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Italian Day on Commercial Drive, Vancouver (June 5th)

Raul — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:43:54 +0000

photo credit: SAN_DRINO

One of the things I love the most (in addition to my friends John and Minna Van living there) about Commercial Drive is its ethnic diversity and the mosaic of cultures you have there. Interestingly enough, Commercial Drive used to be an ethnic enclave for the Italian community, and it continues to be celebrated that way. I had a chance to cover Italian Day on Commercial Drive last year, but this year I’m in Victoria so I will be unable to do so. But you can follow my friend Minna’s Twitter stream as I’m sure she’ll be livetweeting from there. Today June 5th, in addition to being World Environment Day and Ships to Shore Steveston, is Italian Day on Commercial Drive. In fact, June is Italian Heritage Month, so one more reason for you to check out this festival.

Come celebrate ‘all that is Italian’ from Venables to the Grandview cut on Commercial Drive, Vancouver’s original ‘Little Italy’. Join over 50,000 attendees on June 5th 2011 from noon until 8pm as ‘La Dolce Vita’ hits the street in style to include food, entertainment, fashion, specialty products, activities and much more. Share the spirit, pride and tradition as we pay tribute to the Italian community and the contributions made to this city as Vancouver celebrates its 125th birthday and Italians commemorate Italy’s 150th anniversary of unification. Viva l’Italia e benvenuti a tutti!

If you attend, please post photos so that I can blog about them.

The Pond Tapas Bar and Grill (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:52:33 +0000

My good friend Chris Walts and I had been to The Pond Tapas Bar and Grill on Commercial Drive a few months ago, but truth be told, we never got around really sampling the food. So when my good friend Francisco Grajales III invited me to enjoy tapas at The Pond Tapas Bar and Grill, I figured “but, OF COURSE”. I haven’t really found another tapas place that I am totally enthralled with.

But now I do. The Pond Tapas Bar and Grill is going to be my next tapas favorite place. Even beyond La Bodega (which I also love).

For obvious reasons I love Spaniard food. I love chorizo, I love olives, I love capers. Everything that has to do with Spain, I love (Flamenco, and Spaniard food). I will admit that The Pond offers Mex/Spa tapas. The spicy chorizo and spicy meat balls are definitely not Spanish, but more Mexican.

Cisco and I ordered chorizo tapas (a double plate, $6 each), albondigas ($6), ceviche ($7 if I’m not mistaken) and olives ($5 if I’m not mistaken). The chorizo and albondigas were very well done, although I expected the chorizo to be drier and more Spanish-like. The albondigas were to-die-for. The ceviche was most excellent, although not as spicy as I expected ceviche to be. Our bill came to about $50 before tax and tip (with wine included).

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the music (which was fantastic), the food (which was awesome) and the space. Admittedly, we had the full The Pond for us because we arrived late. But our hostess/waitress was absolutely excellent. She kept the restaurant open even though it was late! Overall, big kudos to The Pond. I’ll certainly be back! Highly recommended.

Disclosure: Both Cisco and I paid for our dinner on our own dime.

The Libra Room (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:57:57 +0000

This past week I went to The Libra Room with my friends Minna Van and Jay Catalan (cofounders of The Network Hub, and we bumped into another good friend of ours, Nathan Tippe, and his friends Trevor, Vivian, Dylan and a few others. It was a nice surprise, and we all got to enjoy some of the music of The Werewolves of Creston (blog post forthcoming).

Despite the fact that I had already been to The Libra Room, I had never written about it. I’m not 100% sure why was that, but it is now about high time I get a blog post out of it. Particularly because the live music, and the food, and the drinks were excellent.

I had a couple of martinis that The Libra Room suggested (paired with my zodiac sign, Virgo), discriminating, clever. Made with vodka, espresso vodka, white chocolate ($ 8.50). Jay, Minna and I ordered a Mediterranean platter ($ 20.00) and we shared amongst the three of us (I thought it was more than enough food for all!)

And the service was pretty good up until the point when we requested the bill. The servers were very sweet, but not always on top of refilling our glasses of water.

Overall, it was a great night (I didn’t upload photos of my drinks because they were over-exposed). And I’ll be writing separately about the Werewolves of Creston, such a versatile musical trio should be assigned their own blog entry. Commercial Drive, you still have my heart, and the best entertainment this side of Main Street.

