Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Waffle and Berries specializes in large waffles that are basically $4 ($3.95), plus simple toppings (around $2). If you are even thinking of going to pricey-store-rent downtown Vancouver for a waffle, then you're probably not balking at the price, which is on par with Cafe Medina and less than Jules Bistro . You get a freshly made waffle, fresh fruit, lots of whipped cream, and pleasant ambiance ( picture by qasic ). This latter is up to you to decide of course, but it's clean, bright, and feels spacious: For a small store, they have rather large tables and comfortable chairs. They aren't sandwiching you in with the seating arrangement, and your table is big enough to not be crowded by your plates and drinks. This may sound like a trivial point, but seriously, just notice how tight things feel next time you're at different diners and restaurants. They use liege waffles . Despite the picture on their sidewalk advertisement, the waffle is slightly long rather than s...

Previously I mentioned having $1-off coupons from All You Need is Cheese , and I purchased two Boursin cheeses on sale at Superstore. The cranberry and pepper flavoured "spiced fresh soft cheese" is very much the same in consistency as the Boursin shallot and chive , except the flavour is more disappointing: If there were any pepper flavour, it was very subtle. To get any cranberry flavour, you really need to have at least a chunk of cranberry. Otherwise, the cheese tastes like cheese only. It's not so much flavoured cheese as it is dried cranberry bits mixed into the cheese. If you do get this, I recommend being generous with the portion to ensure that you have a good amount of cranberry included in whatever you have spread the cheese on. The cheese does have a richness which lends well to thicker spreads but won't give you that sick feeling from too much fat.

Fable Kitchen  has added themselves to the Mealshare charity, and I decided to drive some business their way to appreciate their participation. Initially I had thought to make a late-seating reservation for 8 persons (second seating typically means no busy third seating behind you and you can take your time, especially if you are in a larger group). However, the restaurant policy has sort of thrown a wrench into things, with not just a group menu, but requiring deposits. I should first say that I am not upset at the restaurant. Every restaurant has to contend with no-shows, and the busier the restaurant, the more upsetting it is for them since those seats could have been easily snapped up by another party or a few walk-ins. Fable does have quite the comprehensive policy including deposits, which in turn means you really need to be able to count on your party to show up. That, sadly, is pretty hard to do with the dining club I am in. Over a year ago, I tried the buy-to-share Prem...

Saturday brunch is typically pretty slow at Jules Bistro, so if you're thinking of a walk-in, you probably have a good chance of it up till 1:30 pm or so. Before 1 pm or so, it will probably be empty, giving you a great chance to walk about a bit and look at the posters, paintings, and old piano on which are a collection of intriguing flasks and brandy warmers . Also be sure to check out the chandeliers with blue birds. On this last rainy Saturday, I arrived very early for my brunch reservation, and it was happily very brightly lit inside. While I was waiting, I also got to witness an aspect of running a business in Gastown: Vagrants. The large umbrellas on the patio were apparently a great place to stop for a cigarette, and one casually dressed person did just that. While he was idling for his smoke (rather too close to the door based on current smoking laws , which require a 6-meter buffer zone), an even more disreputable-looking person stopped to talk to him. That was enoug...

My free Spring 2014 copy of All You Need Is Cheese  included a number of expires-in-June coupons for cheese products. Somehow I ended up with two copies of the magazine, so I decided to get two different flavours of Boursin Spiced Fresh Soft Cheese .  Boursin is a type of Gournay Cheese . Red Chili Pepper flavour was sadly not available at the Metrotown Superstore where they were selling for a whopping $5.57 per 150-gram box. It is apparently not a particularly hot selling item because the ones I got had an April 2014 expiration and they were being discounted to $8.98 per two boxes. After applying the two manufacturer coupons from the magazine, the price still came out to a rather pricey $3.49 for each small portion. (Right now, Save-On-Foods is advertising Western Family cheddar cheese at $7.99 for a 700 gram block, and Safeway is advertising Kraft Cheez Whiz at $4.99 for a 900g bottle). The cheese itself is rather inconvenient to use. It crumbles easily, and can also ...

Last year I mentioned a free cheese recipe magazine  and you can subscribe to for a non-Quebec Canadian address . The Spring edition came recently, with interesting recipes as promised, and showcasing twelve cheeses, including grilling cheeses, and a variety of common and not-so-common cheeses. You won't get the $1-off coupons from the inside flap if you don't subscribe, but you can get all the recipes online, some of which have instruction videos. If you're into recipe books, I highly recommend subscribing for the hardcopy. Each recipe is accompanied by beautiful pictures, and the magazine itself is mostly recipes, with just a few articles. The only recipe not in the magazine is the Canadian Blue Cheese Crème Brûlée .

Bubby's Kitchen  is quite a nice restaurant featuring interesting decor and local artwork, and several paragraphs on their menu about the intriguing corner bench featuring rough-hewn wood picked locally. On a sunny day, you can expect a brightly lit room with an energetic vibe. You can expect it to be quite busy, so try to avoid the lunch rush. The menu is quite extensive and features many vegetarian items and gluten free options. Truffle Honey Chicken Burger ($14) Grilled Rossdown chicken thighs, slow roasted roma tomato & garlic relish, pickled onion, lettuce, feta cheese & roasted garlic aioli. All of our burgers, wraps & sandwiches are served with your choice of soup, salad, or fries. Upgrade to Caesar salad, Yam or Truffle fries for $1. Substitute a gluten-free bun for $1.5. As expected, the gluten-free bun was on the dry and grainy side. If you're not celiac, you're just paying to ruin your burger. Stick with the regular bun. The truffle fries were ...