Sunshine Diner

When our son gets to decide on a lunch spot, he often chooses the Sunshine Diner, probably mostly for its kitschiness but also because they know how to make a good basic burger, without any kind of fillers or fancy schmancy brioche buns that other places insist on using.

DOW: Mulled Wine

Yes, we've made mulled cranberry sauce, but have we made mulled wine? Not recently. Since we were not having turkey for our Christmas Eve dinner, and it's pretty weird to make cranberry sauce for roast beef, we were more than happy to experiment.

Salt Tasting Room

Back in July, during our little restaurant-finding adventure, we nearly made it to Salt Tasting Room, but we eventually ended up at L'Abattoir. Last night, the stars aligned, or should we say, the afterglow of the solstice lunar eclipse held sway, and we stepped into the sleek interior of one the most popular restaurants in Vancouver. After nine o'clock on a Tuesday evening, with the Canucks already in Detroit preparing for their contest against the Red Wings, we were seated immediately.

Peppermint Chocolate Bark

Simple and special, this chocolate bark with crushed candy canes on top will make you spontaneously sing Christmas carols. At least it did for me....

DOW: Cliquet

When the temperature drops, and cold and flu season arrives, people often encourage you to consume plenty of vitamin C. This classic drink, which dates back to before American prohibition, surely fits the bill. To me it's a more interesting alternative to a screwdriver.

Nuba

I don't know what it about Middle Eastern food that is so appealing to us. Maybe it's the extensive use of fresh ingredients. Maybe it's the delicate use of spices and subtle flavourings. Maybe it's the profusion of vegetarian and vegan options.

Even when I am 8,000 kilometres from home, I find myself seeking out Israeli or Moroccan food. Upon learning of its existence, we have been planning a visit to one of Nuba's three (now four) locations, for Lebanese cuisine.

Ganache Pâtisserie

As our regular readers have noticed by now, we like going to bakeries, a lot. We like going to French bakeries even more. We had been meaning to visit Ganache Pâtisserie for a long time. We even made it there one evening, after it had closed; all we came home with was a photograph.

DOW: Grog

Grog can also be served cold or room temperature, but with the chilly temperatures, we might as well go hot. Like the gimlet, grog was another traditional beverage used by the British Navy to stave off scurvy. Now, at least for us, it's just an excuse to liven up a warm drink on a cold December night.

Gingerbread Cookies

Somehow, I have it in my head that anything that has molasses as an ingredient is automatically healthy. Regretfully, I don't think that these gingerbread cookies qualify, but they've got to better than regular sugar cookies, no?

The Ivy Oven

One of the mainstays at the Baker's Market this past season has been The Ivy Oven. Mother and daughter team Lori and Danielle are taking the best organic and ethically sourced ingredients and producing amazing goods, inspired by the best the world has to offer.

La Ghianda

A few months ago, we called to make reservations for dinner at La Quercia, a popular Italian eatery on 4th Avenue, which has been on our wish list for years. As luck would have it, we picked a day during their annual vacation, and we were forced to dine elsewhere. Naturally, we still have yet to go.

Baker's Market

Where in Vancouver can you find top-tier baked goods at rock-bottom prices? If you guessed the Baker's Market, you'd be absolutely correct! Previously located in an industrial area of South Vancouver, they have recently moved to the Creekside Community Centre in the Southeast False Creek neighbourhood.

DOW: Bermuda Highball

After a big day hauling and setting up our Christmas tree, a beer just wasn't cutting it, and I wanted something a little stronger that was cold and refreshing.

Vancouver Christmas Market

Opening today in Vancouver was the German inspired Christmas Market. After a fire broke out on the original opening date of November 24, workers tirelessly repaired the damage, and the market opened to enthusiastic crowds and good weather. The market is open every day until December 24th.

Faubourg

The long wait is over. Originally scheduled to open in August, we finally were able to step into Kerrisdale's newest addition to the culinary landscape. Business was steady on opening day as we sat enjoying our hot chocolate and cappuccino.

DOW: Serpentine

We found a couple of different recipes for a serpentine. One of them had green creme de menthe and champagne, but the following was a little more appealing to us this week.

Brûlée Rice Pudding

Who likes rice pudding? This is our adaptation from Anna Olson's Sugar cookbook.

DOW: Gimlet

Another week, another classic cocktail! There are many stories surrounding the origin of the gimlet from the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, but the one I like the best is that the drink was devised by British Royal Navy Surgeon General Sir Thomas D. Gimlette, as a way of getting scurvy-preventing lime into sailors' diets.

