.). • Baking is your life. Culinary hopefuls are encouraged to submit a one- t...

Accepted an impromptu invitation today to try Motomachi Shokudo. They have a variety of soup bases, including an intriguing Bamboo-Charcoal. You get a pretty big bowl with lots of soup, so the volume you get is sort of comparable to a big bowl of pho. Pork tender but not melt-in-your-mouth tender. Still, overall, you get a rich and tasty soup, a generous amount of pork,and some interesting flavours to mix it up, including a tender boiled egg and seaweed. As for the bamboo-charcoal, it definitely made the broth charcoal black, but in flavour I didn't get anything too special. Might be a nostalgia thing. For $1.10 extra you can get extra noodle, and there's definitely enough soup to support more noodle. The soup alone will be filling but you could always super-size for $1.10. Pretty small and cozy spot. We got in just at 6pm on a Friday and close to 7pm it still hadn't filled to any sort of lineup so for small parties a walk-in to the communal table is probably do...

The menu at Earls on Kingsway near Metrotown has changed since I was last there about a year ago  and I still can't get a decent meal there. Vegetarian Burger ($13) Brown rice and mushroom vegetarian patty, aged cheddar, sauteed onions, vine ripened tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard on a freshly baked brioche bun. Tender bun was the only good thing here. Patty tasted like salt. It was salty. No other flavour. Total waste of time especially for $13. TIP: Unless you want your burger to taste like pickle, remove the pickle right away. TIP: Might also want to try distributing the onion more evenly inside if it's not too caked into the cheese. Pot of Tea ($3.75) Service was also fail. At the time I placed my order, I asked for the hot water in my teapot to be topped up. The server did not take my pot. Neither did they take my pot when my order came. I honestly don't remember our table being checked on until the server came to clear our dishes an...

Less than one day left to get a 40%-off SocialShopper coupon  for Salchicha's Meat Bar . As deals go it's really good value, especially when you are not locked into some sort of tasting menu with limited options. Note that the SocialShopper page talks about mango mustard chicken and build-your-own paninis, but we couldn't find either on the lunch menu. So if you really want either, call ahead. There are a few vegetarian and gluten-free options. The room is long and sort of narrow, and a very pleasant respite from the very dilapidated neighbourhood. Pretty quiet on weekday afternoons, so that's your best bet for large groups or a slow, lingering lunch with excellent company. Their made-in-house lemonade might not be ready yet so early in the day, though. Shakshouka Maraguez ($13) Slow cooked spicy tomato sauce and poached eggs with our famous made in-house spicy Maraguez sausages served with focaccia bread and tahini sauce Comes sizzling to your table. Ver...

Hungry Guys Kitchen  is a bright, clean oasis of a new place (almost 1 year old) on rather dilapidated downtown Granville. Simple food, good price, tastes fresh, good value/portion for money if you're just looking for a filling meal that doesn't cost too much. Not really a good choice for the indecisive as you direct them to assemble your burrito or bowl, but with some nudging I convinced them to put together their recommendation. Just under $9 so after tax it was just over $9. And just one burrito is worth two burgers so you might just want to order one to share.