Yeah, as you may have noticed from my Twitter stream, I am in Victoria, British Columbia. And, on that note, let me tell you that there is only another 3 word that I enjoy hearing just as much as “I love you”. And those words are…
“At your leisure”
I’ve been invited to explore Victoria at leisure, and the way I am approaching the series of blog posts I’ll be publishing, is – this is how I explore Victoria. I am someone who enjoys walking around and I have no problem exploring cities by foot. So I loved when my media package said on every page … “explore at your leisure“. And I have done that. Without pushing myself to hit every single spot, I have had a chance to cover a lot of what the lovely capital city has to offer.
I’ve been unable to upload my photos to Flickr, but I’ll have written stuff about my trip once me and Flickr stop fighting. For now, stay tuned, because I have LOTS of blog posts forthcoming.
I’ve always wondered why my lovely friend AF (who recently got married!) loved Ouisi Bistro so much. I did come here before with relative frequency (when I used to live on 12th and Granville), but since I moved to the East Side (e.g. Main Street) I really haven’t been back. Until recently, when JT took me there for dinner. I’m glad he did, because I was starving and Ouisi’s food was really good and the service was incredible.
I ordered my traditional dish when I go to a Cajun/Creole restaurant: a Jambalaya. From their own description:
Jambalaya – a traditional L’OUISIana dish. Simmered with tomatoes, the trinity, smoked ham, andouille sausage, chorizo sausage and two sautéed gulf prawns
I’m surprised that the Jambalaya that Ouisi serves does not contain chicken (as it does the Cactus Club Cafe one), but it was really delicious nonetheless. I accompanied my jambalaya with jicama slaw and garlic roast mashed potatoes, as well as corn bread. It was more than enough food and absolutely tasty. With prices that don’t break the bank (the above mentioned dish was $16), I’ll definitely come back to Ouisi again.
A few months back, Lorraine and I went to Everything Cafe, but I never really got to write about it. Overwhelmed as I’ve been in the past few weeks, I took the time that I allocated to social media to write a few blog posts, and one of the posts I thought I had been remiss at publishing was a reference that mentioned Everything Cafe. And the thing is, this cute shop is totally worth walking out of your way.
Equipped with wifi, great coffee and amazing pastries, this Chinatown/DTES coffee shop is shaping to be a great spot where people can do some work, get a good coffee and some good food, and have free complimentary wifi.
Recently, I had to chat with Jeff Meerman (from TD Canada Trust) about a couple of things associated with my social media work and he invited me for lunch to the Vancouver Art Gallery (The Gallery Cafe). I had tried to visit The Gallery Cafe previously with my friend J. Karen Parker, and I didn’t get a chance to do so, but this time, I finally got to visit. And I’m glad I did. I ordered a Greek orzo salad with chicken and an Indian curry soup, both of which were extremely tasty but also extremely filling. In particular, I found the Greek orzo salad a meal in and of itself. I probably could have done away without the Indian curry soup (tasty, spicy but it had celery and I hate celery).
I thought it was a well-kept secret (e.g. the existence of The Gallery Cafe) but seeing as we found an incredible amount of people lining up for lunch, I would say the secret is out. And I’m glad it is, because I will definitely come back to The Gallery Cafe for lunch. Particularly because they carry Cyoni orange juice!
I recently had a chance to ask Tony Lam (from GoodNews.com, one of the local group buying startups) about GoodNews.com. Here are Tony’s responses to my questions. Also, on Thursday (e.g. today) GoodNews.com will have a great promo (see below).
1.- GoodNews.com almost sounds like a site to promote, actual good news. Why did you guys come up with that name for a group buying site?
We thought it was a great name because we felt our business is about more than daily deals. “GoodNews” should make every visitor and partner feel….good! The name highlights our commitment to doing good in the
community – we’re giving consumers great deals, businesses get exposure and new customers, and local causes get donations and added awareness.
2.- There is a myriad of group buying sites, and many launching in Vancouver. Why GoodNews.com and why now? How do you see the competitive landscape?
All of us that work at GoodNews.com love saving money, but we wanted to create a company that was more than just about offering local deals, which is why we made social responsibility a core business value. We all wanted to contribute to the community that we live in.
The landscape is competitive because group buying sites are providing a service and a product that both consumers and merchants want in the current economic environment. Despite the growing number of entrants in the space though, the idea of social shopping is still just emerging, with a lot of room for evolution. This is a new and effective marketing channel for merchants and it’s also offering people an exciting way to experience and support their community.
