DOW: Rusty Nail

When we received a gift of Drambuie several months ago, we vowed to make the famous Rusty Nail drink. We finally got off our duffs and mixed this easy drink today.

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Bumbleberry Pie

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DOW: Easterner

Using just the ingredients we had on hand, we made this nice sweet and sour cocktail. Be sure to watch the grenadine measurement; otherwise you may find the drink too sweet.

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Cherry Tea Cake

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Cafeteria

For our anniversary this year, we thought we'd try Cafeteria, the newest venture by local restauranteurs Andrey Durbach and Chris Stewart.

You'd think we'd have learned by now to at least look up the location of the restaurant we'd like to visit, never mind write down its address. But there we were, peering out of the windows of the bus as it zoomed down Main Street. We weren't too worried, as the area has a plethora of good restaurants, and we could always find an alternative. Fortunately, we finally spotted Cafeteria's inviting window and hopped off at the next stop.

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DOW: Peach and Blueberry Muddle

Inspired by a Peach and Blackberry Muddle from the Martha Stewart website, we used the ingredients we had on hand to create a refreshing summer cocktail.

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DOW: Watermelon Mojito

Inspired by Ina Garten's how easy is that? recipe book, we bought a whole watermelon to make watermelon mojitos. Yes, watermelons are not in season locally yet, but we thought we could try to hasten the arrival of summer.

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DOW: Bee's Knees

If you have spent any significant amount of time in the English-speaking world, you have probably heard the fun saying "bee's knees." This idiomatic expression means "the best." It originated in the roaring Twenties, around the same time as this cocktail.

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DOW: Kamikaze

With a name that, when translated to English, means "divine wind," how can you go wrong? This is a drink that does not have a standard recipe, but common elements in general are triple sec and some sort of sour.

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Browns Social House - Point Grey

A tradition in our family is to go out to eat on the last day of school. This year, we decided to go to Browns Social House for lunch. It was quite busy; I guess other families had the same idea.

As it was a glorious day, we sat out on the patio, nicely sheltered by a huge orange umbrella.

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DOW: Planter's Punch

We were having a Cuban themed dinner, and one of our guests loves Planter's Punch, so it was natural for us to make this Caribbean treat. This is another of those drinks that has countless variations, so we made up our own, inspired by our own memories and a few resources online.

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Moore's Bakery

Although we like to gallivant around town, visiting all sorts of bakeries, when we want a bakery experience that harkens back to our childhoods, we traipse over to one of our local favourites, Moore's Bakery.

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Italian Kitchen

A while back, we received two gift cards to the Glowbal Group restaurants, and due to our weakness for Italian food, the clear winner was the Italian Kitchen.

Later in the evening, we had a recital to attend, and we informed our server of our time restriction. She was right on board, and handled this and our kids' dietary restrictions adeptly.

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DOW: Horse's Collar

We were happy to get back to another classic cocktail, the Horse's Collar. A variation of the Horse's Neck, which is made with whisky, this drink calls for brandy. The lemon spiral is supposed to hang over the edge of the glass, but our "horse" was feeling a little shy.

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Benton Brothers Sandwiches

When Benton Brothers opened their second location on Cambie Street, they began selling sandwiches there, but back at their original location in Kerrisdale ... no dice ... until mid-May when they announced that their enticing sandwiches would be available.

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DOW: Pimm's Cup

We were visiting some friends, and they made us a delicious Pimm's Cup, also known as Pimm's Lemonade. Since we didn't ask for the recipe, here's our best guess.

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Kitsilano Farmers Market

The Vancouver Farmers Markets society organizes summer markets in four locations and one winter market. This past Sunday was the second Kitsilano market of the season, and we rode our bikes down to forage and absorb some sunshine. As usual, the Bicycle Valet provided us with secure bike parking.

There are many reasons to support your local farmers market, such as preserving arable land, reducing impact on the environment, healthier food, keeping money in the local economy, but the main reason we go is for fun.

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DOW: Salome

We ran out of Campari this week, and since we really enjoy a Negroni, we thought it might make sense to substitute Dubonnet for Campari. We did a quick search and found a recipe for a Salome, named after the famous biblical character, we hope.

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Pair Bistro

Hidden gem alert! I'm amazed we haven't been to Pair Bistro before. Fair enough, it isn't in our neigh­bourhood, but still.

One of the defining characteristics of the culinary scene in Vancouver is the use of local ingredients. Given the abundance year round, we can't believe more chefs don't take advantage. Pair Bistro embraces this concept, offering ever changing menus based on what's in season.

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DOW: Mint Julep

In honour of this month's 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, we made a drink that's been on our to-make list for a while, the Mint Julep.

