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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