3.- What does GoodNews.com offer that other sites don’t?
The main difference between GoodNews.com and other daily deal sites is our commitment to giving back to the community. With GoodNews.com, we’re making it even easier and more seamless for people to exercise their social responsibility by automatically donating 10% of their purchase amount. It’s a powerful and accessible way for someone to save money and contribute to their community at the same time. We’re extremely proud of raising nearly $6,000 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank in September.
Locally, the second major difference is that our parent company also owns Vancouver.com and that allows us to provide local merchants with an extra marketing channel to increase awareness of their business.
4.- Would you work together with other group buying sites? What would be your requirements for that?
Although we share a similar model with other group buying sites, we’re not sure if we share the same focus and core competencies. That being said, we would certainly be open to working with other sites that wanted to partner together to enhance the community. A few of the other group buying sites are based in Vancouver and it would be great to take any opportunity to make our city better.
I also learned about their deal on Thursday with ReUp $1 for a pulled pork sandwich, with the $1 going to a charity (see below).
Given that I no longer have the time to blog as much as I used to, I have decided to schedule time for my social media work (and by that I don’t mean the consulting I do, which is scheduled for during the week, but I mean instead the work to promote my blog and share relevant stuff with my followers on Twitter). I have come to the point where I don’t have time to blog during the week (despite the fact that I reserve most of Thursdays for social media work on my personal stuff and meetings/social media events), and thus I have scheduled time to work on my blog over the weekend (particularly Saturday). For some bizarre reason, this past Saturday (and a little bit of the morning of Sunday), I felt incredibly inspired and thus cranked out 5 blog posts (and scheduled some tweets).
I then scheduled throughout the week and the following week. I did prioritize the blog posts related to reviews of theatre productions and films showing right now. So my suggestion is – if you feel inspired (and you may have read how I jump-start my writing), just ride the wave and crank out as much content as you can. Then you’ll have an opportunity to have enough content and not worry about what you are going to publish!
This past few months, I’ve been feeling really well balanced (yes, despite my 13-14 hour work days, I do schedule time to relax and have time with friends, and of course my workouts). I’ve gotten back into my early morning routine of heading to the gym, doing some work before heading to the office, having breakfast, then head to the office, and work really hard. I have been leaving my office around midnight every day (I get into the office around 9am, but I’m awake around 6 am).
I have been noticing my energy levels being consistently high, and I feel I am accomplishing a lot. I was walking with my good friend Minna this past week, and she mentioned that despite the fact that I may be tired sometimes because I’ve been working so hard, it’s a good tired. And she said the phrase that has stuck with me “this is you, at your best”.
And she is right.
Right now, I feel powerful, energized, I feel that I am accomplishing almost everything I am setting myself out to. I am exercising every day, I am getting enough sleep, I’m eating healthy and balanced, I’m still spending time with friends (I went to little Aiden’s birthday last weekend, as you may have noticed, and I had a chance to hang out with Chris Walts and Lorraine Murphy a bit last night).
I am undoubtedly working really hard. Teaching, research and consulting are the bulk of my money-making work. And on top of that, I’m still doing social media (blogging, building my online Twitter community, covering events, doing giveaways and promoting local businesses and non-profits).
But every day, I put on my earphones and begin playing music on my iPod as I walk to the bus stop, and I read my Twitter stream and my news, and I reflect as I do this “wow, I feel SO great”. I feel capable of achieving just about everything, and I feel that my life is showing balance. I’m happy. I’m healthy. I’m in one of my best moods, even though it’s rainy and dark out. If there is one way to describe how I feel it would be how my good friend Andre Malan described the Hummingbird604 persona: “bullet-proof”.
I was the lucky winner of our good friend Hummingbird604’s Live @ Squamish giveaway. Not only did I get two free passes to the new Live @ Squamish festival, but I got two nights at the Howe Sound Inn & Brewery, and a jet boat ride. All in all, this was a pretty amazing prize that I managed to rope my fellah into joining me on. (Believe it our not, I’m not being sarcastic with that comment – he is one of the rare people who doesn’t really like music that much. Luckily he likes me, so he came anyways.)