Italian Day on Commercial Drive Sunday June 6th, 2010

Raul — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 06:51:15 +0000

photo credit: moniko moniko

Even before becoming an East Vancouver boy, I’ve always been in love with Commercial Drive. Its multiculturalism, diversity of restaurants, and overall cool atmosphere has captivated me ever since I moved to Vancouver. I have sampled the food of numerous restaurants, had drinks at many bars/pubs on “the Drive” and written about it for years now. This area has a very distinctive Italian flavor, as after World War II, a sizable number of Italian immigrants settled in the northern part of Commercial Drive (which is also known as “Little Italy”). I speak Italian, and I often hear Italian spoken at numerous establishments on Commercial. I have a number of spots on the Drive that I absolutely adore, including La Grotta del Formaggio and of course, Cafe Deux Soleils.

Bandidas is a new favorite, and I’ve always eaten Ethiopian food at Cafe Addis and Harambe. And of course, there’s Car Free Festival, The Parade of Lost Souls and the Dyke March. All of these events have enriched my life are part of the calendar of events that happen on Commercial Drive.

And on Sunday June 6th, from 12pm to 8pm, from the Grandview Cut to Venables, on Commercial Drive, we’ll have Italian Day. From their website:

The Commercial Drive Business Society, in partnership with the Italian Cultural Centre is excited to welcome people of all ages to celebrate the long-anticipated return of Italian Day. This beloved festival, is remembered by many as the best ethnic celebration in the City!

Location and Access
Locations include Commercial Drive from Venables Street to the Grandview Cut, as well as the surrounding side streets and parks. In the spirit of Italian culture, get ready to “mangia, mangia, mangia” and play with passion on the Drive! There is free parking in the area and the Commercial Drive SkyTrain station is just one block from Grandview — the southern end of the festival street closure. We will also have additional parking available for the event and free shuttle service.

Festival Attractions
The event will include the very best in Italian food, sports and activities, cultural exhibits, musical performances and a variety of interactive entertainment. From pizza tossing to grape crushing, bocce ball to soccer ball, and art exhibits to auto displays, the Italian Day festival promises to be a fun-filled day for everyone to enjoy. The streets will be lined with activities and entertainment, and stages will engage the audience with performances for the love of all things Italian!

The Italian Day festival will creatively transform Little Italy into Big Italy! The Northern and Southern end of Commercial Drive, and all points in between, will correspond to places in Italy. Event signage and activity will reflect different Italian regions and cities.

I will try to check out Italian Day at least for a little bit. Hope you will too!

Bandidas (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:09:41 +0000

My friend Beth Snow and I were chatting on GTalk earlier on Sunday, and she tweeted that she had a hunkering for Mexican food. Despite my vast knowledge of the state of the Mexican cuisine in Vancouver, I hadn’t tried any restaurants in the geographical proximity of the neighbourhood where she was located. So, we went back and forth thinking about where to go for an early dinner. We thought about Las Tortas on Cambie and 17th, but settled for Bandidas.

I’m glad we did, because (a) it gave me an opportunity to try a new restaurant and write a review and (b) allowed me to try a new Mexican (or sort-of) place, particularly one that has only vegetarian options, as well as (c) hang out with Beth, with whom I rarely spend enough time, although we chat on Twitter and GTalk all the time.

I recently told a few of my friends that, contrary to common misconception, Mexican cuisine is primarily vegetarian. The main staples of Mexican cuisine are, as accurately indicated in the Wikipedia entry, rice and beans, although chiles are also an omni-present element of Mexican dishes. Well, Bandidas very smartly exploits the nuances of Mexican cuisine and adds a few changes here and there.

Someone wrote on Yelp that Bandidas is kind-of granola-munching, hipster central. It kind of looks that way (all due respect to hipsters). But that doesn’t detract at all of this place. It’s really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The burrito I ordered was the Ronny Russell (with roasted yams and onions, fresh guacamole, black beans, green salsa, purple cabbage, & pumpkin seeds).

It was important for me not to order anything with cheese (which I hate) nor sour cream (which is bad for my stomach as I am lactose-intolerant). As for the food itself, the burrito was REALLY big and filling. I’m glad I chose it over the tacos. While flavourful, I wasn’t really excited until I added a bit of salsa to it. Admittedly, I continue to like Mexican food the way I was brought up – with lots of spice and chile. Both Beth and I were full around 3/4 of our respective burritos (she ordered hers with cheese, though), but we were brave and finished them all.

