More Italian Coffee

I surprised myself by finding and trying out not just one, but TWO Italian cafés this week, without specifically looking for them. The first was Caffe Buongiorno, and the second is Sciué Italian Bakery Caffe, at Pender and Howe.

I was actually headed for the Bread Garden at Pender and Hornby when I noticed Sciué and decided to head there instead. No offense to the Bread Garden, but this place actually looked Italian and there was a huge line, which I took as a good sign. I was in no hurry, so I thought I would try it out.

I didn’t try the pastries today, as this has been a pretty sweet-laden week for me already, but I did try the coffee.

This was possibly the most amazing latte I have ever had in my life. I think the best way to explain it is that normally, I take sugar in my coffee -- two packets per cup of coffee. But this latte was so divine, so frothy, and the coffee so perfect already, that I added no sugar.

I have to reiterate that I can’t even think of one single time in the past when I have not added sugar to my coffee. This latte was absolutely amazing.

My European Café

I discovered a delightful little café this week, the Caffe Buongiorno (I may be spelling that incorrectly) at Pender and Richards. It reminded me of a little European café that you might find in that French movie Amélie, with a high coffee counter, little tables and chairs with curly-cue legs and a mosaic tile floor.

I tried a chicken panini for lunch, and I was a little worried when I ordered it, thinking there might be nothing but chicken inside. Thankfully, I was wrong, and my panini had some grilled veggies and a mild but gooey melted cheese, too.

My latte was also fantastic, and it was served in a wide coffee cup with a saucer. These always remind me of Europe because when I was going to school in France, the only place you could get coffee in a paper cup (à la Starbucks) was from the cappuccino machine at the university. And I don’t mean a fancy cappuccino machine like you would find in a café; this was what could probably be considered the European equivalent of the coffee machines you can find in hospitals here.

The Caffe Buongiorno is highly recommended for the next time you feel like having lunch in a European café without actually going to Europe.

Attention Frenchies!

Just in case you didn’t know, this weekend is the Festival du Bois in Maillardville, Coquitlam (www.festivaldubois.ca). It is running on March 1 & 2 at Mackin Park in Coquitlam. This is not on any really good bus routes, but is probably not too bad to get to from either Braid or Lougheed Skytrain stations.

There are plenty of shows happening, as well as activities for kids. See their website for more information.

I mention the Festival du Bois because I will be going there for one reason – and one reason only! POUTINE! Yes, of course, that greasy, delicious, quebecois delicacy that millions of people are disgusted by!

I happen to like fries (I have the same friendship with them that I have with most deep-fried foods). I also like gravy, it is so warm and salty and comforting. And I can’t tell you how much I love cheese curds. They are chewy and melty and they squeak when you bite them.

Only one thing could be better than having poutine: Having poutine in the same day as having tourtiere and maple sugar pie.

Tourtiere is French-Canadian meat pie. Meat and pie, together in one; need I say more?

Maple sugar pie is exactly what it sounds like: sugar pie, but with maple. I have heard it compared to butter tarts, which I don’t think is entirely accurate. I would say that it is more like a pie-shell filled with home-made fudge.

So that is where I will be this weekend, in the line-up at the poutine tent at the Festival du Bois in Maillardville.

Mmm... Lamb Souvlaki!

Monday night was a delightful evening of Whitney Houston and Greek food. How could anything go wrong with that combination?

A friend and I decided to use an entertainment book coupon for Santali Souvlaki House on Edmonds (7879 Edmonds St, Burnaby). It was Monday night so it was quiet, and when we arrived we were the only guests. That didn’t last long, though. We were the first of a bit of a rush!

Whitney Houston’s greatest hits album seemed to be playing, punctuated with on Toni Braxton song, so the ambiance was set. I may have sung along a little bit. But only before the other patrons came in. And I was definitely done once someone was sitting at the table next to us!

We started with the calamari, moved on to Greek salad and then had the lamb souvlaki. There were two olives on my Greek salad, instead of the usual one, and it was also loaded with feta. There’s nothing worse than a Greek salad that is stingy on the feta.