First thing I noticed – Squamish is way closer than I always thought it would be! I’m not really an “outdoorsy” type person so I don’t visit Whistler all that much, and being a typical Vancouverite, everything outside the city’s borders seems ridiculously far away. Not only is Squamish close by however, it’s also actually a pretty cool place! The one-street “downtown” is full of shops and restaurants, including one devoted solely to grilled cheese sandwiches. If I didn’t work in the arts (and thus need to be in a large-ish city) I might actually think about living there. Well, okay, let’s not get too carried away. I might go there once and a while for some grilled cheese.
Our first stop was the hotel and we were impressed. The décor is clean and rustic with lots of wood, decorations involving fish (the fellah was all over those), and lots of white linens. Comfy beds, sweet amenities, and a warm pub won this place some serious bonus points. The only downsides: low soundproofing, a shower that made a high-pitched squeal, and that the front desk staff didn’t seem to know much about the festival (like where it was located).
The festival itself was nothing if not swell. It seemed a little under-attended, which I hope won’t deter them from a repeat performance next year – a festival like this might need a little warm-up time for people. And maybe a few more well-known acts to headline. Not that they didn’t have some amazing groups. The top of my list was Mother Mother and The Decemberists who both put on amazing shows. There is nothing better than watching people putting their entire heart and soul into what their doing on stage. Especially when their heart and soul produce such lovely tunes as “O My Heart” and “Billy Liar”. Then of coursse there was The Tokyo Police Club, We Are The City, Hollerado, and Sweet Soul Burlesque. They also had some wandering performers The Lawn girls and eatART installation art happening live before their eyes.
A special event for me was seeing You Say Party again. It was their first concert after the tragic passing of their drummer Devon, as well as their first concert after my sister left the band. They played some new and old material and sounded absolutely fantastic, but it was more than a little strange for me to watch them in their new incarnation. Towards the end of their set lead singer Becky jumped down into the divide between the stage and audience and started touching and singing to individual audience members. A move that may have seemed cheesy in other circumstances was to me a beautiful tribute to their fans at their first time on stage after some incredibly difficult times.
The downside of any festival is having to pick and choose, knowing you’ll miss some great acts (Said The Whale, I’m sorry), but overall I had a fab time lounging on my blanket at the mainstage all day Sunday.
I love the sense of humour the organizers of Live @ Squamish had with themselves. The necessary list of things you can and can’t do was referred to as the “no fun” list – and blessedly, things that weren’t included on that list were the typical prohibition of ins and outs and of bringing your own food and drinks into the festival.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to check out the jet boat as the only times they had available were during the festival and we had our priorities. Theoretically we can head back any time though, so maybe in a few weeks (or half a year when it gets warm again) I’ll have more to write about them.
Andrea Loewen has her own theatre production company, does the marketing for Pacific Theatre and can be reached at @AndreaLoewen.
“HEART OF A DRAGON” (a film made by Vancouver filmmakers) is opening in B.C. theatres on October 29th. This feature film is inspired by Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion journey from 25 years ago and his ascent up the Great Wall of China. I didn’t realize that one of my very favorite actors in the whole world, Victor Webster (very much Canadian, and of Mutant X fame) plays Rick Hansen. Co-star Sarah-Jane Potts plays Amanda (Rick Hansen’s physiotherapist and future wife) in the film.
Heart of a Dragon is written, directed and produced by Michael French. It’s the story of Rick Hansen as he searches for meaning in the Great Wall of China. The movie looks really interesting and opens on Fridays in theatres. I found a little video promo of how the movie was made (shown below, available on YouTube).
I also found a little video of Victor Webster talking about playing Rick Hansen.
I was alerted to ubizo by my good friend and partner in crime Cecilia Lu, Ninja Marketer/Strategist from Kiwano Marketing. I pondered what ubizo was, because it sounded interesting. I’m always keen to showcase local events, and local entrepreneurs. Lisa Princic, the force behind ubizo, and I chatted recently about ubizo and what the event is, the goals it has and how it works. The case studies have already been chosen: Eclipse Awards, a Strathcona based business; Ocean Village Resort, a Tofino resort; Green Bean Baby, founded by a Vancouver based mom-preneur, Synapse Strategies, a Squamish-based sustainability consultancy.
The last two case studies are also very interesting: Eco-urbia, a start-up social enterprise from North Vancouver and finally A Little More Good – multi-author blog focused on social change.