Overall, I now know why Glenn Gaetz, Hilary Henegar, Stephen Hui and Paul Jarvis rave about Bandidas. Add me and Beth Snow to the long list of Bandidas fans.

Timbre (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:00:53 +0000

Both Emme Rogers and me have resolved this 2010 to do more exercise. As you may have noticed, I’ve mentioned on this blog before that I recently decided to start swimming again. I’m building my cardiovascular strength and resistance again and thus I really need to do as many walks as possible. Recently, Emme and I have been walking around the Commercial Drive neighbourhood and have found ourselves in the proximity of Timbre.

Located on Commercial Drive and about 5th Avenue, Timbre is a cool bar/restaurant. I was a bit disappointed with how loud it got. We arrived at 5pm, and it was ok, we didn’t have much of a problem to find a seat (it was not packed). The drinks were strong and well served, in fact Emme’s Caesars looked like lunch in a glass. Very tasty. I was quite impressed with the quality of the mojito they serve at Timbre.

We didn’t stay there for dinner, but for the drinks, it was good. I wasn’t impressed with how loud it got, but come to think about it, the whole bar seems to be sports bar/”come watch the hockey game” kind of place. So, if that’s the vibe they want to give it, good for them. I might swing by back sometime soon.

Restaurant review – Gojo Little Africa (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:32:59 +0000

Degan and I had been talking about hanging out in a less-crowded, more low-key environment and talkin about Ethiopian food. My readers might remember that I am an absolute die-hard fan of The Red Sea Cafe on Broadway and almost Fraser Street. But I’m always up for trying new places and the only restaurant I hadn’t tried that served Ethiopian food was Gojo Little Africa.

Located around 12th Avenue and Commercial, Gojo not a really tiny place, but since that area of Commercial is somewhat darker and less illuminated, you could easily blink and miss it. I was actually very happy with the place as it is spacious, very nicely decorated and well illuminated.

We ordered a veggie combo and a yedoro wat, which is one of my very favorite dishes (a spicy chicken stew) to share.

The food was great and while neither of us were hungry afterwards (we were actually quite full), I still have my money on The Red Sea Cafe. The portions are bigger there, but again, we didn’t really end up having to order more food. I’ve tried almost every single Ethiopian restaurant in the city and I still love Red Sea Cafe. Of course, my second and third choices would definitely be tough ones, as Fassil, Gojo, Harambe and Addis Cafe are all excellent.

After finishing our dinner, Degan and I spent some time talking about the possibility of having a dinner with the rest of the Vancouver food bloggers, which I am sure would be a lot of fun. I am hoping to organize this in the next little while, hopefully before the year 2008 is over.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Gojo Little Africa for dinner. I am actually very surprised that there aren’t a lot of restaurants between 12th and 14th Avenue on Commercial. That area is really underrated. It should get way more business, in my humble opinion.

Degan is an absolute pleasure to hang out with, she is really a lot of fun, very easygoing and really easy to get along with and I definitely see this as the first of many adventures of us two in our role as Vancouver’s food bloggers Hopefully more of them will join us next time!

Restaurant review – Britannia Sushi

Raul — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:13:47 +0000

There are perks to hanging around The Drive (otherwise known as Commercial Drive). One of them is that you can get any kind of food almost within any price range. I roamed south of Broadway trying to find this sushi joint — “I swear I saw a place with sushi for $ 4.50, I swear!” I said to myself.

Then I saw Britannia Sushi. I remembered vaguely that this was the place I was looking for, so I entered even though the price was just slightly higher ($ 5.50 for sushi special, which is either the lunch box with chicken, rice and a sushi roll, tempura and a bit of salad, or the sushi combo with california, tempura and tuna rolls).

I had the lunch box even though in hindsight I should have had the sushi roll special (18 pieces and miso soup for $ 5.50). Let’s be honest, this is not going to be THE best sushi, but it’s inexpensive. Unfortunately, as my friend ML said, the sushi DOES stay with you. I feel like I’m about to slip into a food coma.

For what it is, I’d say Britannia Sushi gives you kind of value for your money. Just don’t expect gourmet sushi. It’s sustenance, as one of my good friends would say. And the great thing is – it’s close by to anything on The Drive, so you can finish your food and walk around. I wish the sushi was a bit lighter on my stomach, but then again, maybe I should have ordered only sushi rolls.

