Breaking Good

Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Last night a small group of us went to see IZM at the Cultch's beautiful Historic Theatre. We left with the distinct (and true) impression that the dancers in this troupe are all way cooler than us. I wasn't sure how they would create an entire show around b-boying/girling, but the resulting production is really wonderful.

The choreography is equal parts clever and joyful sprinkled with a healthy dash of narrative. Many of the moves don't even make physical sense, and the athleticism is literally breathtaking at times. M was almost constantly resisting the urge to Shazam all the amazing music.

On top of all that, the eye candy is plentiful no matter your gender or orientation. You'll probably be inspired, (at least for the rest of the evening), to start going to the gym.

The show runs four more evenings, and tickets start at just $16!

Via Tevere Pizzeria

Vancouver, as compared to American cities like Seattle and Portland, is definitely lacking in the neighbourhood restaurant category. Here, your odds of stumbling on a little gem of a place tucked in an otherwise largely residential area are as slim as the crusts on the city's now-ubitiquitous Neapolitan pizzas. Enter Via Tevere, which seems to have continued the trend of victory against archaic liquor licensing laws!

I drive up Victoria frequently, and I've noticed a queue pouring out of this pizzeria ever since it opened on March 23rd. (Take note, potential restauranteurs...there is a huge demand for neighbourhood joints!) D, E, and I decided to check it out two Friday evenings ago. When we were finally seated, we immediately ordered the litre of house wine ($30!) over which we had been salivating outside for the past hour. I do wish they would accept some reservations, because I can't see myself waiting an hour for a table every time, though I'm beyond pleased that they're so busy.

Our server was friendly, attentive, and apologetic for our long wait. I'm not sure if that's why they gave us a free dessert, but if I were eating sweets this month (which I'm not), I would have been very grateful for it! D and E certainly enjoyed the sweet fried balls of dough.

The vegetarian pizza options are Marinara (no cheese, no thanks), Filetto (not a fan of cherry tomatoes), Margherita (boring), and Quattro Formaggi. I went with the four cheese. It was a little overcooked, but the non-blackened parts were very delicious. I wish there were a more loaded vegetarian option, because even if you start with the $11 Margherita, adding a few vegetable toppings at $3 a pop will quickly make your pizza untenably expensive. I think $3 each for vegetable toppings is a bit unreasonable. Just saying.

At any rate, the charming and convenient location of Via Tevere means it didn't have to knock my socks off to ensure a repeat visit. I'll definitely be back, but I'd love it even more if they tweaked the menu a bit, and pulled the pizzas out of that gorgeous turquoise tile oven just a few moments sooner!

Eat, Drink & Perch at the ARC Cafe

Recently, M and I were thinking of a very East Van place to take Kits friends on a double date. When I found out the lovely wife had a gluten intolerance, I knew exactly where we would go. I've been to the little cafe usually known simply as Perch several times since their Groupon last summer, but I kept forgetting to blog about it. Dear readers, that is about to change.

Apparently, one generally pays through the nose for gluten free pizzas. Not at Perch, my friends, not at Perch. The (generously) individual sized pizzas are one for $11, or two for $20. It being a Friday, we took advantage of the $14 pizza and pint weekly special. As always, the pizzas were delicious, whether or not you're used to eating gluten free. I can't speak to the rest of the menu, except for the tofu nuggets with maple sauce, which are quite tasty as well as ironically shaped. The service can be a bit spaced out, but I take it as part of the experience.

Judging by the numerous rule explanation signs they've taped up recently, there have been some issues with noise, smoking, and alcohol on the patio. I hope they can resolve whatever has been going on; it'd be a shame to lose this little gluten free neighbourhood gem.

Palki Restaurant

I've been in the market for a good Indian place nearby for a while now, so when Palki Restaurant invited me to try them out, I told them I'd stop by the next time I had a craving for curry.

My family is nuts for Indian food, so when they arrived on Thursday, we headed pretty much straight to Palki. The facade is rather dark and unassuming, which explains why I've never noticed it before. It used to be a Turkish place called Rime, which I remember visiting in my pre-blogging days. Palki's interior, done up in shades of purple, has a lovely feel which belies the reasonable prices on the menu.

Said menu has the usual suspects, along with an impressive array of other options. We all enjoyed everything we tasted. Our only complaint was that some of the naan was a bit overcooked. My sister thought the bathroom was a bit unkempt, and not in keeping with the rest of the place. I forgot to check it myself, but they may want to keep a closer eye on it. The service was super friendly and prompt.

The five of us were absolutely stuffed, some of us were tipsy, and we had substantial leftovers, so we were surprised that the bill came to less than $200 including tax and tip. I am all about cheap and delicious eats in my neighbourhood, so I'll definitely be back to Palki!

Founders' Lounge @ The Cultch

The other night E and I had the great pleasure of seeing the Christmas Carol Project at The Cultch. The show, billed as "Western Canada's hippest holiday tradition," features a talented cast of Albertans making music in the voices of Dickens' classic characters. In buying our tickets, we noticed that on show nights, the Cultch's Cafe and Wine Bar is now a small restaurant called the Founders' Lounge run by the folks from Two Chefs and a Table and Big Lou's Butcher Shop. I'm a total sucker for a three course $30 fixed menu, so we booked a reservation before the show.

