But, I have been eating! Here’s a drive-by review of some memorable ones…

Downtown: Thierry Patisserie – I have been a regular at this lovely French cafe since they opened a few months back. Good coffee but the pastries, desserts, and macarons are what this place is all about. My faves: The apple turnover, layers of flaky delicate crust filled with tart and sweet apples – perfect. The blackberry macaron, with a actual blackberry in the middle it’s the perfect texture and flavour contrast in these cookies that are beautiful, but quite sweet. For chocolate lovers, the chocolate succé cake is dense, rich, and full of chocolate. I only needed 1 bite, but it was a good bite. Prices are a more than your average cafe, but worth it in most cases. However, I cannot grasp how 100g of candied maple pecans can cost $14.95. Or how a small tub of ice cream can cost $14.95. But then six lemon madelines for $6 is pretty good! Make sure you look at the price for no surprises.

Downtown: Bel Cafe – When David Hawksworth opens a cafe, you run to it! I did. Although, I walked into the cafe distracted and manged to look like a complete ditz right in front of David Hawksworth – not one of my better moments. However, is the food good. A crispy ham and cheese sandwich like no other and a smooth roasted tomato soup made a memorable lunch. And the macarons, despite being everywhere now, are quite tasty. The outside macron layer just shatters when you take a bite and the flavours (ie. black sesame seed and yuzu, raspberry and rosewater) are interesting and delicious. Again, expect to pay restaurant prices at the cafe, but the food you get is worthy.

Downtown: Hawksworth Restaurant, visit #2 – I was at Hawksworth for a second visit this week and it was a great dinner. Service was much improved from my first visit as well. I just LOVED my salad – pear, speck, burrata, and greens, which came beautifully plated on a wooden board. Amazing combination.

Downtown: My daily lunch spot is now Italian Kitchen 2 Go. A tasty sandwich with a fresh salad for $6.50? Best deal anywhere. They also have great pastas, and pizza. The line-ups are long, but the staff is fast and efficient.

Downtown: RIP amazing chorizo sandwich from La Brasserie Street – You know, I enjoy the now famous La Brasserie Chicken Sandwich, but I just LOVED their new sandwich of chorizo, arugula, roasted red peppers, and spicy tomato sauce. It was so delicious, saucy, and included vegetables! I just can’t bring myself to have a vegetable free lunch on most days. Sadly, so many people demanded the chicken sandwich that this amazing chorizo never stood a chance. They phased out the chorizo for chicken after a couple weeks. *sigh*

Kitsilano/Point Grey: La Ghianda – Keeping to the trend of “great restaurant opens a cafe,” La Ghianda is also a good one. From the owners of the excellent La Quercia is La Ghianda, an excellent Italian style deli and cafe. Go there for the huge Italian sandwiches (mortadella, mmmm), or made to order pastas.

South Granville: Go Fish 2.0 – Part of my summer is at least 1 long line-up and feast at the Go Fish shack by Granville Island. But a second Go Fish location is now open! This version is Go Fish restaurant style, in the former Bin 942 location on Broadway near Granville. I attended a menu tasting while back and it was excellent. My best memory was really the passion I saw in the chefs creating the food. They spoke about all the menu items with such zest and enjoyment – love that! The menu is different from the fish shack location. The fish and chips are still there, but the tacones are not. There are appetizers, mains, and desserts. I loved the “chips and dip” – a great little snack. Lots of Latin-influenced flavours on the menu. Definitely worth a visit.

Main St: Bob like Thai Food – Someone at work tipped me off on this place, telling me it was the most authentic Thai food they’d eaten since being in Thailand. With an endorsement like that, I ordered takeout from them that night. And I’ve ordered it again and again since. A menu with the usual items plus lots of interesting and authentic dishes you don’t see at other Thai restaurants. The pad thai is awesome. It’s different from the amazing Maenam pad thai, but just as good. With lunch specials for $7.50, it’s an affordable, yummy option. My friend just raves about the mango sticky rice, too.  The restaurant itself is super casual (but cold!).

Happy eating.

Generally, a sign that says “best…” makes me run the other way. Yes in this case, the cheesecake is pretty damn tasty. It’s a light and airy cheesecake, totally different from the dense brick of cheesecake you’d get at True Confections. Additional flavours include blueberry, mocha, chocolate orange – they vary based on what’s in season.

