Caramel Crêpes!

Between cosmopolitans at the Café Crêpe last weekend, I tried a new crêpe: the caramel crêpe. What a great idea! This crêpe is so rich and sweet I felt like a millionaire just eating it. Rather, devouring it might be a better description.
I also tried a fantastic new beverage (new to me, anyhow) that night: the chocolate cake shot. I can't remember what the bartender told me was in it, but it was delightful. And this shot was about as sweet as the caramel crêpe.
My goal for next weekend is to go someplace new. I will be sad to not find myself at Café Crêpe again, but sometimes “something new” can be a really great thing.

Granville Island

I have a friend who adores Granville Island. She lives in the valley, and it’s pretty far for her to go to Granville Island. But she goes there often and she loves it. I used to wonder why she loved it so much, but then I fell in love with Granville Island, too.
And what’s not to love?
My favourite part is the French bakery, La Baguette et L’Echalote. I stop there every time to buy a pain au chocolat for the following day’s breakfast. No, it’s not the square meal that I should be eating in the morning, but I always feel like a movie star having a flaky chocolatey pastry and a cup of coffee in the morning.
But, if you are more interested in looking like a movie star, the Granville Island public market also sells fresh fruits and vegetables. Personally, I usually skip over these, because I can buy fruits and veggies nearer to my home. They are kind of heavy, and if I buy them near my home I can weigh down my arms with chocolate pastries and home-made pasta at the market.
Another shop not to be missed is Paper-Ya. If you’re a sucker for cute stationary, like I am, then you’ll be hooked on this amazing little shop. Look out on weekends, though – it is always packed. Sometimes I worry about knocking something over and having to buy it. Actually, I always hope I’ll knock something really nice but too expensive over, and then I’ll be forced to buy it even though it’s out of my budget. That’s just the kind of store that it is!
Another of the reasons that I love to go to Granville Island is because it’s an excuse to take a little boat. Whether you prefer Aquabus or the False Creek Ferries (they both costs the same), you can catch either one of them besides Science World, conveniently located near the Main Street/Science World Skytrain station.
Seriously, what’s not to love?

Port Moody Festival of the Arts

The Port Moody Festival of the Arts, which actually started on April 4^th with a gala opening and performance by Divine Brown, is still going on this weekend. There have been a variety of shows and performances, including John Mann (from Spirit of the West) doing a solo, acoustic show at The Point pub in Port Moody, which was an amazing and intimate show.
On April 12, there are two performances. At 7pm you can go to A Sound Affair at the Kyle Centre. This is an opportunity for the city to showcase some of their up and coming bands. At 8pm, at the Inlet Theatre, Will Millar, a former Irish Rover, will be performing.
On April 13, the final day of the festival, there is a kids’ show, Bobs and Lolo a the Inlet Theatre.
The Inlet Theatre is conveniently located across the street from the trendiest place in the suburbs: Newport Village in Port Moody. This shopping village reminds me of a little tiny Whistler. The Irish Pub, St. James’ Well, has the most amazing pub food around, so you can head there after checking out the trendy (if expensive) local boutiques.

"Mojitoed"

I usually dine out with a couple of my close girlfriends. We tend to have the same interests – martinis, yummy food, cocktails and occasional dancing.

The last time I visited Steamworks for my usual pitcher of mojitos (and trust me, this one I always do with friends. It wouldn’t do for me to go around alone drinking a pitcher of mojitos with dinner!), my dining partner and I came up with a new word.

“Mojitoed.”

Let me explain: On that particular night, we had met for dinner and both of us had been extraordinarily hungry. I had found a fly in my lunch and tossed it in the bin (the whole lunch, not just the fly). My friend, for whatever reason, had also had a tiny lunch, so both of our tummies were rumbling.

We headed to our regular dining spot, Steamworks, and ordered our standard drink, a pitcher of mojitos for the two of us. We took our time with the drinks, but since there was nothing else in our stomachs when we started in on them, they hit us a little harder than usual.

We didn’t exactly linger over our meals. We scarfed them down (and yes, contrary to my spellchecker, I am certain that scarfed is indeed a real word). And then, with happy, full bellies – and feeling a little warm and tingly from the drinks – we headed towards the Granville Mall. Where the Aldo Outlet shoe store is.

And as we were walking there, we were trying to convince ourselves that we didn’t need new shoes, and that we only wanted new shoes because of the mojitos. And then we said that we were mojitoed. Thus, a new word is born.

But it’s not just a word. It’s a state of being.

“Mojitoed” describes the bliss that you feel after a hard day of work, when you were very hungry and then you filled up on good food and had a couple of lovely, minty-lime alcoholic beverages. “Mojitoed” means the warm fuzzies you get from a good meal and a couple of drinks with a good friend, even if your judgment may be affected.

The shoes will last until I break the heels off of them. The memory of mojitoed shoe shopping with a good friend will last forever.

Sidetracked. Again.

So a friend of mine and I headed out last night to a fundraiser for skin-cancer awareness or prevention or research or… well, obviously that wasn’t the part that I paid attention to. The part that I paid attention to was this: it was in a restaurant, and there would be appetizers and cocktails for us. And there would also be some spa giveaways and a silent auction. The evening was going to be put on by a local spa. Doesn’t that sound great?

Honestly, it sounded great to me when I read about it. Last night, however, after an unfortunate incident with my lunch at work (there was a dead bug involved, you can guess the rest), I was staaaaaarving by the time I left my office. The problem with the spa fundraiser night, really, was that it was not downtown. It was not near the Skytrain line. So that was the end of that plan, my friend and I immediately scrapped it and headed for…

Steamworks! It happens to the best of us. We were starving, we were tired from a day of hard work, and we really needed a pitcher of mojitos.

Immediately upon sitting down, we flagged down our lovely server and asked her for a plate of yam fries and a pitcher of mojitos. The yam fries disappeared in seconds! We did show some restraint and managed to make the mojitos last throughout the meal. We ordered some of the best pizza on earth – I got one with kalamata olives, basil and tomatoes and my friend’s had something like bacon and feta on it – and inhaled it almost as quickly as we did the yam fries. I managed to save two pieces for lunch today and it was absolutely the best leftover pizza I have ever had. There is no doubt about it. I usually only eat leftover pizza because I can’t stand to throw away perfectly good food. I usually barely tolerate leftover pizza, but leftover Steamworks pizza is a whole new story. I would welcome leftover Steamworks pizza as my lunch any day of the week. Maybe even every day of the week! It really is that good.