I asked Lisa to tell me more of a story around ubizo, and here is her response:
I believe that every individual can contribute to the world in a unique and beneficial way. What we are passionate about is often a strong clue on where we can focus our energies to create meaningful careers and businesses. Quite simply, people are often good at what they love doing and that gives them the momentum to keep moving forward.
The challenge for many values-based entrepreneurs is that they may not have the skills, knowledge and support to run and grow the business, despite being very committed to their product or service. Unfortunately it takes more than passion to create success in business.
As a business coach and mentor (with a background in consulting sustainable businesses), I help my clients hold the vision for what they want to create and help them recognize the value of consistent business development (marketing, branding, systems, time management, leadership).
These two factors are so important to success: having the inspiration to make a bigger impact and knowing what to do to make it happen.
My desire to bring these two elements to even more socially and environmentally focused businesses is what started the idea brewing in my head to create ubizo. I know how powerful groups of like-minded individuals together can be when they brainstorm, collaborate and share experiences.
ubizo, is a business development think-tank for passionate entrepreneurs who recognize the value of sharing their business challenges and success stories with peers. ubizo, meaning “a calling” in the South African language Xhosa, will take place in Vancouver at Heritage Hall on November 2nd. There are no inclusive and interactive business events for changemakers like this in Vancouver.
What’s unique about it is that it’s going to be set up in a way so that everyone has a chance to interact and contribute. There are no keynote speakers. The day’s sessions will be lead by high-level mentors in a number of small groups with a different live case study in each one. I expect people will walk away buzzing with ideas and new partnerships.
ubizo is for two kinds of people: values-based business owners who need to take a fresh look at their business strategies, and those who need to re-ignite their passion for what they are doing and keep up their desire to make a huge difference in the world.
To sign up you can do so over their website. Early bird discount ends Tues, Oct 26th.
Helen Mirren is a goddess. Bruce Willis can still fight like the best (in the movies). John Malkovich is still perfect at looking like he’s totally out of it. Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors of this and the previous (and perhaps the next) generation. And RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) is, against my own predictions, an extremely funny movie.
Bear in mind that (a) I love Bruce Willis; (b) I love Helen Mirren; (c) I love any movie that shows potential underdogs winning and beating the bad guys; (d) I love violent movies that aren’t extremely gory (e.g. where spies show much more brain than brawn); (e) I always take the side of those who seem likely to lose the battle (and in this case, since these are supposed to be the elderly spies, they’re supposed to be easy to take down).
In the movie, Willis, Malkovich, Freeman and Mirren play four retired ex-spies who are the target of a CIA-black ops kind-of operation where they are to be eliminated. Of course, if I tell you how the movie ends, I’m giving away the ending. Suffice it to say that (a) Willis looks awesome eliminating obstacles that run in his pathway and (b) there is no classiest female spy in the world than Helen Mirren.
I have been unable to attend two of the latest Third Tuesday Vancouver, and I (as others often do) relied heavily on the live-tweets that people sent and hashtagged “3tyvr”. Third Tuesday Vancouver is one of the three major social media meetups in our beautiful city (the others being, Social Media Club Vancouver and Vancouver Bloggers Meetup, the meetup organized by yours truly).
Both of the previous months’ Third Tuesday Vancouver meetups were of interest to me, and I caught myself in a whirlwind both of work and having to deal with personal issues (friends needed time with me and I will always ditch anything for my loved ones), so I missed being there in person. I tried to follow the Twitter stream with live-tweets hashtagged #3tyvr and it was an absolute mess.
Sorry guys, I know that many of you live-tweeted as well as you could for those of us who couldn’t get in on the action, but I find it really hard to draw any actual insights from the live tweets. There is a reason why I blogged earlier this year about how important it was to have liveblogs of talks.
You’ll see, for a couple of years, I liveblogged almost every single meetup in Vancouver (2008-early 2009). I attended the vast majority of them, many times along with my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604), and we would both liveblog events (for the most part, entirely free) in benefit of the community at large. We both liveblogged Northern Voice 2009. We both liveblogged many of the BarCamp 2009 sessions. But I got to a point where I refused to do any more liveblogging for free (actually, ANY work for free). And I also got way too busy with my consulting, my research and my teaching.
The reality is, there is a real dearth of liveblogs of events out there in Vancouver anymore. With the exception of some Social Media Club events I’ve seen liveblogged, and a few times that I have volunteered my own blog to capture the live-tweetage of conferences, liveblogging is primarily, not done. I know that this post may not earn me any sympathies, but I wish there were more people in Vancouver doing what Rebecca and I used to do for the community: liveblog events. Because the live-tweeting is just not cutting it anymore.