We enjoyed a past dinner at Two Chefs, so we had relatively high hopes for the Founders' Lounge. I'm not sure what the kitchen set up is, because our mains (coq au vin) were not quite hot enough. That was our only quibble with the food, which was delicious and well prepared, (wherever it happened). Our server was obviously new and trying to do things by the book. He was rather endearing, and the kinks will work themselves out with a bit of time. E and I both agreed that we'd like to eat at the Founders' Lounge before every performance we see at the Cultch!

Halloween at the Waldorf

After a recent spate of somewhat epic nights out, I find myself enjoying a quiet evening at home. One of these nights took place at the Waldorf Hotel last weekend, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to finally weigh on this 'cultural oasis in the middle of nowhere.'

In three words: I love it. That doesn't make much of a blog posting, however, so I'll delve a little deeper. I have (happily) eaten at the Waldorf's Nuba location too many times to count over the past year, and I have spent several evenings soaking up the atmosphere in the famed tiki bar. Despite an earlier promise to appear, however,  I had yet to attend one of their already legendary parties.

To remedy this sad state of affairs, I joined a small crew of friends for the Friday portion of their four night Halloween extravaganza. It was certainly extravagant: haunted hotel rooms (one of which sent me literally diving out into the hallway in fright), a classic (and rather naughty) carnival midway, and an incredible flash performance by the House of La Douche dance crew, to name just a few of the party's perks.

Our group's only complaint was the fact that we had to pay extra for certain aspects like the drop of doom ride, and the holographic burlesque show. The other issue was that E and I had bought early bird four day passes under the mistaken assumption that they included the Dinner for the Dead, so we ended up shelling out quite a lot for what turned out to be one evening's festivities. In light of that clarification, all four day pass buyers were offered a refund, but without a guarantee of available Friday-only tickets, we decided to swallow the extra costs.

These details aside, it was certainly one hell of a party. It wasn't necessarily as dramatic as the house party I attended in Victoria the next night, where a drunken Fiona smashed a glass goblet on an equally intoxicated Shrek's head, but you can only curate so much, right?

The people running the Waldorf and its many artistic machinations are insanely creative, and I think it definitely lives up to the hype. Though they won't be spinning 'Monster Mash' the next time, I'll definitely be back to the tiki bar on an upcoming Friday night to dance again to that awesome mix of 50s/60s rock 'n' roll!

Grandview Tire & Auto Centre

There's nothing more disheartening to someone on a budget than feeling a distinct and loud chugging in the engine of one's car. I had this unfortunate experience on a late night last week, and since my usual mechanic is way out in Langley, I got to googling. Happily, I found Grandview Tire & Auto Centre with their online appointment booking system and many excellent reviews from non-car people like me. Lo and behold, there was a spot open the very next day! Fearing that my two year old "purely cosmetic" front end collision damage was coming back to haunt me, I braced myself for sticker shock.

The guys at Grandview Tire were very friendly and, after a short test drive with a technician, during which the problem finally manifested again, I left Fitzie in their capable hands. When I came back a short while later, Ed the shop manager began explaining the problem to me using diagrams on the computer, but then just took me into the shop to peer into the engine. Through no fault of his, I didn't really understand the problem, but I certainly appreciated the attempt at explanation before I agreed to pay for the repairs!

The final tally was about $360; still not a pleasant surprise, but not exactly the budget sinking behemoth I had feared. I will definitely return to this shop the next time I need a mechanic, though I hope it's a while from now.

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.

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.

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.

Big Brother is Watching You

Last night I had the great pleasure (and terror!) of attending a performance of Andy Thompson's new stage version of George Orwell's 1984 at the Cultch. It's billed as a multimedia adaptation, and it's a joint production of The Virtual Stage and Langara College's highly regarded Studio 58 program. E and I were blown away by the script, acting, and production values alike. I'm no theatre expert, but in my humble opinion, this performance was head and shoulders above the star-studded production I saw on Broadway a couple weeks ago. Seriously. You should go. (A few) tickets are still available here. And now I have to go read the book, because I'm ashamed to admit I have yet to do so!

The eastward migration continues

Something exciting is happening today, though I am so sleep deprived that I can't muster much outward enthusiasm. But anyway...everyone's favourite nurse/physicist team is moving to East Van! J has lived here before, but it's a first for A. I'm thrilled to have them closer, if not so much for the heavy lifting I will be helping with tonight. With this post I officially welcome you two into the East Van fold. I trust that you both will find much that pleases you. Also, I will try not to break any of your things tonight, though my apartment has already suffered one casualty this morning. It's going to be a long day...

Escaping the cold

I've been to Havana several times now, most recently for a lovely dinner on Friday night. I have a very happy memory of mojitos and guacamole with an old friend on their patio during one of those perfect Vancouver summer days last year. This is definitely an experience I hope to repeat this summer.