Bar review – Stella’s (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:15:12 +0000

Lately, I’ve been a bit more of a hermit. I fainted recently and that was an alarm signal for me. My energy levels are usually through the roof and I’m never one to say “no” to any invitations. However, this past Sunday I had to miss an invitation to a Tweetup organized by Colleen Coplick to meet Tris Hussey. That was on Sunday evening, which was unfortunate as I had some personal matters to tend to. But on Saturday, I did manage to get myself out of the house and meet with my friend AF.

We tend to be more kind of “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” whenever we hang out, so we settled for a leisurely walk on Saturday afternoon around Trout Lake, followed by a couple of drinks at Stella’s on Commercial Drive. I had heard mixed reviews about Stella’s, but after having had a drink and some Belgian fries there, I am not going to complain.

The beer was somewhat on the side of expensive, but since this seemed to be gourmet beer, and AF seemed to like it, I won’t complain. My drink, I think was a Choc O9 Late (Absolut Vodka, White Cacao, Belgian Chocolate) but with amaretto. The drink (a double per my request) was lovely and I got a great buzz. We shared a cone of Belgian fries. The patio is nice although not much of a view (I was looking at the back side of the Grandview Park).

As usual, the company was what made the drinks taste better. I really enjoy “impromptu” hanging out opportunities with friends (when I have the time and can attend!). The thing is, I’m slowly learning to just do the things I have the physical energy, the time, money and resources to attend.

Trout Lake, the Farmers Market and bloggers on the loose

Raul — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:36:00 +0000

A view of Trout Lake. Photo credit: Me

When Nancy asked me whether I’d like to check out the Farmers Market at Trout Lake, I jumped at the possibility and immediately said YES. We hadn’t had a chance to hang out in a while and I always enjoy our conversations, so I headed out to meet Nancy at The End Cafe and then we walked to the Farmers Market at Trout Lake.

I took lots of photos thinking that I could use them to write a review of the park for Miss604′s Park Series, but as it turns out, Rebecca has already written a thorough and comprehensive post on Trout Lake. So I’m just going to ask you to mosey over there and then come back. Done? Ok, now I can continue with my recap. Yes, I’ve been doing a lot of fun activities lately, but I just didn’t want to let this particular post stay in my archives for too long, as it fulfills several purposes.

First, it answers Chris’ question – YES, I *did* blog about it. As I mentioned before…”bloggers are people, we do what we do… and then we blog about it“.

Second, it allows YOU my dear readers to check the beautiful scenery I enjoyed this early afternoon.

Third, it allows ME to feel a bit less guilty about not providing content over the long weekend.

Fourth, it is a nice link to my next post, which is a short summary of a conversation I had with Nancy (and that I have had with everybody who means something to me and with whom I’ve had a significant amount of time to talk about): my mantra of ALWAYS being amazed at something, EVERY single day.

More Trout Lake. Photo credit: Me

The sheer beauty of some of Vancouver’s inner city locations still blows me away. The most embarrassing thing is that I had to admit to my lovely friend Monica Hamburg that in 12 years, I had NEVER been to Trout Lake. However, I am glad I was able to walk around there with Nancy and that we bumped into Chris and Monica.

This little “jump, jump and take a poem” made my day

Is there anything better than spending a couple of hours sharing some good laughs and great interesting and intellectual conversations with people you care about? Or playing Rock Band? Or going out for dinner? Or just simply hanging out? I would say, very, very little.

Restaurant review – Cafe Deux Soleils

Raul — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:06:16 +0000

(SIDE NOTE – I was looking for a photo to showcase Cafe Deux Soleils and ghastly, I didn’t get any on Flickr. So you’ll have to just be happy to see a photo of some food on here to make the post pretty, hehehe – I’ll have a full-blown rant about Flickr a bit later).

I am a fan of Commercial Drive, anybody who knows me even a little will know this for sure. I am, after all, an East Van boy. Since my groups of friends span all areas of the Greater Vancouver area, I decided on a relatively central spot to say farewell to my friends H, I and their newborn L. They are flying back to Europe this weekend and we wanted to say goodbye before they left. Unfortunately A couldn’t make it, but M, H, C and I went to meet them, and since H is a vegetarian AND a Mom, I suggested the most family-friendly place I could find that would serve vegetarian dishes: Cafe Deux Soleils.