I recognize that liveblogging is an activity that is draining, takes time and technical expertise and savvy. I know that better than anyone. It should be rewarded as a professional activity. People should hire and pay livebloggers. I have been in fact one of the people who have championed being paid to do work that we used to do for free. Of course, you could say that *I* could very well pay to have the events I miss liveblogged. That’s not the point (and I won’t, of course).
The point is, live-tweeting is good for quick snippets of thoughts, but we need a real long form liveblog. Live-tweeting brings up one important issue – attribution. In 140 characters, how do you attribute a particular thought to a particular speaker? I saw lots of examples of thoughts that were the panel’s that were being re-tweeted as though they were the person live-tweeting. And I can list many other examples.
There is a reason why liveblogs should come back. And there is a point where they’ll come back. I am feeling that this might be the time.
Envy by Gucci for Men is perhaps one of those “I would not believe this is a fragrance you would use, Raul” scents. With a top note of cardamom, a middle note of patchouli and a base note of cedar wood, Envy for Men feels sometimes a bit too floral for me, until it hits the base notes (woody, reminiscent a bit of forests). The middle notes are particularly floral (you can perceive a bit of rose and jasmine), and from my experience, the base and middle notes can smell particularly good on a rainy day (fresh smells coming out).
That’s probably why I have chosen to use it on days I teach – it’s an elegant scent (perhaps suited more for an evening outing), and it’s well fit for a Vancouver rainy day. Envy by Gucci for Men usually retails at $60 for the Canadian market, plus taxes (50 ml bottle).
Disclosure: Every single bottle of Envy by Gucci for Men I have I’ve bought it myself. I just enjoy writing cologne reviews and share my view points with my readers.
I (well, Hummingbird604.com) am an official sponsor of the LatinCouver-organized Halloween Fiesta this coming Saturday October 30th at the Creekside Community Centre (a few minutes walking distance from both the Olympic Village Canada Line station and the Main Street/Science World Skytrain stations). Am really delighted to promote this event as I have been bad in the past in connecting with the Vancouver Latin American community. This year, the organizers have also teamed up with the French community.
Creekside Community Centre
Olympic Village
1 Athletes Way
Vancouver, BC, v5Y0B1
Canada
Following the big success of last year’s party, we are moving to an even BIGGER location to offer you Vancouver’s most colourful Halloween Fiesta.
Our theme, CULTURES OF THE WORLD, is an invitation to dress up and dance the world and the night away!
-Día de Los Muertos altar
-Costume contest
-World music: David Vicho and DJ Marc Fournier (Electropical, MondoBeat)
-Peruvian Cuisine
All until 1 am !
You can purchase tickets online via EventBrite and they are reasonably priced at $15. LatinCouver and the French community organizers have put together a fun video, you can see it here.
I will fully admit that I love soft drinks. There, I said it. The guilt that I feel from consuming coffee (whose production consumes up to 140 litres of water) goes down substantially when I actually switch to soda pop. And I’m continuously looking for alternatives to mainstream soda beverages, preferably locally-produced and sourced.
So when I was alerted to the forthcoming launch of Simple Soda, a beverage that is local to Vancouver, and that follows the “less is more” philosophy, I wanted to share it with my readers. The kind folks of Simple Beverages were kind enough to give me 2 mixed cases to give away to 2 readers of mine.
I wanted to learn more about Simple Soda, for several reasons: it’s a soft-drinks company (and I used to work, at some point during my chemical engineering career, in the soft drinks industry). It’s local, and the vision behind it is to brew the drinks in small batches (I’d say almost made-to-order). I have to admit, I like that way of thinking about it.
There are four flavours of Simple Soda: Rootbeer, Vanilla Cream, Orange Cream and Black Cherry. I can tell you right now I’m probably going to sample Black Cherry first (I don’t understand why, but I have never been a rootbeer drinker).
To enter the giveaway, simply drop a comment on this post mentioning how frequently you drink pop. I will fully admit that I’ll probably have at least one can of pop with dinner almost every day. It’s sort of my guilty pleasure. I will draw 2 random winners from all entries on Monday November 1st at 2:30pm.