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Aphrodite’s Organic Café and Pie Shop

It's great having friends that appreciate good food as much as we do. Meeting one of them for lunch, we decided to hit one of Kitsilano's shining examples of sustainable eating, Aphrodite’s Organic Café and Pie Shop.

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Beyond Bread Artisan Bakery

Once upon a time, there was a little bread bakery named Transilvania Peasant Bread. Using a wood-fired oven, the baker would create amazing rustic breads, highly valued by his loyal customers. Then one day, Transilvania Peasant Bread closed, and there was great turmoil in the land. When the baker opened a new bakery, Beyond Bread Artisan Bakery, the people rejoiced, and peace was restored.

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Red Onion

The Red Onion, one of several "destination" restaurants in Kerrisdale, opened a generation ago, back in 1985. Countless diners have enjoyed tasty fresh burgers and hotdogs while witnessing the bustle of the open kitchen.

Today was our first visit back since the restaurant was sold to new owners back in February. The place has been streamlined somewhat, with a smaller menu including fewer dessert options, but most strikingly, the loss of the red onion presented alongside your bill.

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Ajisai Sushi Bar

We love to try out new restaurants and bakeries, but this comes at a price. We often neglect our tried and true favourites. One of them, Ajisai Sushi Bar, is a legend, offering up the best sushi in Vancouver that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. As a bonus, it's within walking distance!

On a weekday lunch outing, we arrived early enough to get seated immediately, and ensconced ourselves next to the window, with plenty of natural light for photographs.

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sweet e's pastries and sweets

One of the benefits of living right in the city is that you have a variety of shops and services, including bakeries (very important), within walking distance. In Kerrisdale, we have access to quite a few excellent bakeries, among them sweet e's pastries and sweets.

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DOW: Dark and Stormy

We were going to write about a Dark and Stormy last week, but looking through our liquor cabinet, we realized we really needed some Goslings Black Seal Rum.

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Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

One of our favourite cookbooks is Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten, and although every recipe in it we've tried has been wonderful, our favourite is Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic.

To paraphrase Ina, it may seem that three heads of garlic is a lot, but they do mellow out a lot during the cooking process.

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Erbaluce

In Boston in early April without my better half, I was still determined to have at least one great dining experience. Lady Luck smiled me on this night. I was wandering around the Back Bay and into the Theater District when I noticed a promising sign, literally. Seeing the green and white Erbaluce sign adorning a typically attractive brick building just off Park Square, I walked over to peruse the menu posted outside. Although it was just past ten o'clock, a sign in the window indicated that the establishment closed at eleven. Perfect.

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Café Salade de Fruits

Inspired by our recent visit to Café Régalade, we jumped right back into our French food endeavours with a return visit to Café Salade de Fruits. We first ate here many moons ago, and it was our first stop during last summer's escapade when we eventually ended up at L'Abattoir.

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Edible Flours

A year ago, we began our blog with a series of posts on French bakeries in Vancouver. It's only fitting that our anniversary post is about a bakery. Edible Flours, a 100% vegan bakery, opened its doors only a few days ago in Kitsilano. We first heard of the opening of their retail location a few weeks ago, but at the time, the true significance of the event did not register.

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DOW: Lime Bang Martini

I knew I chose the right tea when I saw a recipe for a Lime Bang martini on the back.

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DavidsTea

A few months ago, I found I wasn't enjoying my daily coffee as much as I used to. While I do still indulge in the occasional cappuccino, my primary perk-me-up drink is now tea. And thanks to amazing tea vendors such as DavidsTea, a whole new world of sensations has opened up.

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Café Régalade

When Steeve Raye Pastry opened last October, we were thrilled by Steeve's incredible creations. We were devastated to hear of its imminent closure in February and only moderately mollified by news of its replacement, Café Régalade French Bistro. A few weeks ago, while we were in Whistler, the bistro opened, and ever since we've been itching to go.

Well, we finally made it to Café Régalade, for Tuesday brunch. We would have gone the day before, but they are closed on Mondays. Funny how people like to have a day off.

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Araxi

The Top Table Group boasts four multiple-award winning restaurants. Having enjoyed CinCin, West and Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver, it was only natural that we book a table at their remaining one, Araxi, when we finally made a return trip to Whistler.

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Creekbread

I've noticed a trend in restaurant ratings. Whenever a place uses high quality ingredients, whether organic or sustainable or fair trade, it seems people are not willing to pay the price premium, and, as a result, their ratings suffer. Despite this, Creekbread still has a reasonably high rating on Urbanspoon, which I think is telling.

