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.

Both locations feature charmingly comfortable and rustic surroundings -(think brightly painted wooden tables with mis-matched chic chairs), and the Kitsilano location also offers plenty of specialty food items for sale.

It’s homemade deliciousness – to eat-in or take out.

Coco et Olive Fine Foods
3707 Main Street and 3476 West Broadway
Vancouver

The menu at Bishop’s changes regularly to reflect what’s in season, but the menu is always a selection of mouthwatering local food. My last visit was a couple weeks ago with a girlfriend – my first “real” dinner out without my little baby boy. Bishop’s was celebrating their 25th anniversary and we gave their special menu a try. At $49 for 4 course, it was an excellent deal.

The four-course anniversary menu:

- A salad of winter greens and walnuts with soft, crispy, and warm goat’s cheese. The arrangement of the winter greens was artistic – a beautiful looking and tasting plate.

- A soft dungeness crab cake topped with crispy threads of potato and fennel and a fennel cream. The perfect balance of textures and fresh crab.

- Two preparations of meltingly tender fraser valley lamb with precisely cut root vegetables and a red wine jus

- For dessert, “Death by chocolate” – a dense, ganache-like slice of chocolate surrounded with a delicious raspberry coulis.

In addition to the anniversary menu, the amuse for the evening was a smooth chicken liver pate on a crisp potato chip. The evening ended with a sweet and crisp coronation pear cut by John Bishop himself. He knows how to make a simple pear look gorgeous.

Entrees off the a la carte menu usually range from the high $20s to mid $40 dollar range. Not cheap, but worthy for a special night out.

The room is simple and tastefully decorated. The restaurant is busy, but never too loud and the tables are spaced apart well. You can have a quiet meal and great conversation with your dinner companions without overhearing everything from the table next to you.

I’ve also been cooking out of John Bishop’s Fresh recently, with great success. My food from the cookbook always tastes good, but doesn’t look quite as polished. If you want Bishop’s food – the rustic version, make it at home. For the full polished experience, make a reservation at the restaurant and enjoy.

Bishop’s Restaurant
2183 W. 4th Ave (@ Yew)
604 738 2025

“Indish” offers three menus:
- The Chef and Serve menu does all the prep work for you. All the veggies are chopped, meat marinated, your mise en place together. Indish acts as your sous chef and you get to finish cooking the meal at home with their detailed instructions. The menu changes regulalry, but it’s always mouth watering. We tried a delicious chicken and chorizo jambalaya. There’s a nice variety including duck breast, seared tuna, and coq au vin. My only issue is that I still think you need some reasonable cooking skills to finish the dishes off well – they are not fool proof even with the prep work done.

- The Heat and Serve menu offers fully cooked, frozen meals that you reheat in the oven. So cottage pie, chicken pot pie, mac and cheese – freezer friendly items. The Boeuf Bourguignon is also in this category (although it’s easier to reheat it on the stove for 20 min. than in the oven for an hour) and it’s excellent. Better than mine. Shhh!

- The Microwave and Serve menu is what I used the most. Fully cooked meals frozen in individual portions for easy heating. We’ve had many portions of the delicious butter chicken and lamb tagine. The spaghetti bolognese is good but the sauce is sweeter than I like. The only “meh” one is the thai green curry – it’s good, but nothing special.

While the food is delicious, having a sous chef in the kitchen is not cheap. The Chef ‘n Serve menu items are $24-43 for 2 servings. You can definitely make the same thing for cheaper on your own, so you are paying the big bucks for convenience. The microwavable items are a tad more reasonable at $8.50-$14 for one serving. I plan to keep a couple microwaveable items in the freezer for those nights I can’t cook but want some real food.

Overall, it’s nice to see Indish doing well. They have a nice concept, use quality local ingredients, and are filling a niche for time-crunched people that don’t want bad take-out for dinner.

Indishpensible
2777 Arbutus St (@12th ave)
604-731-3474

However, I have always heard great things about Skoah. I  remember years ago when Skoah’s first location opened in Yaletown, I met my friends after their facials and they looked amazing with this ethereal glowing skin. When a groupon for a Skoah facial came up a couple months back, I grabbed it and went for a “facialicious” treatment this week.