Now, since I speak French, it’s not difficult for me to know the difference between Deux and Du. The problem is that sometimes I get confused on which one is the right one. So, for all of you who have the same problem – Cafe Du Soleil is near Hastings on Commercial, so in the Northern part of The Drive, and Cafe Deux Soleils is in the Southern part, closer to the post office and the Skytrain. The vegetarian one is Deux Soleils. The little hidden gem is Du Soleil. Confused enough? Ok, good.

Since they seem to offer a fairly good selection of vegetarian burgers, most of us tried different versions. I tried their basic burger and I have to say that while the burger itself was tasty, I was pretty disappointed with the fries. The fries were cut in a strange manner, and they were also under-cooked. Although I have to say, the staff were VERY friendly and VERY patient.

NOTE TO SELF – Don’t organize an intimate friends’ dinner on Open Mic night at Cafe Deux Soleils – it gets LOUD. But on the other hand, another NOTE TO SELF – Lots of eye-candy on Open Mic Night. So, I’ll have to organize a Vancouver Bloggers Meetup here or a simple gathering on a Thursday

While we all had a really great time, and I am grateful that I got to see little L and H and I, I found myself again seeing close friends of mine going away. This has become a recurring pattern, which of course has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with this city’s multicultural, transient population. Last night, as J was driving L and me home from dinner with C and B, we were talking about how much we dislike the fact that this city doesn’t provide stability. Your friends can just as easily move to another country or city or region in a whim. This doesn’t allow us to create long-lasting bonds that easily.

So, back to the restaurant review – I have been a devout patron of Cafe Deux Soleils even though I’m not strictly a vegetarian (I do eat organic meat), and their brunch menu is also really good. I do have some minor negative associations with the fact that my ex was a vegetarian and a fan of this place so we came here for brunch all the time, but that’s why I always organize new gatherings with close friends, to erase whatever minor reminiscences I have from past lives.

I would seriously recommend Cafe Deux Soleils for a laid-back, family-friendly (or singleton-friendly) brunch or dinner with friends. I for one will make sure to organize a meeting with a few local bloggers here for dinner sometime.

Eatery review – La Grotta Del Fromaggio

Raul — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:32:30 +0000

I never know how to call these, since La Grotta Del Fromaggio (literally, the cavern of cheese) is more than just a deli. It is a small little piece of heaven tucked in the heart of Commercial Drive, kitty corner from my favorite coffee place, Continental. It is kind of obvious (as those of you who have read my About page) that I shouldn’t really know about La Grotta Del Fromaggio, simply because I don’t eat cheese. But today I met with my good friends H and I, who flew in from the Netherlands, and we went there for lunch.

OH MY GOD. BEST-SANDWICHES-EVER! I had a small bun Montreal smoked meat sandwich ($ 5.00) and it was so filling I am still feeling full. I’m headed over to Uva Wine Bar for a Tweetup, and I still don’t feel the need to eat, because I am SO full. I’m glad that I and H brought me there, not only because it gave me an opportunity to try a new place to eat (inexpensive as well!) but also because I could practice my Italian. Of course, I ended up throwing some Portuguese and Spanish here and there, but overall, it sounded really good.

I’ll post more about the reasons why I am so happy I saw H and I, but I have to head to Uva for the Tweetup. So I’ll talk to you guys later.

Vancouver Podcasters Meetup (March 2008) recap

Raul — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 06:52:17 +0000

Rebecca sent me an email informing me about this meetup, and although I am *not* a podcaster, I couldn’t resist the temptation to join. I’ve found bloggers and podcasters alike very welcoming, friendly and really interesting to talk to. Besides, it was going to be held at The End Cafe, which as some of you know is one of my favorite coffee shops, and Rebecca told me she was going so I said “for sure”.

Had a chance to meet a few new folks (though I regret not having seen Derek Miller, aka Penmachine), someone whose blog I have read before and whom I respect a lot. Derek had blogged about the VPM too but he’s undergoing chemotherapy so he wasn’t going to show up. Amongst the folks I met for the first time was Nancy Zimmerman (aka The Money Coach). I’ve agreed to guest-blog for Nancy, so stay tuned for some environmentally-focused money discussions

Two other bloggers whom I had read in the past were also there, Matt from Onomatopoeia.org and Maktaaq (who like me, just recently switched platforms from Blogger to WordPress – welcome to WP!). And of course the Bollwitts, Rebecca and John.

