Why put a pot of water on the stove when you could scrap it out with a total stranger in the Costco parking lot instead? Indeed, there really is nothing like a good old-fashioned "crisis" to get the general populace whipped up into a skull-crackin' frenzy. Meanwhile, forming their own "calm eye of the storm", so to speak, outdoorsy camping gadgeteers have been seen protectively clutching strange-looking apparatus (apparati?) and smiling smugly to themselves.
Christmas around my family of shopaholics can, in the best of years, be a flurry of wrapping paper, huge boxes, gift certificates and subtle sneers of "I'm returning that later". In the past I've tried donating to various charities in each person's name, but that didn't go over as well as could be hoped, so I decided this year I'm giving conscientious Christmas gifts AND the message too. My strategy is simple - find something they absolutely love, then tell them it's hand-made, or recycled or supporting a local business and why.
I had started looking around ebay and etsy for gifts, but today in my inbox I found 2 even better places for gifts. Emily Carr is having their annual student sale this weekend (details after the jump), and Edible B.C. - purveyors of all things lovely and edible from B.C - has gift baskets available this year. They're both on Granville Island too, which is nice, because it's far away from any malls and fake santas.
I guess I just assumed I had done a post on Budgies Burritos since, you know, I eat there every single day. So much in fact that I started to make my own quesadillas on my lunch breaks until I quit my job at Cuppa Joe's, wherein I figured the only logical progression was to start working where I eat. So now I work there, but that in no way influences my journalistic objectivity. No, the only thing that I am biased about is the food. Macy has created a simple system. Choose your tortilla: whole wheat or flour; choose your beans: refried pinto or black beans; choose your salsa: fresh cut, verde, or hot; and choose your filler: garlic roasted potatoes, tofurkey sausage, or extra-firm chipotle tofu. They, or shall I say we, also have soft tacos, nachos, and the aforementioned quesadillas. Read the Courier review.
Come and say hi.
Ever since I'd read about how Douglas Coupland - or some of his characters (same diff!) - used to knock back ironic retro cocktails in the lounge of the Sylvia Hotel, I wanted to do the same. As luck would have it, I was there with family on Sunday just before noon, which isn't exactly cocktail hour. Sacre! Brilliantly though, The Sylvia's 11am-2pm Sunday brunch menu includes a 1925 Parisian invention called a "Mimosa": jus d'orange and champagne.
So I've heard talk that the Sylvia is a place-to-go for brunch. I can see that on a sunny day their ocean-facing windows sport a fine view of seaside frolicking. Personally, I had a grand snarky time sitting inside on a rainy morning, cackling privately when umbrellas blew by.
I'd never heard of anyone developing a coffee blend specifically for an event but it certainly makes sense. when I go to a concert there are t-shirts, CDs, bags, Gigolo even has toilet paper, so ir you like coffee then why not?
The Vancouver Folk Festival commissioned the
ethical bean Coffee Company
to create its own blend. That really makes sense because the festival was an all-day thing and a late-night thing too making good coffee in the morning a most welcomed thing.
Recently, the blend won the Best Non-Alcoholic Organic Beverage at the second annual Organic Harvest Awards and I'd like to extend an energetica and totally ethical high-five!
Retail locations after the jump:
When I first moved to South Granville, I was dismayed at how fancy and uppity all the restaurants seemed. Between West, Vij's, even Shabusen (all of which I love) there just didn't seem anywhere to go for a quick pint, or a cheap (don't have to change your outfit) dinner.
And then I found Cafe Barney.
It's a pub-type, restaurant bar, that is pretty busy all the time, though the clientele seems to change over the course of the day. Breakfasts are always a little crazy thanks to Barney's famed benny (they have a variety of types, served all day long). Mid-day, the place is filled with middle-aged shoppers having lunch, while in the evening, it's packed with twenty and thirty-somethings having beers.
Food in general is good. I obviously enjoy a decadent meal here or there, but on the whole I do prefer food that pretends like it's home-cooked. So I figured Aphrodite's Cafe seemed like a good prospect, with it's cozy space that has a bit of a Little House on the Prairie feel to it. My mouth was watering as soon as I saw the catch phrase Organic Delights plastered in the window. Then I started getting that aching hole in my belly when I read that it had once won the Stars of Vancouver's Best Kept Secret award. I had to find out if Aphrodite would deliver the goods.
Bottled water is just another money wasting gimmick. I admit it is convenient to buy the occasional bottle of water but health wise, our water is just fine right out of the tap.
A few years back. I spoke to City Councilor David Cadman about it and he said there was no benefit in drinking bottled water. It is a waste of money and it creates landfills.
I was reading here today that Councilor Tim Stevenson feels the same way and he would like to see a ban on on bottled water on city properties.
I am proud to anounce that Leeside Tunnel Roast, custom espresso blend coffee is now available at antisocial and a couple other cool shops and coffee houses around town. Yippiiiii. Drink coffee and suport local youth.
100% of the proceeds are going to build Leeside tunnel in honor of Lee Matasi. I am sure you know the story. Lee was an apiring artist and skateboarder who was shot and killed in Gastown this year. Lee's friends have gathered together to form the Leeside stewardship group and this is just one of their clever campaigns to raise money to finish building what Lee Matasi started. A skatepark in an old, abandoned tunel located at the South East corner of Hastings Park.
We are hoping to get construction started and finished on Leeside early 2007.
I used to live in the West End and even though I love my current neighbourhood (South Granville, near Broadway) I often miss downtown. I didn't mind the all-night rumble of shopping carts in the alleys, the bum fights, and the occasional wandering meth-head. I loved that so much was so close by. The only thing I really had to complain about was the lack of a really good place for brunch.
There are a lot of good places, I know, but I was new to the city back then. Forgive me
The William Tell Restaurant is dark, formal, and fairly stuffy. It's decorated like a smoking room, or an old school study in dark greens and dark woods, and features formal white table cloths and heavy silverware. There's war memorabilia on the walls. It's a Classy Old Man kind of place.
And the food is amazing.
I've only been the WT a few times. Once, my boyfriend took me, when we were still in the datey-dates stage of our relationship. We had tickets to see RENT and our meal was hurried, but the restaurant was great about it. If you've got tickets to any kind of show, tell them and they'll be accommodating. They even offer a feature they call the "Show and Tell", which allows you to get to your show on time, and return to the restaurant afterwards for dessert.