The treatment is 75min. long and includes cleansing, masques, skin analysis, and leg, foot, arm, hand, neck, and shoulder massages. BUT, no extractions during my treatment and while not pleasant, they are important. The Skoah experience is around customizing every facial based on your skin analysis. So, you settle into a cozy heated bed between warm blankets and are given standard set of soothing cleansing and exfoliating treatments while you gently fall into relaxed bliss as your limbs are massaged. The remainder of your facial is customized based on your skin type (apparently, I need to exfoliate more!).

Service is friendly and professional – Skoah even sends you a follow-up email after your appointment, which is a nice touch. I picked up a couple of their products to try at home – they seem quite lovely and with a 60-day money back guarantee, why not?  The actual treatment overall was well-done and executed.

While I’ll always be loyal to Breathe Spa, I can definitely see to the appeal of Skoah. I plan to try Skoah’s foot and hand facials and the “tummy and mummy” facial would have been great when I was pregnant.

A new location with two treatments rooms just opened in Kitsilano, so you have lots of location choices to relax with Skoah.

Skoah. Personal training for your skin
- Kitsilano – 2258 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver
- Yaletown (flagship store) – 1011 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
604 609 0200
*Locations also at Metrotown & North Vancouver

I’ve seen lots of great top patio lists for Vancouver already, but below are some favourites & recommendations. And remember, this is a list for patio first, food second.

Downtown
The Gallery Cafe (at the Vancouver Art Gallery), 750 Hornby Street (best accessed off of Robson & Howe): If you want a truly sunny patio, nothing beats the Gallery Cafe’s huge outdoor licensed patio atop the Vancouver Art Gallery. A great place to catch some rays, people watch, and catch up over a glass of wine. Food is cafe style – sandwiches, salads (with art gallery prices).

False Creek North
Nu Restaurant, 1661 Granville Street (under the Granville St. Bridge): Nu features and all-seasons patio right on the water, with tables, couches, and a great view of False Creek and Granville Island across the water. A great spot for lunch or dinner while enjoying the view is a relaxed setting. And the food here is great.

Coal Harbour
Cardero’s Restaurant, 1583 Coal Harbour Quay: Cardero’s makes many best patio lists because, it’s a nice patio! A big, airy space right in the centre of Coal Harbour. A calming location away from the bustle of downtown Vancouver.

Willow Stream Spa and the  Fairmont Pacific Rim Lobby, 1038 Canada Place Way (near Burrard & Cordova) - The newest Fairmont Hotel is beautiful on the inside with a great outdoor patio off the lobby lounge, which features live music daily. Plus, the Willow Stream spa on the 5th floor is just completing construction on an incredible outdoor patio, which will include fire pits, hot tubs, and outdoor treatment – I hear it should be ready later this month.

Gastown
Chill Winston, 3 Alexander Street: Right in the centre of Gastown by the Gassy Jack statue is Chill Winston’s huge patio – perfect for drinks while overlooking the cobblestone roads and Gastown shops. Downsides: it’s a busy patio so there can be waits, and you’ll get your share of people asking for spare change. While it’s shadier, the small patio at Jules can be a good alternative.

Granville Island
Sammy J Peppers, 1517 Anderson St, right inside Granville Island. Remember, what I said about patio first, food second? Sammy J on Granville Island does sport a fantastic patio for those who want the breeze, but not the glaring hot sunlight. It’s a fully covered patio, overlooking the boats and a boardwalk. A good spot for a beer in a slightly less crazy part of Granville Island in the summer. (but if you like crazy, hit up Bridges or the Backstage Lounge)

Main St.
Crave Restaurant, 3941 Main St (near 24th): You’d never guess it from the front of the restaurant, but Crave has a beautiful patio in the back of the restaurant. It’s been nicely lanscaped and feels like a comfy backyard. Food here is good, but inconsistent. Brunch is my favourite meal here.

Burgoo Bistro on Main, 3096 Main St (near 16th): The Main Street Burgoo has a great patio right on Main Street that gets plenty of sun.

Kitsilano
The Boathouse on Kits Beach (formerly the Watermark Restaurant), 1305 Arbutus Street: I’ll miss the prawn spring rolls at the Watermark, but otherwise, I’m sure the Boathouse will fit right into the Kits Beach scene. An incredible view of the city, mountains, and beach.