After the meetup, the Bollwitts, Matt and Maktaaq and myself headed down to Memphis Blues for some late-dinner (and yes, if you were curious, Matt and Maktaaq are married, and if you need proof, you can check Matt’s About page). Had a fabulous time with these folks. The walk from the End Cafe to Memphis Blues and back and the dinner themselves were highlights of my evening. There are few things more precious to me than hanging out (and walking around) with friends. And as I told these folks tonight, through my blogging and reading theirs I feel as though we’re old-time friends. Instead of just thinking that they’re online strangers, these folks have become friends to me, genuinely interested in who I am outside of the blogosphere and not only in the Internet world.

The actual food wasn’t bad. I’ve reviewed Memphis Blues before – this particular location, actually – and while I did like it, I wasn’t all that impressed with the pulled pork sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, it was very tasty and not that expensive, but I expected a little bit less grease on my sandwich. It was an awesome evening and I would definitely love to hang out with these folks more often. They’ve got great sense of humor, fabulous conversation and endless stories to share.

Restaurant review – Seto Cafe (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:40:00 +0000

I write this review as I am listening again and again to the song “Who Knows” by Natasha Bedingfield (by the way, I just found out that the song is not included in the soundtrack, which totally sucks – this song would be the sole reason why I’d buy the soundtrack). Anyhow, this afternoon (just before meeting J for dinner and a movie), I had brunch with L, M and A after our volleyball game at a nice little cafe that has one of the cheapest brunches in town ($3.50 for breakfast is hard to beat).

Cafe Seto (on Commercial Drive) is located pretty close to JJ Beans and near 6th and Commercial (if I’m not mistaken). It only takes cash and debit, so that’s a bit of a problem for those like me, who totally love plastic (e.g. credit cards). But the price is almost unbeatable. And the food is REALLY good.

It was very nice to spend some time with L and M (two of my best volleyball players) outside our customary environment (e.g. a volleyball court). I have to say that I am pretty damn proud. My volleyball team this term is super solid, and we get along famously. As S put it very truthfully, “we are freakishly laid-back”.

Back to the review. I had their All Day Breakfast (actually I ordered the ADB but they gave me the 2-2-2, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 pancakes). Awesome, very filling. I think that the only issue I am having with brunch at the moment is that I do need coffee with my toast and a soft drink (e.g. Pepsi) with my eggs. Call me weird, but I can’t really fathom a brunch without those two drinks. Anyhow, I highly recommend Cafe Seto. Cheap brunch – almost unbeatable!

Coffee shop review – The End Cafe (Commercial Drive)

Raul — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:39:00 +0000

There is a gazillion reasons why you should mosey over to Commercial Drive. It’s a vibrant and diverse community that has managed to create a mosaic of exciting and fun events. If you want to be up-to-date on the comings and goings on The Drive, I’d recommend the blog “Commercial Drive – Live!“.

I’m writing this post as I sit at The End Cafe (corner of N Grandview Hwy and Commercial Drive, pretty much at 6th Avenue and Commercial). I have met friends of mine here on our way to dinner or a movie. However, this is the very first time I actually have spent any time at The End Cafe.

I have heard rave reviews of the place, particularly jazz nights on Sundays (7-9 pm). Admittedly, that kind of clashes with my evenings with J, but I am sure I can convince him to come and listen to jazz (he wasn’t very keen on acid jazz when we went to the Fairview pub, but hey it’s all about having an open mind, don’t you think?)

The coffee is pretty good, and I have to say that the layout is very conducive to doing everything: from doing work on your laptop (there are two side bars with plenty of jacks to connect to the electrical energy, and free wireless internet) to having a relaxed evening reading a book and having a coffee (comfy couches) to doing school homework (plenty of tables with enough seating to entertain a small army of school brats) to having a drink (they’re licensed to serve alcohol until 11.45pm).

I read on the Girlports website that there is an informal queer women group every second Wednesday at the End Cafe.

Another habitual haunt for the lesbian set, the End Café is especially helpful for travelers with their free wifi access. They’ve got a nice loungey feel and serve coffee, soups, fresh organic sandwiches, burgers, breakfast and desserts. Every other Wednesday there’s an informal lesbian meet’n’greet you may want to keep your eyes open for.[Girlports website]

I can’t praise enough the management of End Cafe for being this queer-positive. Of course, this is one of the most diverse and culturally-aware neighbourhoods in Vancouver!

