Nicli Antica Pizzeria

When I was 14, I went on a school trip to Italy. My interest in boys not yet burgeoning, I discovered other earthly pleasures such as gelato, which was not yet ubiquitous in Canada. I remember indulging to the tune of four waffle bowls of it in one day, though I paid dearly for it. The other sensory delight I found in Sorrento (just outside of Naples) was the pizza. Oh, the pizza. I don’t really remember what it was like, but I do remember thinking “this is the best pizza I’ve ever tasted.”

Now you can have that same superlative taste experience right in East Van! Check out Nicli Antica Pizzeria on Cordova. They follow special guidelines for authentic Neapolitan pizza, and the results are definitely worth the effort. The crust is best described as evocative of naan, but you’ve got to try it to see what I mean. The Bianca is to die for, as is the tiramisu.

A rather motley crew of us went after our ball game on Monday, and it was so good that I suggested it to another group of friends as we surveyed our dinner options last night. The service can be hit and miss, but that’s certainly forgivable in a relatively new establishment. Any kinks will be ironed out, and I predict this place will have a long and healthy life in East Van.

Campagnolo Roma

You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I’m not really one for Italian food. A, however, newishly transplanted from the West End, has been missing Nook, her favourite little pork-infused hideaway. On a rare evening when the three of us were available (after ditching our boyfriends and coworkers respectively), A, E and I headed to the cozy confines of Campagnolo Roma with our hopes held high. We were not to be disappointed.

The room has been beautifully renovated and you have to look hard for any trace of the strange Jamaican pizzeria that was the previous occupant. I am somewhat sorry that I never made it there, but I'm told I wasn't missing much.

The whipped ricotta appetizer was a revelation that I'm still wistfully phantom-tasting today. No sooner had the first bites passed our lips than we ordered another round. The fresh and simple pastas are priced reasonably, striking a balance between the obvious quality of the ingredients and the sensibility of the neighbourhood. A charmingly forgetful bartender who said he was only moonlighting and our shy but sweet server rounded out the equation.

CR, as I will henceforth refer to it in text messages, is a welcome addition to the burgeoning neighbourhood foodie scene. We will be back, sans car and plus wine.

Guilt & Co.

The scene: Friday night in Gastown for a joint graduation party for two of my boyfriend's pals. We started out at Chill Winston, about which I feel rather blah. It seems a victim of its own success, and has been the favoured hangout for newly minted adults and the bridge and tunnel crowd for some time now. Plus, why would I hang out there, when the Diamond is right across Maple Tree Square, glowing warmly at me from its lovely windows?

We had a quick bite at Vera's (always tasty, and gets the job done, leaving more room in the evening's budget for craft cocktails!), then headed to CW. After a while, it became time to move on, and the plan was to head downstairs to Guilt & Co. What? Double what? Apparently this place has been beneath Chill Winston for more than a year, but it somehow escaped my notice. I guess I must have had my snobby blinders on with regards to that side of the square. One look at the sign promising board games, and I was sold. Oh, I was sold.

The line was short and the cover non-existent (hopefully they can sustain the latter). Many bonus points for the extensive board game menu (Battleship, Connect 4, Catan, and more!), as well as the speakeasy in a cave nature of the decor. The crowd was fun, the bathrooms unisex, the very creative cocktails refreshing and expertly mixed, and the Jenga blocks gigantic. I will certainly be back another night to sample the live music and other performances (never has a venue in Vancouver been more perfectly suited to burlesque!) and the food menu, which includes chunks of cheese. Awesome. The familiar font and wording of the printed ephemera hinted subtly at ownership shared with CW upstairs, but I much prefer what they've done with this place. I hope it can hang on to its relatively chill and secret vibe.

Summertime, and the living is busy

You may have noticed that I have turned into one of those slacker bloggers I vowed I would never become. I want to put you all on notice that posts will be few and far between in the ensuing months, but I am not hanging up my keyboard permanently!

Between time with friends and my boyfriend (no longer just my mysterious "dining companion"), my dog, riding my still hypothetical new bike, weekend getaways, out of town visitors, work, commuting, dodgeball, three softball teams, choir, and book club, there simply aren't enough hours in the week to blog right now!

Enjoy the warmer weather (if it ever comes), and I'll do my level best to create some new content here and there.

Docker's Diner

This particular post has been a long time coming, because Docker's was the first place I ever frequented in my new neighbourhood. I've been out of the habit but a few recent visits have reminded me to put it back in my rotation.

The place looks like it's been there for decades, but it's actually less than ten years old (I can't remember exactly how old). Joanna, the owner, has done an amazing job right down to the worn patina of the red fabric booths.

Initially, I was prepared to be disappointed by some aspect of Docker's. It all seemed too good to be true, and right down the street from my apartment. Happily, I couldn't have been more wrong. I've eaten both breakfast and lunch there more times than I can count, and it's always dependably great. The food is basic, but delicious, the service is wonderfully sweet or delightfully crusty (but always attentive!) depending on who you get, and the value simply can't be beat. The standing breakfast special is two eggs, bacon or sausage, real hash brown potatoes and toast for $5.45, including HST!