Disclosure: The 2 cases of Simple Soda beverages to give away to my readers were generously sponsored by Simple Beverages. I have been offered a few samples to try out, but I’m not obligated to review them or write about them. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I’m always looking for new tunes to equip my iPod, and Waiting (originally a song by Undercover Agency and remixed by Trust Project 4) is one of those sexy tunes that absolutely represent in my mind the kind of music that defines me. For your listening pleasure, here it is (from YouTube).
I can’t believe it’s been already one year since I followed closely my good friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber‘s live-tweeting of Arieanna‘s labour. I’ve been good friends with the Schwebers for a few years now, and there are a number of things that bond us together. Their son, Aiden Riley Schweber (now one year old) is one of those elements that are part of our bond. For me, I see Aiden as my “adoptive nephew” and through this past year, have enjoyed seeing him grow into the little guy he is now. We celebrated Aiden’s birthday yesterday (you may have seen the flurry of #AidenTurns1 tweets), and I feel privileged to be part of his life and to be friends with the Schweber’s as they grow into a family of their own.
Happy first birthday, Aiden, and much love always from Uncle Raul!
I have fond memories of Chez Faye. The first time that my good friend Rebecca and I got interviewed simultaneously by 24 Hours Vancouver’ Dharm Makwana. When she worked in Yaletown, we often would have coffee at Chez Faye, or even lunch. So, I always found it slightly funny that I hadn’t reviewed it. The other day I had a client meeting in Yaletown (near the Canada Line Yaletown-Roundhouse).
I needed a place for a quick lunch near my client’s site. I chose Chez Faye, and they didn’t disappoint (sorry that my photo is only an iPhone-quality one). I ordered a soup and a sandwich for $6.50 if I recall correctly, very good and the service was impeccable. I will definitely come back, many many times. You can also follow them on Twitter.
One of my very best friends (and thank you blogging and social media in Vancouver for introducing her to me) is Lisa Thomas-Tench (@lisamedia on Twitter). Lisa and I are extremely similar in a lot of respects. We both have MBAs, we both love economics, we think very much alike, we are keenly preoccupied with international development and poverty alleviation, we are both educators and we are both lovers of all things geekery.
Lisa, Greg and myself at my 4 years blogaversary
So it’s not a surprise that we have connected so well. We have worked together in co-teaching courses in business, economics and marketing, quantitative methods and business strategy. We have collaborated in social media strategy projects. We have a hive mind in many ways. And I am very grateful to have her in my life.
Lisa, you know how much you mean to me and how lucky I feel to have you as my friend. Happy birthday, and enjoy your day with Greg 🙂 Much love always!
Photo credit: Jeremy Lim on Flickr. The Network Hub team
The Network Hub team (e.g. the three co-founders, John Van, Minna Van and Jay Catalan and myself, as a Strategic Advisor to the board) is heading to Victoria, British Columbia this coming Sunday. We will be at Cafe Artigiano (1140 Government St) from 1pm to 3pm, and we would love to meet up with people who are interested in coworking in Victoria. We have been receiving a lot of requests of information regarding whether we will ever have a coworking space in the capital of British Columbia, and we are exploring the possibility. Please join us, and please forward this blog post to anyone who you think might be interested.
If you need to know a bit more about what The Network Hub is and how it operates, please read any and all of my blog posts.
This past summer, while my Mom was visiting, she and I flew to Calgary, and one of the days we went to the Calgary Stampede my brother invited his family, my Mom and I for lunch to Gaucho Brazilian Barbeque (close to McLeod Trail SW). There were many reasons why we all wanted to eat there. First, we all love eating good meat, and El Rincon Gaucho is an Argentinian restaurant in Mexico that brings lots of good memories to my brother, my Mom and I. So we thought maybe Gaucho would be like that.
I have to say that Gaucho didn’t disappoint. It was kind of weird to see everyone having lunch outside, with cowboy/cowgirl hats and all. But it was at the same time, very fun.
My family loves Churrasco and Guacho Brazilian Barbeque has some of the best. Flavourful, soft and juicy meat is served every few minutes in small side-plate portions. This is called “Rodizio” dining. The Cowpoke Classic
The restaurant is beautiful and spacious in and of itself, and I will definitely recommend the lunch buffet. It’s not extremely pricey, the flavours are great, and more importantly, the service is fantastic. I will come visit again next time I am in Calgary.
