Vancouver Good

Past blog posts have shown my affection for Granville Island. I was on GI the other day, and had a nice couple hours down Railspur Alley at:

AGRO Cafe and Restaurant

I love coming here to get away from the complete craziness of the public market. AGRO is a bustling cafe and roasting house specializing in fair trade, organic coffee, breakfast, and lunch. The espresso here is excellent (I was sitting next to some Italian tourists one afternoon on the patio and they gave me the thumbs up), as is the food. Menu includes hot breakfast items, pasta dishes, and gourmet paninis served with organic greens or fresh fries or yam fries.  A nice stopover for a quick, inexpensive bite to eat on the Island.

(AGRO’s second location is in Yaletown serving up excellent coffee, but with a smaler food selection.)

Hartman Leather

We dropped by the leather shop to pick up a belt for my husband Dan.  It’s great for men’s belts. Top grade leather, high quality, and well priced ($40 for a nice, locally made, leather belt). The store also sells leather bags, purses, and leather gift items. Not really my style, but they are beautifully made and I’d definitely consider these items as gifts.

Osake Artisan Sake Maker

Yes, we have sake made locally here in Vancouver! And it’s good. Drop by for a tasting (for a nominal charge) and you’ll enjoy some nice sake while learning about how sake is made, the different quality levels of sake, and why you should ONLY drink cold sake.

Osake recently came out with a line of dressings made from Sake Kasu, which, according to Osake, is the “lees” that remain after the moromi (fermented rice mash) has been pressed during the sake-making process. I bought some Kasu, smeared it on some fish and sauteed it last night. Yummy, but dont put too much on as it’s potent!