Docker's is justifiably popular with everyone from the blue collar set to young families and hipsters to cops. Give it one chance and you'll understand why.

What does it mean?

The second double rainbow of the week. It's so intense. Hopefully it's another good omen for Canucks like Tuesday's version!

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

I am what a paramedic friend of mine once called a black cloud. That is, I often find myself witnessing situations which legitimately require a 911 call. Ever since I learned about the murder of Kitty Genovese in Psych 104, I promised myself I would always be the one who makes that call, since, statistically speaking, most people assume someone else will do it and don't bother. I counted, and in 2010, I called 911 something like 12 times.

Despite living on what must be ground zero for emergency responders in Grandview-Woodland and Hastings-Sunrise, I have only called 911 twice in the past 20 months for happenings in my own neighbourhood. Both were possible gunshots, and happily, I wasn't the only one to call.

Last night my dinner party was interrupted by one of the near weekly street operas that play out just below my balcony. This time it was a spectacularly loud relationship bust up, in which the woman swore she was "always f*cking faithful to [him]!"

Later on, when I was moving the open-windowed skunkmobile inside in case of rain, I was privy to a strictly verbal girl fight that was carried out with one woman walking down the middle of the street yelling at the other walking on the sidewalk. "Mary," one assured the other, "you do not want to get on my f*cking bad side!" With neighbours like these, who needs to go to the movies?

It must be the WASP in me who wonders why these people can't play out their dramas behind closed doors. That being said, I wouldn't trade my sometimes gritty, sometimes peaceful, but always interesting address for what I had in the 'burbs where people didn't seem to leave their houses, except to get into their cars.

A stinky situation indeed

Hello blog readers, (if there are any of you left). I had the best of intentions of posting last weekend at the latest, but I couldn't seem to make it happen. Chief among my excuses for this is the fact that everything I've done in the last week or so seems to have taken place either on the West Side (a day at Granville Island, the Smorgasbord show at St. Andrew's Wesley Church, and the Sun Run) or at old standbys about which I've already lovingly blogged (like The Diamond).

My other major excuse is that I've been spending a bit of time in Kits these days. If you know me in real life, you probably know why. I have to say, one thing I do not miss about Kits is the skunks. I don't recall ever coming across one in East Van, though of course they're here too. Unfortunately on Sunday evening, Murph and I ended our 5 year string of skunk-free luck in spectacular fashion. I have spent the last three days trying in vain to de-skunk the house in Kits into which he immediately dashed, my car into which we foolishly put him while we researched what to do, and even my own hair which received an indirect hit of the indescribably vile musk. So there you have it; I haven't been ignoring you...well, I suppose I have, but I hope you find my excuses legit!

Paparazzi

I am a rather ardent fan of Groupon and all its many, many copycat enterprises. In the year and a half that I’ve been wise to these deals, I’ve saved a bundle on everything from windsurfing to wine making, and dog sitting to dinners out. Sometime last year, I bought a Groupon offered by Blue Olive Photography, an outfit whose work I had much admired in a previous lifetime when I was in the market for a wedding photographer. The deal was $75 for a 30 minute photo shoot, with 3 prints of your favourite image.

A&E, though loyal fans of America’s Next Top Model, and far superior “smisers” than I, were wary of being included in the photo shoot. As is my custom, I insisted, and Reilly made sure we had a fun time. Murphy the dog was less accommodating, but I think he did his best. It was definitely awkward walking around Gastown and fake laughing while being trailed by a photographer, but the end results were worth it.

Of course, they’re counting on you to purchase products beyond that, and purchase we did. The image here is my favourite, and it’s the one I chose for our free prints. If Blue Olive ever offers another of these deals or if you can swing their regular fees, by all means, take advantage of their talent and friendliness. You’re guaranteed to have a great time and you will love your photographs!

Happy Birthday Vancouver!

Unless you've been living under a rock (or perhaps somewhere besides Vancouver), you've probably heard that today is our fair city's 125th birthday! By worldwide standards, we're positively brimming with youth! Of course, East Van is where it all began. Check out this article from today's Sun for a quick primer on our beginnings as a city.

One of the things I love so much about East Van, and Vancouver in general, is the mostly peaceful coexistence of architecture from every one of our decades. I really really can't stand all-new cookie cutter-like neighbourhoods. They have their place, of course, but I'm more than a little pleased to live in a city that has mostly managed to avoid them, in favour of building up existing neighbourhoods while maintaining the organic and historic flavour that makes them unique and interesting. In cities like New York, it seems like practically everyone lives and/or works in what we would call a heritage building here, but that doesn't make our history any less fascinating or important!

Here's to you, Vancouver, and your next 125 years!