The lamb souvlaki was delightful. It had the longest meat skewer I have ever seen in my life, and the meat was tender and perfectly seasoned. They even remove the skewer for you, to make your dining experience neater and easier. I can’t tell you how many times I have shot bits of meat across/under/over the table while I was trying to remove it from a skewer. If I could count the number of times I’ve eaten meat off a skewer, it would probably be pretty close to equal.

Our server was attentive but did not rush us, which I find so rare when I dine out these days. Usually, servers either forget about you or hustle you through your meal.

As an added bonus, once you know where Santali is, you can easily find Amorosa Pasta House, located next door. I didn’t ask, so I could be wrong, but I believe that both restaurants are owned by the same family. I have eaten at Amorosa, although not recently, and that was also a fabulous experience. This is also one of those great places where a meal can feed you for a couple of days. I could have saved some of my souvlaki for the following day, but I decided to go for it. I did have to loosen my belt. It was just so good I couldn’t bear to wait until the next day to finish it.

Return to Café Crêpe

So last night was not bad. Of course, I headed out to Café Crepe. Again. And we had the surly waiter. Again. He alternated between mildly nice and surly through the evening. I can’t blame him, really, it was super busy and he was saying that there were a ton of groups of six or more coming in all night. If you’ve been there, you know that it is not very big and most of the booths can’t really fit six people. Although, we managed quite nicely. It was cozy.

The music at some points turned into what I like to think of as “euro techno background” music. How to describe it? It sounds like what I think would be playing in European night clubs. I have to use my imagination on that one, mind you, because I have never been to any European night clubs, but it’s exactly what I would imagine them playing there.

I actually got a crepe this time. It was a dessert crepe – because crepes were not meant to be savoury. I just don’t understand why you would put meat or vegetables in a crepe, it destroys it. But if you fill it with Nutella and coconut and dump some whipped cream on it, then you get a truly delicious crepe. Absolutely amazing.

Do I need to describe the martinis again? I branched out, and this time instead of just drinking cosmopolitans, I mixed it up with a sour apple martini. It took a couple sips before the Nutella taste washed away, but once that was gone it was a great martini.

The weather this weekend has been delightful, and I think it was almost 15 degrees here today. I saw a girl on the Skytrain yesterday wearing a strappy summer dress with no coat! It really is spring already! Fantastic!

I have some time off this week and am hoping to check out some new cafés downtown and try to find some good ones that aren’t chains. Although I find it hard to believe that Starbucks haven’t driven everyone else out of town, apparently there are still a few other places kicking around so I am going to check them out.

Cheapest Martinis in town!

Last weekend:

Do you ever just want to go out for a delicious, inexpensive drink, but you don’t feel like getting all dolled up? I may have found the two best places to go in Vancouver for a cheap martini when you’re wearing sneakers!

Try Yagger’s (Pender & Richards, downtown – www.yaggers.com) on Friday night. I was there this past Friday and was thrilled to order an MC Hammer, a fruity double martini for only $6. Our server was super nice and she came and sat with us to help us choose which martinis we wanted. The selection included the MC Hammer, which she told us had once been ordered as a McHammer. I can only assume that the poor kid who called it a McHammer was underage.

Yagger’s is a casual but trendy spot, and conveniently located near the Skytrain (which scores big points for those of us who live in the ‘burbs, across the street from a Skytrain station). I think they call it “Martooni Friday” but whatever the name, they have double martinis for $6. I learned about them during Dine Out Vancouver (http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/dining/dine_out_vancouver), and have been back because their martinis are good AND have such great names (the Princess Leia, the Oprah, the MC Hammer, etc). The food was good, too, but this last time I didn’t bother. Last weekend was all about the martinis.

My other top pick for cheap martinis is Café Crêpe. I have to share this with you all: I don’t like crêpes. Every once in a while, I could enjoy a Nutella - or possibly even a Nutella and banana - crêpe. Other than that, I think the world would be a great place without crêpes. Needless to say, in the past, I had avoided Café Crêpe like the plague, because I sincerely believed they had nothing to offer me.