There are also many recipes for gimlets. We tried two of the more common ones.

Black Bean Salad

Way back in 1997, when we had a subscription to Bon Appétit, we found a great recipe for a Caribbean Black Bean and Rice Salad by the unfailing duo, Jinx and Jefferson Morgan. That was a great recipe, and we enjoyed making it for years.

Fast forward to 2005. We were in Stong's when we saw a black bean salad that looked appetizing. We took it home and loved it so much, we knew we had to reverse engineer the recipe from the ingredient list.

As much as we liked the black bean and rice salad, we thought it would be healthier to replace the white rice with brown rice, or leave it out altogether.

Savary Island Pie Company

I don't remember when we first had a Savary Island pie, but it was at least five years ago, when we frequented Ambleside Village. Nowadays, we get our lemon buttermilk berry pie fix from Stong's. Last month, however, we were in West Vancouver again, and I dropped in to the bakery.

DOW: Secret Garden Creamy Earl Grey Tea

The best-selling tea at the Secret Garden Tea Company in Kerrisdale is Creamy Earl Grey, in which vanilla adds a smooth accent to the classic bergamot.

Homemade Pizza

A tradition in our family is to make homemade pizza. We've refined our methods over the years, and we finally think we have a crust that's as good as, or better than, most pizza places in town. If we had a wood-fired or even just a commercial oven, we might get even better results.

Steeve Raye Pastry

apple tart

On my first attempt to visit Steeve Raye Pastry in early October, I was foiled by the simple fact that it had not yet opened for business. Harrumph! I had to "settle" on Thomas Haas instead.

Thanks to Mia Stainsby, I learned that this pâtisserie was finally open, and I hopped on down to check it out. The staff, and the man, Steeve Rayé, were super friendly even before I whipped out my camera.

Lolita's

We know we're not the only ones who have extreme difficulty in deciding where to go out to dinner. A couple of Friday nights ago, we found ourselves stumped again. As seven o'clock drew near, we finally decided to head downtown to Guu with Garlic, Gyoza King, Toratatsu, or somewhere similar. Naturally, we ended up at Lolita's South of the Border Cantina.

Rose Bakery

Hidden gem. Find it if you can.

40 rue des Martyrs
9ème arrondissement
Paris.

Chez Marianne

This was my third visit to Chez Marianne, a kosher Middle Eastern deli-restaurant in Le Marais. I've stood in line for a delectable sandwich from their take-out window and also feasted on their sampler plates.

DOW: Margarita

We're happy we watched the Thirsty Traveler episode in which Kevin Brauch exhorts us to only buy tequila made from 100% agave. Many commonly available tequilas include sugars from other sources, although they still must be at least 51% agave.

The margarita is another drink that, like the daiquiri, has been corrupted over the years, but the basic version is simple and sophisticated at the same time.

Le Garde Robe

One of the things I love about Paris is its abundance of museums. On every visit to the City of Lights, I spend hours in the Musée d'Orsay. I've also had the pleasure of visiting Musée du Louvre, Musée Rodin, Musée de l'Orangerie, the Centre Pompidou, Musée du Vin and others.

Vegan Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This time of year, it seems that pumpkins are inescapable, from pumpkin pies to jack o' lanterns. We have no problems jumping on the bandwagon, at least when it comes to pumpkins, since we're happy to bake with pumpkins throughout the year.

When I saw these on Camilla Salsbury's Enlightened Cooking blog, I knew I had to make them.

À L'Étoile d'Or

I met possibly the friendliest shopkeeper in Paris, if not the world. She is the proprietor of arguably the best candy shop in Paris, located in the 9me arrondissement near the Moulin Rouge. If you have ever in your life craved anything sweet, make the effort to find this place. You will not regret it.

Léo le Lion

The name of this bistro, Léo le Lion, caught my eye as we were standing at the hotel desk one afternoon. Having an affinity for lions, I did some simple research and decided we would give it a shot.

Rue Cler

Our hotel, situated in the 7me arrondissement, offered easy access to one the best market streets we've seen. Obviously, when a street this famous, it's going to be a huge tourist draw. Nevertheless, someone's got to be buying enough fresh seafood, meats and produce to keep the vendors in business, and it's likely not the visitors, who mostly stay in hotels and eat out at restaurants.

Les Deux Magots

On our previous visits to Paris, we've seen and avoided this super popular restaurant, not only because we thought it was a tourist trap, but also because it was it was just so crowded.

Les Deux Magots, originally a gift shop established in 1812, was named after a popular play of the same name about two Chinese merchants. By 1885, it had become a bar frequented by literary icons such as Verlaine, Rimbaud and Mallarmé.