Eatery review – Uncle Fatih’s Pizza (Commercial and Broadway)

Raul — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:26:00 +0000

Since I got back to Vancouver, I’ve been working at the office and doing lots of errands. Thus, by the time I head back home, I’m totally exhausted. As it often happens to me when I take the 99 B-Line home, I ended up sleeping and missing my stop. So I had to go back from Commercial and Broadway (good thing the 99 B-Line wasn’t one of those ‘Boundary’ ones or else I would’ve been royally in trouble).

On my way back, a nagging feeling and a slight headache started to bug me. Having just shopped at Safeway, I figured that it was nothing, but by the time I crossed the street west over to Commercial and Broadway, the lion inside me woke up and started to demand food. Being the case that pizza is the only thing with cheese that I allow myself to consume (just because I can’t even taste the cheese with all those toppings), I stopped at Uncle Fatih’s Pizza.

Since I started hanging out on Commercial Drive, I had promised myself that one day, I’d make a quick stop at Uncle Fatih’s. The line-up is always long and there’s all sorts of people (from men in suits to young guys in rags) consuming pizza. Determined not to let this opportunity pass, I stopped and ordered a full dinner (2 slices and a pop for a whooping $ 3.50, even cheaper than a latte at Starbucks).

Admittedly, my definition of cheap eats is substantially different to that of Andrew Morrison from Urban Diner (I just read his weekly West Ender column on cheap eats, and he suggested that he could do dinner for $20 or so – my definition of cheap eats is dinner for less than 7 bucks). This is most definitely a place for cheap, affordable, tasty and satisfying pizza. I’ll be back, for sure!

And apparently other reviewers agree with me

Restaurant review – Addis Cafe

Raul — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:13:00 +0000

This will probably be my last blog post of the weekend as I have a gazillion things to do (unless I get bored with work in which case I might blog again). But I can’t leave this one out of print (or online publication) because I had been wanting to go for Ethiopian food at Addis Cafe on Commercial Drive for a long while.

My good friend NW and I hadn’t seen each other in a few years (unbelievable considering that we live in the same city and very close neighbourhoods — but bear in mind I had been away from Vancouver for a couple of years too). N and I share very similar views, and in some ways, there’s a lot of work that we do that is similar.

Anyhow, we agreed to meet here for lunch. Ethiopian food is very social and I’ve become sort of the “guy to ask about where to eat Ethiopian in Vancouver” with my friends and colleagues, so I am pretty confident that I know almost every place that serves this type of food.

The staff were super sweet (I am not sure if they’re the owners, but definitely had the feeling that they were). The great advantage: they take credit cards, debit or cash. N was kind enough to treat me to lunch which I really appreciated, but more than that, it was the opportunity to catch up that made the occasion special.

We ordered a vegetarian combo with chicken (5 veggie items and the chicken in the middle). I absolutely loved it. I found the veggie portions a little smaller than I have tried at, for example, Red Sea Cafe and Fassil on Broadway and Fraser but the flavour was great. I couldn’t finish eating simply because I was so full.

The great thing about NW and I is that we’re able to synthesize what has happened in our lives in a few minutes. We both have MBA training and thus know the value of transmitting our ideas across within a very short time frame. It pretty much took an hour and a half to catch up on the last few years and we both promised we’d get together much more often now.

I also should credit NW with a few lessons (I am not sure she knows I learned all this from here but here they are…

How to itemize my work into discrete units (she’s great at it).
The value of good writing (she’s an excellent writer).
The value of good people skills (she’s fantastic to network with!)

It was a great experience, so the good food was just a nice added touch. “Icing on the cake” as they would say.

Restaurant review – Bouzyos

Raul — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:09:00 +0000

As I had mentioned before, Commercial Drive is highly underrated. There are few places in the world where I feel more at ease than walking on the Drive. It’s a real mosaic of multiculturalism. On the Drive, you will find just about any type of food you want (Ethiopian, Tunisian, Greek, Nepalese, Mexican, and of course, Italian).

I had the pleasure of going out for dinner with H and C and we quickly settled on Greek (given my absolute dislike for cheese, Greek food is relatively cheese-free, with the exception of feta cheese – but that one is easily removable). So we headed to Bouzyos, a Greek taverna where I had previously had dinner with my brother a couple of years ago (ah, good times! — that was perhaps one of the best dinners I had had in ages).

Bouzyos is Greek-owned, and it shows in the food. We ordered dolmathes and tzatziki for appetizers and in my case, I had lemon chicken with the works: rice, potato, tzatziki and Greek salad. In C and H’s case, they ordered moussaka and souvlaki respectively. Of course, by the time we were done, we basically were so full it was almost impossible to walk. But we had such a good time!