The Smoking Dog, 1889 W. 1st Ave (@ Cypress): I used to live 50 steps from the Dog and enjoyed the patio regularly. Sun drenched, quiet street, great French bistro food.

Yaletown
The Keg, 1011 Mainland Street: I haven’t been, but everyone I know is raving about the patio at the new Keg in Yaletown.

Glowbal and Afterglow, Yaletown, 1079 Mainland St – Glowbal restaurant was the the first and original restaurant and recently changed their cuisine focus to steaks and satays. Afterglow is at the back of the restaurant and is a lounge/bar. To be honest, I don’t like this restaurant at all. The two times I’ve been there, food was unspectacular for the price and service was insulting. However, I haven’t been back in a while, so I imagine it’s improved. What you do get here is a urban, modern setting and decent food at a marked up price. It’s a nice place for business meetings or for drinks.

Coast, Downtown, 1054 Alberni St (near Burrard) – Coast is all about fresh seafood in a welcoming setting. The first Coast was located in Yaletown, but the restuarant moved to Alberni Street a while back and also opened the adjoining O Lounge next door. The food here is good, but I don’t go often. My most memorable coast experience dates a few years back when the head chef of Coast did a joint dinner with Hidekazu Tojo (of the amazing & famous Tojo’s – for serious Japanese lovers only). Were we treated to a beautiful feast of west coast and Japanese inspired cuisine.

The Italian Kitchen, Downtown, 1037 Alberni St (Across from Coast, near Burrard) – Now the Italian Kitchen I like. Fresh and well cooked modern Italian food. The food here is delicious, fresh, and memorable. The penne arrabbiata is my favourite pasta here – slightly spicy and salty with creamy burrata cheese to balance everything out. This restaurant is famous for their Kobe beef meatballs – they are big and meaty, but a little over-rated in my book.

Trattoria Italian Kitchen, Kitsilano, 1850 W. 4th Ave (b/w Burrard & Cypress) - In Italy, you have restaurants and you have trattorias. Trattorias are known to be more casual and more affordable versus the more upscale ristorante. This is also the idea of Trattoria Italian Kitchen, a more casual, more affordable version of The Italian Kitchen downtown and I enjoy it. The menu is focused on a lot of sharing – so you can share a pasta platter or a meat platter with friends. Get the bruschetta sampler, crispy bread topped with sweet tomatoes & basil, chickpeas, and mushrooms – so satisfying.

Sanafir, Downtown, 1026 Granville Street (near Nelson) -  Sanafir is located in the entertainment district of Granville Street, open late and attracting lots of groups. The ceilings in this place are amazingly high and the food is a blend of North Africa, Middle Eastern, and Asian. The decor is inspired along the same themes and quite fun. It’s a nice room. I’ve only had drinks here, so no comment on the food.

Society, Yaletown, 1257 Hamilton Street (b/w Drake and Davie) - This is the Glowbal Group’s latest restaurant, comfort food and junk food served in a trendy Yaletown setting. Not a bad idea. Grab a seat on the lovely patio and order up a milkshake, onion rings, poutine, mac ‘n cheese, pizza – you get the idea. Satisfying, comforting food that you don’t usually get at an upscale restaurant. More restaurants should serve milkshakes, so for that alone Society gets points for me. I’ve only been for lunch and ate something way too healthy (fresh greens with a cajun grilled salmon), but based on the plates of burgers and shakes at the tables around me, I’ll come back and give it another try.

A final note is that aside from off-hours, these are not quiet restaurants. Think energetic buzz and bustling noise. Great for groups and casual dinners out, but not so much for a romantic time.

So, I give you the Glowbal Group of restaurants – some parts good, some parts average, all worth a try – let me know you think.

The kitchen opens at noon and closes at 7:45pm. I don’t even start thinking about dinner until 8:30pm, so I’ve never made it there for dinner. The restaurant also closes on Mondays and all holiday weekends. Frustrating when I want a burger on Easter weekend, but I get that the owners and staff are taking the break too.