DOW: Bloody Mary

The origin of this drink, which first appeared in 1930's, is disputed, but more clear is the inspiration for its name, Mary I, Queen of England, who in the 16th century earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" for her execution hundreds of Protestants during her reign.

L'Atlas

When you want Moroccan food, Paris is a good place to be. There are dozens of good restaurants marocaines, and L'Atlas, located on just off the Seine on the Boulevard St. Germain, is one of them. After a long day of walking, soon after it began to rain, we ducked inside the entrance into a relaxing refuge.

Villefranche-Sur-Mer

This Italianesque village built on a cliff dangling over the sea will forever be seared in my mind.

La Merenda

Dominique Le Stanc earned two Michelin stars when he was the chef of Le Chantecler restaurant in Nice. He quit to take over La Merenda. This restaurant came highly recommended from friends, and we had to give them a chance.

Native to Nice

Though we've been to France a few times before, this was our first visit to the lovely seaside city of Nice, and to its fabulous museums, namely the Musée Matisse, the Musée Chagall, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

We were also thrilled to taste some of the local treats besides the famous salade niçoise.

Mulled Cranberry Sauce

Ever since we found this recipe in a 1999 issue of Bon Appetit, we have not roasted a turkey without also making this sauce.

DOW: Champagne Cocktail

Since we had a bottle of cava open, we thought we'd try another bubbly cocktail. The classic champagne cocktail immediately came to mind.

Chocolate Covered Bananas with Rainbow Sprinkles

Those who have been following our blog know that we like sweets. No, we really, really like sweets. So we have some nicely ripe bananas ready to be eaten. What was our first thought? If you guessed "drizzle them with honey and sprinkle with toasted wheat germ," you would be right. Our second thought, though, was "coat them with melted chocolate and roll them in sprinkles."

Garlic Croutons

We like these croutons because they are pretty easy to make, and they are an easy sell to our kids.

DOW: Manhattan

We are having a lot of fun exploring these classic cocktails. The Manhattan is a pretty well-known drink that shows up regularly in films, books and television.

Although many recipes call for bourbon instead of rye or Canadian whisky, we use rye for two reasons. Rye has harsher taste to it, and we prefer to drink our bourbon straight (or with water). Thus, we're lucky to live in Canada where it is easy to find real rye whisky.

Pâtisserie Lebeau

On 2nd Avenue near Burrard, you can find a mini gallic oasis, with Les Amis du Fromage, Fabrics de France, and Pâtisserie Lebeau. Yes, the waffles at Pâtisserie Lebeau are Belgian and not French, but you get the point.

Plöger Delikatessen

Ever since we saw that Plöger Delikatessen opened in Kitsilano, we've been meaning to pay a visit. Good thing they are on the Cypress bike route because it was easy to drop in on the way home.

DOW: Daiquiri

As we cling to to the dying warmth of the season, we try to stave off the inevitable by turning to a quintessential summer drink, the daiquiri. Alas, we have been corrupted by popular culture. The true daiquiri is not a blended, frozen, fruity concoction, but a straightforward combination of rum, lime and sugar.

Earth Balance Buttery Flavour Spread

This vegan trans-fat-free margarine from Earth Balance has become a household staple for us. We just love the taste of it. We use it everywhere you might otherwise use butter or regular margarine. It's great on bread or toast, and we use it extensively in baking. We would go through the one-pound tubs pretty quickly, and just imagine how excited we were when we first saw the three-pound tub in the grocery store. Earth Balance even makes a more convenient and more expensive stick form.

DOW: Baronial

We enjoyed our Twentieth Century cocktail from a few weeks ago so much that we searched for something similar and found the Baronial. This one is not very well-known, but it has been around since at least 1937.

Benny's Cafe

Benny's Cafe, or as it was originally known and how everyone still calls it, Benny's Bagels, is somewhat of a Vancouver institution, although it has only been around for a little over twenty years. It has survived ownership changes, a fire next door, and a swiftly gentrifying street. The atmosphere is still funky, the beer is still cheap, but most importantly, the bagels are fantastic. Chewy, slightly sweet, perfect for a sandwich, toasting up with jam, or just eating plain, a rare month goes by when we don't bring a baker's dozen home.

Handi Cuisine of India

Last year, for our anniversary, we biked over to Handi Cuisine of India. We had such a good time that we vowed to return. It took us over a year, but finally made it back again. When a restaurant is a twelve-minute bike ride away and has ample bike parking in front, it's a very attractive option for dinner.