I celebrated my birthday at Relish Gastropub last year (after a failed attempt at La Bodega). I’m pretty sure it was here where I had a 3 oz martini, even though apparently that is not on their menu anymore. But at any rate, JT and I were looking for a restaurant to eat relatively fast and in the vicinity of downtown (as we were heading to the opera right after to the world premiere of Lillian Alling).
So, I recommended Relish Gastropub & Bar and I am glad we did as the service was great, and the food was very, very reasonable. I ordered a Pub Burger ($15) although instead of ordering a side of salad or fries, I ordered chicken soup. Which, while tasty, was probably a mistake. But the food was great, and we had a great time. The burger is outstanding. This is a solid place for a quick bite or a drink when downtown.
I love Mexican food, and the funny thing is, there are PLENTY of Mexican restaurants in Toronto. And good ones to boot. And staffed by Mexicans! So, when my good friend Meghan Warby asked her friend Pamela and me to join her for a margarita at (fittingly) Margaritas (near Cabbagetown), I absolutely loved the idea.
Margaritas is a good Mexican restaurant, with the decor and the food to hold to their reputation as a decent Mexican food restaurant. I had a chance to both order in Spanish AND chat with the chef and the staff.
We ordered a Camarones al Ajillo platter (shrimp in a garlic sauce) and a couple of margaritas. We loved both the food AND the drinks. I will definitely come back to Margaritas next time I am in Toronto. I’m slightly torn between Margaritas and El Trompo, but I hope to have enough time to compare more Mexican restaurants next time I visit Toronto.
No, scratch that. I *LOVED* it. And it’s not the fact that I was invited by Fighting Chance Productions to be their guest at the opening night (which happened last Thursday). It’s the fact that the cast was perfect. The music was strong. The dancing and choreography were solid through and through. As I told Ryan Mooney, Artistic Director of FCP: This might very well be the best performance I have seen by Fighting Chance Productions. And I have seen pretty much all of their work, including excellent Rent, tick tick boom! and a few others.
A chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime tells the infamous tale of the unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. His thirst for blood soon expands to include his unfortunate customers, and the resourceful proprietress of the pie shop downstairs soon has the people of London lining up in droves with her mysterious new meat pie recipe!
While it is, of course, a bit scary and gory in the details (LITERALLY), Sweeney Todd is also a demonstration of how powerful a (somehow twisted) love story can ultimately be a tale of self-destruction. Mooney and his cast do an amazing job of combining superb acting with a very strong cast and great scenic and stage management. I ended the show so amazed at the great work they had done that I just couldn’t contain myself and started congratulating each and every actor.
You should go see Sweeney Todd. I do recommend, though, you might want to make sure that your stomach is strong enough! It’s a fantastic production and Mooney and his company should be strongly commended.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend Sweeney Todd for myself and my Plus One were sponsored very generously by Fighting Chance Productions. They have made it explicit that I have no obligation nor commitment to write a review at all (although, in this case, I choose to do so). I am not paid to write the review either. In any review I write, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I went to Elysian Coffee earlier this year to have coffee with my good friend Dave Macdonald and instead of ordering coffee (because I was already over-caffeinated), I ordered a freshly-squeezed orange juice. It was a brand I had never heard of before, Cyoni. And I absolutely loved it. Yesterday, I went for lunch with a friend to the Vancouver Art Gallery Cafe (blog post review forthcoming) and I had another one.
I have to say, every time I drink a Cyoni orange juice, I love it. The part that I love the most is that it tastes very, very fresh and that it has LOTS of pulp (sorry, I like my orange juice with pulp). I loved it so much that I decided to write about it. I’m also delighted by the fact that it’s a local company, and that their mission statement includes training youth. Read their About Us page:
CYONI, established during EXPO 86 in Vancouver, Canada, was created for two reasons: to provide truly freshly squeezed juices in a way that nobody had yet attempted; and as a job creation and training program to give youths first time work experiences.
We squeeze all our juices only after you order them, and deliver them to you the same day within hours after squeezing. In fact, the freshness of our incredible juices can only be matched if you squeezed them at home yourself.
I am hoping I’ll be able to get Cyoni OJ on a regular basis! The one I bought, was I think $2.95 for the 354 ml bottle.
Disclosure: I bought the Cyoni orange juice on my own, at different locations. I was not paid for this review, nor did I receive any free product. I just wrote about it because I loved it.