I would strongly recommend Bouzyos, the food is excellent and great service. I would say, though, that the atmosphere is relatively un-Greek. We were listening to 80′s music (extremely well chosen, quite frankly, but it was kind of weird to listen to former top-40 pop hits while eating Greek food).

It was great to see C again (we had brunch a few months back at Paul’s but now C is here to stay for a longer period of time), and it is really heart-warming to see H and C behave like total lovebirds (*giggles*). Their relationship does give me hope that LDRs (long-distance-relationships) can work out if you put the effort into them.

Eatery review – Taco Loco

Raul — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:26:00 +0000

It’s really hard to find good, authentic Mexican food in Vancouver. The past couple of years we have witnessed a growth spurt of places that sell pseudo-Mexican food within the GVRD, particularly in the downtown area. There are a few, however, that are fairly authentic. Usually, these are holes-in-the-wall. That would be the case of Taco Loco. This is a small eatery located between 11th and 12th Avenue on Commercial Drive. The food is fairly authentic (with the exception that mole con pollo NEVER has sour cream drizzled and that the actual chicken should be a full breast instead of shredded chicken). For what I ate, I would say it was overpriced (mole con pollo for $7.00?). But we were hungry and needed food. Furthermore, considering that the mole was pretty authentic, I probably shouldn’t complain that much. If you need a quick meal that is fairly authentic, you could stop by Taco Loco. However, the service is nothing short of dreadful. At some point, I’ll have to compare it with other fairly solid places like Casablanca and Las Margaritas (yes, Las Margaritas has fairly decent Mexican food).

Commercial Drive is totally underrated

Raul — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:42:00 +0000

I seem to have picked up a tendency to use teenager-speak (“this is, like, totally cool” or my recent “best patio, like, ever!”) and I am sure my friends find it kind of cute. Anyhow, this stage will soon be over, but I want to be able to say that Commercial Drive is like, totally underrated.

I have had the pleasure of helping Copper Lioness pack some of her stuff to send out to the Old Continent and therefore, have spent the past few days hanging around Commercial Drive. Let me just mention a few of the gems I walked by each day.

Addis Cafe and Harambe. — Ethiopian food. Amazing food that you eat with your fingers. Enough said.
Wazubee – Cool bar to have a drink and hang out with your buddies.
Cafe Deux Soleil and Cafe Du Soleil – Similar names, different target markets, both totally cool.
Continental – Best coffee, like, ever. Well, with the exception of Delaney’s.
Waves on Commercial Drive – Awesome place to use wireless.
Van East Cinema – the exterior may look crappy but it’s showing The Bourne Ultimatum. Sorry, that’s just too cool.
JJ Beans — Great patio and interesting customers

And a whole slew of other awesome places ….

The list is way too long. I was going to make notes but I’ve been so tired from all the packing and stuff that I just didn’t want to do it. But I promise I’ll be doing lots (and by lots, I mean LOTS) of restaurant and coffee place reviews. Commercial Drive, here I come!

Restaurant review – Memphis Blues

Raul — Fri, 18 May 2007 06:44:00 +0000

My brother loves BBQ ribs, and he vouches for Memphis Blues Barbeque House all the time. I am not really a rib kind of guy so I always thought I would never set foot in this place. Well, I did and I am glad I did. They have BBQ chicken breast, sandwiches, burgers, etc. So the place really is awesome and caters to every taste. They have two locations that I know of, one on Commercial Drive (for East Vaners) and one on Broadway between Hemlock and Granville (for those Fairview Slopes-South Granvillers).

Restaurant review – Zesty’s

Raul — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:51:00 +0000

Wow, Commercial Drive… lots of really great restaurants, very few bars (albeit I didn’t go south of Broadway – I actually walked in the north direction), wonderful people and a sunny day… what else would you want?

Well, I’d want some service with that, please… I ended up going to a large ‘Canadian cuisine’ restaurant on Commercial near Venables. Called Zesty’s, I can assure you the only thing it didn’t have was ‘zest’. The service was horrible. The drinks were ok, but I wouldn’t have stayed for dinner. The waitress had not an ounce of customer service in her.

Next time I want to roam Commercial Drive I will make sure to check Haremba or the Abbibi Cafe, or Havana, or Memphis Blues… but I am definitely not going back to Zesty’s, not even on account of their inexpensive drinks.