I studied, met professors, and generally treated Trees like my “Central Perk” during graduate school, so I know it well and have love/hate feelings for this place.

Here are some highs and lows:

• High: Morning breakfast deal of a coffee and muffin for $3 (or around that). And the muffins are freshly baked each morning and yummy. I have a weakness for the banana muffin, which I indulge in when I happen to be downtown in the morning.
• High: The spinach and feta scone (I believe it’s spinach and cheddar now). SO good. If I’m going to spend a whack of calories on something, this is a possible candidate.
• High: Lunch specials include freshly made organic soups, which are usually delicious.
• Low: The sandwiches are generally small and dry, although I haven’t ordered one since the first one I ate years ago. And expensive for what you get!
• High: Live music at the Granville St. location on Thursday and Friday. I popped in tonight and the place was full with a great band on.
• Low: Really uncomfortable seats and comically small tables. Come on! The stools are good.
• High: Trees was organic long before organic became a buzz word. In fact, the cafe used to be called “Trees Coffee.” It became Trees Organic during a rebranding activity several years ago. Since 1996 they have house-roasted organic fair trade coffee and all their food products are made with organic ingredients.
• Medium: Unfortunately, I really don’t find the coffee that good. The drip is fine, but I have had my share of burnt espressos there. My husband Dan would disagree with me though – he alleges that they’ve made many great espresso macchiatos for him.
• High: The service is friendly, personal, and fun. They make you feel welcome and let you stay awhile.

Trees is a fun hangout offering great people watching with honest coffee & food.

They appear to have multiple locations now and also appear  to franchise. I’ll vouch for the location downtown on Granville Street, between Hastings and Pender.

Trees Organic Coffee
450 Granville Street (b/w Hastings & Pender)

My visits to Thomas Haas are usually on a Saturday and go something like this:

• Walk in and see huge line up
• Gently push my way through to the display window to find next to nothing left
• Decide if I want to wait in line
• Wait in line and order the amazing hot chocolate
• Stare at the chocolate boxes for sale and consider buying more
• Leave thinking “what a madhouse!”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s always worth it, but I can’t say it’s the most relaxed experience ever.

But today was a great weekday morning. I have a friend visiting from out of town who loves croissants and I took the day off work to take care of some errands. So we woke up early and arrived at Thomas Haas for breakfast. It was busy, but not crazy busy like it is on the weekend. It’s amazing how satisfying a coffee and pain au chocolat can be for breakfast. France is SO going to be my next European trip.

Lately, I’ve been braving the Thomas Haas line-ups to pick up a small box of chocolates as a holiday party hostess gift. They come beautifully wrapped and how can you go wrong with chocolates like pistachio marzipan, salted caramel pecan, earl grey tea, merlot, or balsamic honey? Other great hostess gifts: a package of the excellent hot chocolate mix (read the ingredients – you will find no disgusting chemicals here), chocolate bars, and the famous sparkle cookies.

And, if it’s your responsibility to bring dessert and you’re not in a baking mood, any of the Haas desserts will make you a star.

The cafe is open for breakfast and switches to a daily sandwich selection at 11 am every morning. A great excuse to stop for a light lunch and dessert treat.

The only drawback? They’re closed Sunday and Monday…so wait in line and get your fix.

Thomas Haas Patisserie-Chocolate and Café
2539 W. Broadway, Vancouver (b/w Larch and Trafalgar)
604-736-1848
Open Tuesday-Saturday

Also in North Vancouver:
Unit 128, 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver
604-924-1847

Picture rows of beautiful pizzas, cut to order and charged by weight, as they do in Rome. Then, look at the fridge display of paninis, over a dozen kinds, all named after different regions of Italy.

My favourite Sciué lunch is a grilled Sicilia panini (Italian sausage, provolone cheese, and roasted red peppers) with a minestrone soup. It’s incredibly satisfying.

And, don’t forget that shot of Italian espresso before you leave.

Sciué Italian Bakery Cafe

800 Pender St. (@ Howe)
and
126 Davie St. (North of Pacific, close to Urban Fare)

One of the best HAS to be Elysian Coffee. It’s so good, it’s worth a special trip.

I have never, ever had a bitter espresso at Elysian. It’s consistently smooth, sweet, and strong  – just how it should be. Elysian was one of the first places in Vancouver to make coffee with the Clover Machines as well (their second location has two Clover machines). This place does everything right. They also make an excellent chai tea in house, and carry a good selection of baked goods (many are gluten free) and light meals.