I have rarely been so wrong! A friend told me about their martinis so I gave them a second chance.

Café Crêpe’s martinis are around $4. I recommend the cosmopolitan. It even has orange peel garnish in it, which is practically healthy. And I have heard, although I have never seen this, that if you sit right at the bar you can watch the bartender mix drinks and set them on fire. What could be better?

Their food is also delicious and a great deal for the Granville strip. They have a great burger at a great price (although I can’t remember what the price is at this exact moment – blame the numerous martinis!). And I’m sure the crêpes are delightful, if you’re a crêpe fan.

Next weekend:

I have no plans at this time for next weekend, but here are some options…

If I want to go dancing, I will probably head to Au Bar (Seymour & Georgia downton - http://www.aubarnightclub.com/)on Saturday night. Au Bar is by far my favourite club. It’s trendy without being pretentious, and I always have a great time there. It is also directly across the street from the Seymour exit of the Granville Skytrain station. The bouncers have let me skip line before, even though I’m not drop-dead gorgeous, which scores big points in my book! The music is great – it’s hard to find a nice club with a good top-40 night. The people there are nice and good-looking, and they have some raised platforms for dancing, in case you want to show off. I haven’t yet tried the platforms out, because I’ve never gone to Au Bar and had so much to drink that I thought people would actually want to see my dancing. But, as they say, tomorrow is a new day…

If I wan cheap martinis on Friday night, I will probably go to Yagger’s. If it’s Saturday, I will probably head for Café Crêpe. And I would head there early because you usually have to wait for a table anytime after 7pm.

If I want to try something new, I will probably head for the Jupiter Lounge (Bute & Davie downtown - www.jupitercafe.com). I have not yet been there, but I hear it’s all plush red velvet, mirrors and fantastic drinks. What’s not to love? I’m sure you’ll hear about it once I get there.

If I want to do something artsy, I will go see The Amorous Adventures of Anatol at the Vancouver Playhouse (it’s running from Feb 16 to March 8). I hear it’s about a playa planning his conquests. That may be worth seeing…

If I want to go out for some food-ola, I will probably go to Kam’s Place on Davie. I haven’t been there in ages, but have wanted to go several times. In fact, I wish I lived across the street. Or upstairs. Kam serves up the best Singaporean food in town at VERY reasonable prices. The Georgia Straight also publishes a 2-for-1 coupon pretty much every week. Go for it!

Next weekend, there is The Green Living Show (www.greenlivingshow.com) at BC Place from February 29 to March 2. I wouldn’t mind making my condo better for the environment. This stuff is pretty trendy right now. I went to one of these shows last year (although it was not this exact one) and they had some very cool decorating ideas. At that time, I was not about to replace my toxic laminate flooring with biodegradable bamboo, but maybe this year they’ll have a sale. Or they will have a really awesome sink. One can only hope!

Welcome to the Lazy Girl's Guide to Vancouver

Welcome to my blog!

I decided to call it The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Vancouver. “Why?” you might ask…

I am a lazy girl. And I love this city. I have lived here (well, in the ‘burbs, but don’t tell anybody!) for the greater part of a quarter century. And I have not appreciated it. I have traveled quite a bit. I have been to London, Venice, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Brisbane, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and many other places. I have explored these foreign cities; I have wandered their streets, shopped their shops and eaten their food. I have dreamed of living in other cities, all the while not benefiting from living in one of the best cities on earth.

In the past year or so, I made it my mission to get to know my city. This mission continues today. I take personal offense to people bashing Vancouver. Sure, it rains. It rains a lot. But you just need an umbrella and some good shoes, and then you can enjoy it.

This blog is not going to detail outdoors adventures. I like to party, I like to drink and I love to eat. I like to shop, I like to look at pretty things and I like to go to shows. So these are the things I am going to write about. I will let you know about events that are going on, good restaurants and fun things to do. If there is a cheap martini to be had in a trendy locale, I will be there, and so can you.