Archive for the “community” Category

Jen’s new territory includes all the liquor stores in Vancouver, along with restaurants on Main St and Commercial Dr. It’s been a while since we had a “date night,” so we took this past Friday to hit up a couple of her clients on The Drive to see how things rock on a Friday night.

First up was DiVino Wine Bar. It used to be 1 big gelato shop, until the owner decided to put a wall up the middle and turn the corner piece into a wine bar. Brilliant move. It’s got a charcuterie styled menu, like Salt, with meats and cheeses, plus a nice full kitchen menu of Commercial Dr cuisine.

It was stinking hot inside, so we grabbed a piece of the patio and just chilled and chatted.

Okay, my Lake Breeze Zephyr Brut was okay, but Jen’s Sergio Mionetto Rose was not what the night needed at all. That said, the cheese was awesome. The battery died on the Flip or I would have done a piece with it, we had a cheese called Red Dawn from Hillary’s Cheese Company in Cowichan Bay. It’s a cow’s milk cheese with Merridale Cider. Wow!

After our bubble and snacks at DiVino, we wandered down to Lime.

It looks so groovy and cool from the outside. Very Yaletown in its colour, menu style, sign and entry way. BUT … walk inside and its a mish mash of styles with a hodge podge of bamboo in baskets tossed around the room. No warmth. No atmosphere. No style, nothing of the zen you would expect from the outside. From the street you’d expect something along the lines of what the Glowbal Group has defined for restaurant style in the city, on the inside you find something begging for a Restaurant Makeover.

The sushi rolls were creative; I had a lobster roll wrapped in cucumber, Jen enjoyed her beef sashimi roll. We each had a glass of white, Jen a Kettle Valley Chardonnay, me a Pentage Pinot Gris. They came not quite cold enough for such a muggy night and the entire experience was forgettable.

We walked back up the Drive to the other side of DiVino for a little bit of Dolce Amore gelato and called it a night.

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Image from Kellyoyo on Flickr

It’s BC Day!

150 years of our province hanging around so pop some bubble and celebrate.

The Official Bird of BC is the Stellers Jay, (here’s a colouring page for the kids!):

The Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a jay native to western North America, closely related to the Blue Jay found in the rest of the continent, but with a black head and upper body. It is also known as the Long-crested Jay, the Mountain Jay, and the Pine Jay. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains. [wiki]

Steller’s Jay also happens to be the name of a fantastic bubble from Sumac Ridge.

Sparkling
2004 Steller’s Jay Brut
VQA Okanagan Valley

Winemaking
This blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir was fermented separately, then bottled spending a minimum of 36 months “en tirage” before undergoing hand riddling. The wine was then hand disgorged and the dosage of the same wine added before being corked and foiled.

Winemaker’s Notes
The resulting wine showcases ripe strawberry, fresh toast and a crisp lively acidity. The mousse is exceptional and the palate is full of citrus and fresh strawberries.

Food Pairings
This soft approachable sparkling wine will pair well with a variety of foods. As a casual treat, try some fun cheeses like the Italian Piave, or black skin Asiago. Alternatively, try shellfish such as mussels poached in the wine, oysters, or even salt roasted peanuts. [Sumac Ridge]

This bubble is very consistent. You’ll always get a good bottle, and the hint of Pinot Noir gives it a fantastic copper colour.

You can grab it for $26.99 at your favorite BC Liquor Store. (Well except today cause it’s a holiday)

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I am so PROUD that 95Crave is the Official Radio Station of Vancouver’s Pride Weekend. It’s going to be HUGE, and we’ve got it all covered.

Starting Friday at 5 p.m., we kick off our Retrosexual Weekend with 5 or 6 classic tracks an hour sure to put you in a dancing mood. It will go ALL WEEKEND!

Pride Launch (Pride Weekend Launch)
Friday, August 1st. 11am - 1pm.
Place: 750 Hornby St, Vancouver (Art Gallery)
Price: Free
Begin your morning early with a still-warm Krispy Kreme doughnut fundraiser, and meet this year’s Grand Marshals at noon. The Mayor of Vancouver will present the Pride Week Proclamation. Show your support of international GLBT communities and their respective fights for equality by signing the Declaration of Montreal.

Koodo’s Big Night Out
Friday, August 1st. 7pm - 12midnight.
Place: Davie St. (between Burrard and Bute)
Price: Free
Koodo’s Big Night Out will include licensed areas with DJs, multiple stages, artisans, dancing, and a youth area from 7pm-12pm on Friday August 1st. Sections of Davie St. will be temporarily closed between Burrard St. and Bute St. to host the event. While licensed areas will be blocked off, Davie St. will remain open for anyone on foot to enjoy the event and Pride celebrations. $5 beer garden wrist band with unlimited re-entry

Pride Parade
Sunday, August 3rd. 12noon - 2:00pm.
Our Crave Crew’s holding the 40′ flag that opens the parade & we have our Community Cruiser in the parade.
Place: Denman Street to Sunset Beach.
30th Pride Parade begins at Robson and Thurlow, heads West down the hill to Denman street, follows Denman to Pacific and then finishes at Sunset Beach. With 140 parade entries and 385,000 spectators, this is the MUST SEE event of the year in Vancouver.

Happy Pride!

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If you thought Apple Fanboys were off the ledge, you need to get thee to an early morning sing-a-long at your local library.

I was lucky enough to find a parking spot outside the play room at the new Lynn Valley Public Library this morning for what I thought was going to be story time.

Babytales (birth to 18 months)
First steps to literacy with nursery rhymes, action rhymes, books, finger plays & more!
Thursdays, 10:30am - 11:00am
July 3 – 31

There’s nothing about singing in there - but sing we did. It was the most bizarre experience of my life, I had a front row seat to The Cult of Mom.

Before the class started they were chitting and chatting about stroller fit classes, bumps and bruises, comparing nap times and showing off cute new polo shirts on their son.

I sat quietly in the corner.

I can’t describe the feeling as anything but fear. These women had bought fully into this 30 minutes of freedom. No longer were they tied up at home changing diapers, they were here to fraternize with their Sisterhood of the Travelling Peg Perego.

From the opening bell no less than 2 dozen moms, and their under 18 mos offspring, were heartily singing a long to “The Little Pink Duck” “The Thumb Song” “Good Morning” and many many other entirely forgettable hits.

It reminded me of the folk choirs we had at church as a kid. Every single mom smiling beyond belief and every single child blankly staring through the walls. The moms were there to sing and they had bought in to the scenario hook. line. sinker.

The instructors had the biggest smiles, were making the grandest over exaggerated gestures possible and every single mom was following along. They knew the words. They knew the actions. They were performing with lustful glee as if Simon Cowell was peering through the glass and ready to crown them Mom Idol.

Z sat there just as stunned as I. I tried to make the motions, and sing some of the lyrics, but Z just sat there. He didnt clap. He didnt smile. He didnt try to sing.

This is odd. He’s the happiest child you have ever seen. He loves to clap and dance and yell and scream. But he did none of it.

When the 30 minutes was up I hightailed it out the door and down the stairs as fast as I could before one of the moms stopped me and asked if I’d accepted “Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun” as my personal saviour.

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These newspaper “Best of” polls are a highly unscientific survey. I don’t think they truly represent the “best”, just who can motivate their listenership to vote.

So, give yourself a pat on the back, because you were the most motivated! We won the latest Georgia Straight Best of Vancouver poll for Best Afternoon DJ.

Wow. Thanks. Seriously. I always say these things dont matter when I dont win, but they sure as heck do matter when we do win!

Yay!

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