And of course, they have a simple, but quality driven menu featuring burgers, fries, floats, and shakes. Everything is made from scratch and delicious. You have a choice of a steak, turkey, salmon, or veggie patty, cooked to order on a crusty but soft bun, fresh lettuce and tomato, and a perfect amount (ie. not globs like many restaurants do) of  mayo and house sauce. The result is always a pure, juicy, delicious burger that never disappoints.

A burger must come with fries, which are cut and fried to order until light and crispy. While it doesn’t have the crunch of a double fried potato, they taste great and are the best  accompaniment to the  burger.

To drink, pick from a choice of milkshake flavours, which come perfectly mixed and frothy with a dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. You can also get them malted for a different flavour boost.

Moderne Burger is a designed as a classic diner, with booths, bar stools, and a juke box. The restaurant is popular and gets line-ups regularly, so expect to wait, come during off-hours, or order take-out to avoid the busy times.

As one of the best burger joints in Vancouver, it’s a must-visit when you’re in the mood for a real hamburger.

Moderne Burger
2507 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K 2E9, Canada
(604) 739-0005

What I like about the studio:

• Small classes. 6 max for mat classes and 4 max for reformer classes. For proper pilates technique, a small class is essential. I attended a 40 person class at a gym once and it drove me nuts watching everyone straining their necks and backs to copy the teacher’s movements.
• My favourite instructors are Danielle and Cinzia. I’ve been working with Danielle for a few years and she’s completely changed the way my body moves, it’s incredible. Danielle and Cinzia both teach classes that focus on form while still being challenging. Like any fitness studio, you need to find the teachers that work for you – the other studio instructors are good, but I find Danielle and Cinzia (along with studio owner Karen) the most experienced and I follow their cues well.

Studio drawbacks:

• It’s not cheap. Mat classes run about $18 and reformer classes around $25. These are standard prices for studios, but you need to have the budget.
• 36 hour cancellation policy. This is understandable given the small size of classes, but it always sucks when my plans change and I can’t cancel the class.
• Some of my fellow classmates have mentioned some classes are not challenging enough. My response is to go see Danielle – she’ll challenge you.

Why Pilates?
Pilates is built upon proper movement and a focus on how the core improves the body’s movement. Yes, you get strong abs, but I’ve also improved my posture, the alignment of my feet and legs…all these things you’d never think of. Pilates is often used as a rehabilitation technique for good reason.

I’ve tried many studios and instructors and am happy at The Movement Studio. AND, it’s right next to Capers on 4th, so the routine is morning class followed by a coffee at Capers. Lovely.

The Movement Studio
2211 W. 4th Ave, suite 207. (Go into the courtyard between Paboom and Vancity and up the stairs)
604-732-9055

While I enjoyed Fuel Restaurant (I had an excellent 7-course tasting and a few Fried Chicken Fridays), when I dropped by Refuel a few weeks ago I found the room full, lively, and smelling of great food from the open kitchen. Plus, the fried chicken is on the menu, so you can have it any day of the week now! Change is good.

Our experience from Visit #1:

• The new room looks great – I’m always impressed  at how some subtle adjustments changes the vibe of a place. They’ve added a few extra tables and removed the wine storage in the room. I think they also changed the tables to casual wood tops and nixed the tablecloths.The walls have some cool moulded plywood action, which makes the room feel natural.
• Great menu selection with lots of snacks to share, starters, and mains with $22 being the highest price point. Off the menu you can still order a Cote de Boeuf or a whole Polderside duck to share. It was hard to decide.
• Our snack to start: spiced pork bits, extra rib and pork pieces tossed in a tangy seasoning. Good and messy
• Ox tongue salad with tender greens and a deliciously creamy ravigote sauce
• Lemon Risotto: creamy with sweet lemon flavour
• Crispy skin lingcod with bacony swiss chard, pearl onions. I also ordered a side of seasonal fingerling potatoes, which came out hot and buttery.
• Service was good, but not overly attentive. Portions were good, but not huge.

Next time: I’ll have to try the burger and fries. The fries are fried in beef tallow, which sounds pretty dreamy to a french fry lover like myself. And a burger and beer is $15.50 everyday between 3-6pm and 9pm-midnight.

Open for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner daily until midnight, I’ll be adding Refuel to my list of restaurants to frequent.

Refuel Restaurant
1944 W. 4th Ave (b/w Cypress and Maple)
604-288-7905