I don’t have all the fancy coffee talk down, but I do drink a lot of coffee and this is good coffee. The 5th Ave location doesn’t even have drip coffee on the menu because it’s all about the Americano as the good stuff. (Note: they do make drip for the mornings when people are in a hurry and it is of course, damn tasty!)

The original location  is right around the corner from Fifth Avenue theatres and was formerly called the Elysian Room.  It’s a warm room, with a few booths and tables. The second location is on Broadway (@ Ash) has a very different look. Modern, minimalist, and way bigger. Both are great.

The only problem? They close early most nights so don’t go looking for a late night fix.

Elysian Coffee
1778 W 5th Ave (@Burrard)
604-734-1778

and

590 W. Broadway (@ Ash)
604-874-5909

The Drive is an interesting spot in the city.  People usually call Commercial Drive Vancouver’s “Little Italy.” It is very Italian, but I can’t say there are any Italian restaurants on the Drive I need to eat at. Don’t assume the Italian food is good just because you’re in the Italian district (that said, people would tell me Lombardo’s and Marcelo’s are okay bets. But just okay to me. And only the Commercial Drive Lombardo’s, not their other location).

The Commercial Drive Website has a nice guide of the ‘hood online here (pdf).   I usually spend my time between E 1st ave and E 6th ave. But if I have the time I’ll walk further north towards Kitchener and Charles St, which has more restaurants and a slightly different vibe.  Grandview Park on a summer day is always lovely, as is ice skating at Britannia Community Centre.

But, back to Saturday. Our focus was mainly food, and we only had a couple hours, so we hit what I think are the best spots:

First, brunch at Cafe Deux Soleils – casual vegetarian eatery with big portions and tasty cheap eats. Organic coffee, fresh baked muffins, smoothies, and breakfast eats like veggie hash, eggs benny, veggie sausage.

Next, Prado Cafe for me, as the coffee at Cafe Deux Soleils didn’t quite have the punch I needed. One shot of espresso and a shot of water. Perfectly smooth and strong. Prado is one of many good coffee houses on the Drive. Look for JJ Bean, Prado, Joe’s, Continental, or anything independent. Not Waves or Starbucks.

Suitably caffeinated, we got distracted shopping at Barefoot Contessa (lovely, girly things) and Wonderbucks (for cheap housewares).

And then came the food shopping.

- The First Ravioli Store for fresh pastas and Italian ingredients like olive oil packed tuna, olives, and all sorts of pasta shapes.

- Fratelli Bakery , which always smells amazing when you walk in. Italian pastries (plus a few French pastries for good measure). In additional to breads and cakes, they also carry a big variety of little tarts and squares that are great for dinner party desserts. The best deal here is their frozen pizza dough, which comes in white or whole wheat for cheap (I paid $1.25 last time I bought it, but that was a while ago).

- La Grotta Del Formaggio. My go-to place for Italian meats, pastas, olive oils, cheeses, and San Marzano tomatoes.  I often see the same olive oil they carry at Urban Fare for $5-10 more. Their sandwich bar is very popular – piled high with different meats & cheeses and grilled.

- JNZ Deli. There was a line-up out the door when we arrived. We patiently waited and were rewarded with the lovely smell of smoked meat when we opened the door. I bought some bacon, which was AMAZING. So good.

- Belgian Fries. The fries and poutine here are good, but they are really just carriers for their wasabi mayo dip, which is addicting.

After a big cone of fries and lots of shopping we were broke, full, and happy….and done! If we had more time, we would have ventured north on Commercial Drive, but we’ll save that for another day.

See map for location details of all places.

Anything related to Cru Restaurant is great in my book. I stopped by Cru’s Kitsilano cafe Dolcetto yesterday for a quick look.

Super small cafe, maybe 10-15 seats inside plus four seats outside. Dolcetto serves 49th parallel coffee plus breakfast, brunch, and lunch items (mainly paninis and your standard cafe items). My Americano was perfectly declicious.

If you live in the ‘hood, lucky you. It sure beats the other coffee options in the neighbourhood. At least untl Caffe Artigiano opens.

Caffe Dolcetto
2967 West Broadway, Vancouver
(between Bayswater and Carnarvon)
Open until 6pm daily