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Southside Diner

We ate at the Southside Diner only twice during our Whistler vacation. Good thing, too, or we wouldn't have visited as many other restaurants.

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BrewHouse

When you are dining out, the entire experience is often as important as just the food. The Mark James restaurants certainly understand this. And the BrewHouse restaurant in Whistler Village North hits the mark in so many ways.

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Fuji Market

To hear Fuji Market Sushi described, you might think of a small takeout area in a largish supermarket. However, I like to think of it as just the opposite, a smallish grocery area in a restaurant.

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DOW: Petite Fleur

Spring fever is hitting me very hard this year. Snow drops, cherry blossoms, and daffodils are on the cusp of a frenzy. Couple this with our grapefruit obsession, and you get our week's drink, a petite fleur.

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Steelhead Diner

Take a group of eleven people, including three children; a location in Seattle's tourist central, half a block from Pike Place Market; and a busy Saturday brunch time. You might think that disaster was inevitable. Accommodating large groups is often a challenge for even the best restaurants. However, the staff at the still popular Steelhead Diner, which opened a little over four years ago to critical acclaim, weren't even fazed. On this day, they were clearly firing on all cylinders.

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Motomachi Shokudo

The popular Japanese noodle soup dish, ramen, has a bad rap due to the popularity of the instant-noodle version. Fortunately, in Vancouver, we can experience the real thing. While a few ramen places have opened recently outside the downtown core, the Robson-Denman area has most of the heavy hitters like Kintaro Ramen, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Benkei Ramen, the newly arrived chain, Ramen Sanpachi, and our destination, Motomachi Shokudo.

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DOW: Salty Dog

We have come to the realization that grapefruit is perfect for making cocktails. It has sweet, sour and bitterness all in one easy-to-store package.

This week, we make the Salty Dog.

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Mochikas Peruvian Cafe

Several months ago, we wrote about the limited Caribbean repertoire of Vancouver's culinary scene. Another region of the world that is greatly under-represented is Central and South America, although you can find Latin American restaurants if you try hard enough, and there are standouts like the nuevo-latino Cobre. Fortunately, more and more places have popped up like Mochikas Peruvian Cafe, located in the Burrard Slopes area, which is home to various automobile-related businesses, including Platinum Touch Auto Spa, within which Mochikas is found.

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Coco et Olive

In keeping with our French food theme, I met a friend for lunch at Coco et Olive, a cafe that also sells cheeses, olives and olive oil (of course), and other fine foods.

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Blue Water Cafe: Unsung Heroes

OceanWise, the program for sustainable seafood, will mark its seventh anniversary this April. Not coincidentally, Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar, one of the founding members of OceanWise, is wrapping up its seventh annual "Unsung Heroes" event. The Unsung Heroes menu takes sustainability one step further by focusing on lesser known or less popular sustainable seafood and making them taste great.

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DOW: Hemingway Daiquiri

One of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, Ernest Hemingway had a reputation for enjoying his alcohol. One drink inspired by "Papa" is the Hemingway Daiquiri. The history of this drink is confusing, and there many variants. We picked one that looked promising.

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Belgian Fries

I find it mildly amusing when I stumble across a restaurant, venture in because it looks interesting, and only later find out that it's one of the more popular restaurants in the city.

Such was the case on Sunday, when I headed to The Drive to get some treats from Fratelli Bakery. Of course, I never bothered to check the hours, and arrived too late. Feeling a mite peckish, I ducked into Belgian Fries for some sustenance.

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Max's Deli and Bakery

this is going to be a good day

We've been going to Max's Delicatessen and Bakery for years now, and it's about time we wrote about it. Max's is seriously old school—classic desserts, done right. The prices are fair and the sizes decent. Now, they're rarely going knock your socks off, but if you want wide selection of good-tasting baked goods, search no further.

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Nicli Antica Pizzeria

It's not hard to find good pizza in Vancouver, but if you want true Neapolitan pizza, until now you were pretty much out of luck. Thankfully, Nicli Antica Pizzeria opened a week and a half ago. With a wood-fired Acunto oven straight from Naples, authentic ingredients on hand, and certification by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association in the works, Vancouver's culinary scene will never be the same again.

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Hitoe Sushi

We are very lucky to have a tremendous choice of Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. There are high quality, high price ones like Miku, En, or the famous Tojo’s. There are all-you-can-eat sushi factories that focus on quantity over quality. And izakayas still seem to be popping up everywhere. Of the many other categories, however, one of our favourites is the Japanese-run, food first neighbourhood sushi joint. Among those, Hitoe Sushi, located across from McBride Park in Kitsilano, is a shining example.

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