Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

I was early for my Hog Shack reservation on Saturday and dropped into Living Cafe for a cool place to wait. It was such a hot day so I decided to go with a nice cold drink. I asked for the weirdest one they had and they suggested their Liquid Gold Organic Smoothie ($9): fresh almond milk, frozen bananas, dates, turmeric, maple syrup, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, vanilla. First off, it wasn't as cold as I had hoped. Maybe I should have asked them to throw in some ice as well. Second -- and this is just my own pet peeve -- it came in a mason jar. I wish restaurants would just stop it with the mason jars. It's like they ran out of proper cups and glasses and mugs and dusted off something from the cellar that was meant for canning fruit. The use of turmeric reminded me of Golden Milk, to which I was introduced at Ethical Kitchen . I couldn't stomach it there, so I hesitated when they told me there was turmeric in Liquid Gold. But what the hey, let's give it a try. S...

There are different BBQ styles in the US, so even if two BBQ houses look like they are serving the "same" thing, they may not be. Not exactly, anyway. For starters, Hog Shack should definitely not be compared to the not-slathered-in-bbq-sauce Carolina style served at Peckinpah . Their "Kansas-city style" is much closer to Memphis Blues , but I'm going to be cautious about making direct comparisons. It looks pretty big on the outside, but Hog Shack is not that big on the inside. Reservations are recommended as they sometimes close earlier on slow days. Online menus don't necessarily match the actual menus for the price of items, so if a couple dollars more upsets you, call first I guess, or swing by and have a look at the menu. Trying to make reservations online (e.g., through Facebook) can result in complications, so talking to a live person is preferred. I tried reservations online and even though I had two communications with them, my reservation did n...

Living Cafe in Steveston (in Richmond) is a quaint little place this is deli on one side, dining room on another. The dining space is simple, sunny, and spacious and displays local artwork on the walls. The menu is an interesting one that supports not-easily-found diets, such as raw, paleo , superfoods , and funny good-for-you ingredients like chlorophyll and red reishi mushroom . For sugar, they use the 1:1 sugar substitute xylitol . Vegetarian and vegan diets are of course supported. They also carry a selection of Anderssen's Life Flaxrolls . The online menu is missing at least one page. Black Coffee ($3) Enriched coffee grown and cultivated by experienced artisans and mixed with their proprietary, pesticide-free, USDA certified organic Ganoderma Lucidium ("red reishi mushroom"). Tastes like coffee, but seemed a bit on the weak side. Presumably the $3 is for the mushroom content. Red reishi mushroom is supposed to be on the bitter side, so it blends nicel...