The other night, we braved a pitcher of the Champagne sangria, which wasn't as boozy as I feared (hoped?), but was nonetheless delicious. Guacamole with corn and the best chips I've had anywhere kicked off our meal. I opted for the tuna tacos, which I've had before. I don't remember the tortillas being so big last time, and they were folded in quarters with the tuna on top, which was sort of awkward to eat. If a die-hard bread lover like me thinks there's a bit too much of the accompanying carb in a dish, it probably means there's room to cut back. The tuna was as perfect as ever. My dining companion's nicely flavoured ropa vieja had a great texture and arrived in an ample portion size. The chocolate cheesecake was a wonderful finish to an all-around great meal. The website says the restaurant is inspired by the "faded glory of Old Havana," and as far as I can tell, they nailed it, atmosphere-wise. It was easy to pretend we were someplace much warmer than drizzly Vancouver, if only for a few glorious hours.

Dinner and a movie with a twist

Tonight promises to be one of those perfect East Van evenings…dinner at El Pulgarcito and Hey Rosetta! at the Rio Theatre. E and I are big fans of El Pulgarcito, after having eaten there many a time. It’s not much to look at, but the food is delicious and plentiful. I usually get the chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, while E prefers the same dish with less spicy mole sauce. Try the pupusas; you won’t regret it! I’m also madly in love with their horchata, which is available in either the Mexican and Salvadoran styles, both equally creamy and excellent as hangover cures. It’s a two person show, but the service is always cheerful and prompt. I spent some time "studying" in Mexico during university, and this is the type of place that comes as close to an authentic experience as you can get this far north. The prices ($7 or $8 for a main with all the fixings) are also reminiscent of Mexico, which is much appreciated.

I’ve never been to a concert in a movie theatre before, and I am definitely excited to see how it’s done. I’ve read that Hey Rosetta! is one of Canada’s most underrated indie bands, particularly in terms of pure musicianship, but we must be on top of things here, because both their Vancouver shows are sold out!

Tonight at the Waldorf

Last November, a combination of an irresistible social coupon deal and poor impulse control on my part led me to get half of my hair cut off. Thus, it will be a while before I patronize Barbarella salon at the Waldorf as an actual customer. Luckily, this reality doesn't preclude me from checking out their launch party tonight! Also taking off tonight is the first of planned monthly multi-room parties: The History of Dance.

I've become an almost weekly regular at Nuba, I went to a private party in the downstairs cabaret once, and I've been known to haunt the Tiki Bar on occasion. Despite all this, I have yet to check out one of the Waldorf's increasingly legendary parties, mostly due to insanely long line-ups and a lack of planning.

There's no time like the present, plus I have a friend coming into town tonight from Calgary. He's been dying to check out the Tiki Bar, and with all these special events, the Waldorf is certainly the place to be tonight. See you there!

Jump on the Red Wagon

With the Canucks doing so well these days, the buzz word around town seems to be bandwagon. I'd like to talk about a wagon of a different colour, that is, The Red Wagon. I've been a couple of times, most recently this past Sunday for brunch with a friend/former co-worker and her lovely cousin. It's the brainchild of Brad Miller, late of Au Petit Chavignol, Bistro Pastis, and West.

I arrived first at 11 am, and found myself third in line for a table since the "neighbourhood joint" was jumping. Why, yes, I would love a cup of tea while I wait! What a nice touch from a very friendly server. It is a diner after all, so we didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for a table. There are also a couple of seats at the counter, which I would love to try out solo or en deux someday soon.

The menu is part standard breakfast fare (such as my perfectly turned out spinach/'shroom/cheese omelette), and part more inspired creations like the pulled pork pancakes with Jack Daniels syrup that my friend ordered. These looked so incredible that I almost abandoned the no-red-meat ship to have a bite (I know, I know, it's the other white meat, but still). G assured me they tasted as good as they looked, and I managed (barely) to take her word for it.

As of this writing, they're still closing daily at 6 pm, but various sources state that dinner is coming soon. I'll certainly be back to check them out once that comes to pass, if not before.

Hello East Van!

Can it be that East Van has no real presence in the blogosphere? Really? Nobody’s devoting their public keystrokes exclusively to this bustling and diverse enclave of arts, culture, food and (it has to be said) hipsters? Yes, it can…well, it was. My fellow East Vanners, I am taking up the torch. My apologies if I’ve overlooked an active local blogger. If that’s the case, I’ll just be adding my voice to the chorus. The more, the merrier, right?

A little history: I moved from Calgary straight to the UBC campus for grad school in the summer of 2005. After a two year stint in Kits (and some experience writing for kitsilano.ca), I had a somewhat regrettable sojourn in the ‘burbs before returning to this amazing city in October 2009. I live in Grandview-Woodland with my shaggy grey mutt, and I try to eat, shop, drink, and hang out local as much as possible (boo to driving!).

Since my arrival here a little over a year ago five friends have moved within a 5 minute radius. There’s always been something special about East Van, and more and more people are cluing in. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate, but it’s happening, folks.

I’ll be talking up whatever it is I’m buying, eating, drinking or doing in East Van, and wherever said consumption is taking place. No shortage of newsworthy action (good and bad) here either, so you can expect my take on that too. Send me your ideas of places I should check out, and I’ll do my level best to hit them up.