Vancouver Good

Yesterday, I went on a fun “hard hat” tour of the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel and their Willow Stream Spa. The hotel opens January 2010  (and is already fully booked for the Olympics), and the spa opens in February 2010. Amidst the blustery, rainy, horrible day, myself and 10 additonal ladies from the Downtown Networking [...]

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A couple weeks ago, I checked out Irashai Grill with some friends. I’d been meaning to check out the restaurant and Irashai also mailed me a 15% off coupon after reading this blog, which was a nice bonus! Overall, Irashai’s strengths are in their fresh seafood and unique rolls. The room is large with high [...]

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The development of Granville Street downtown has been an ongoing project for as long as I remember. When I used to live downtown, the only restaurant stop worth going to on the “sketchy” part of Granville (the strip South of Nelson) was the  excellent Templeton Diner, which continues to churn out good quality food in [...]

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[Update: Now closed] I was downtown early this morning so decided to stop by the Kolachy Co for breakfast and coffee to go. I probably shouldn’t say this, but the easiest way to describe a Kolachy is to picture a gourmet style pizza pop. A fresh bread exterior stuffed with a variety of breakfast or [...]

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Stopped into Big City Cupcakes on 4th ave. yesterday and picked up some dessert. On their website, it appears they are based in Kelowna and they dub themselves as “Canada’s fastest growing cupcake company.” This would make them a competitor for the other cupcakes in town from  Cupcakes by Heather & Lori (expanding also with [...]

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I had a lovely dinner at Bin 942 this past Sunday. I was at an event in Victoria, caught the 8pm ferry, and rolled into Vancouver around 10pm in need of some good food. Thankfully, I remembered the Bins. Background details: Two locations, Bin 941 downtown on Davie Street, and Bin 942 on W Broadway. [...]

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The sun is shining, which  means the sandals are coming out and it’s pedicure season for us ladies! Vancouver certainly has a LOT of spas, but the below shortlist are my standbys that I return to regularly. Bloom Essentials – Kitsilano, #3 – 1854 W. 1st Ave (@ Burrard) Best for: Pedicures with your girlfriends; [...]

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Now, I don’t have a problem with chain restaurants per se. They are just uninspiring to me. Food is always fine, but nothing memorable. However, they are useful in many cases: Dining with picky eaters Big groups (and you need a room and kitchen that can handle the group) Late dinners – you know they [...]

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I recently joined the Vancouver Farmers Market Food Jury, which was very interesting. A group of us sat down, tried several products from possible exhibitors, and gave our feedback. The session reminded me of how much I love the Vancouver Farmers Markets! While the winter market recently concluded, the Vancouver Farmers Market is gearing up [...]

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A recent Vitamin Daily Dose tipped me off on Power Vibe Fitness, a 25 minute workout based on these crazy Power Plate Exercise Machines. I’m always looking for more efficient workouts, so the 25 minute package was appealing for me.  I signed up for the 8am “Power Basic” class this week. Features of the class: [...]

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