The 6th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival presented by CityFood Magazine is back again. The event runs from January 16 to February 14 in various locations around Vancouver. There are over 24 chocolateries and cafes participating in this year’s event. Each venue will make one or more special hot chocolates which will only be available during the festival. We expect some delicious concoctions to tantalize your taste buds. In East Vancouver, lots of personal favourite spots are participating in this year’s festival including East Van Roasters, French Made Baking in Mount Pleasant. As well as Schokolade Artisan Chocolate in the Hastings Sunrise area. They are offering a hot chocolate that will have us running over. It’s called I Need You! and has 100% dark chocolate, double foam and caramel expresso and is garnished with dark chocolate meringue. Hello! Last Crumb Cafe on Main Street also has us drooling with both of their selections. One titled His Lordship HC is a vanilla Early Grey hot chocolate served with a vanilla bean butter cookie plus their Bananarama which we hear tastes like a chocolate banana cream pie sounds pretty amazing. New to the festival this year is 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters + Lucky’s Doughnuts, Earnest Ice Cream (Quebec Street location only) and Railtown Café whose offering is a Pandance With Me which is a lime leaf and chili infused coconut milk hot chocolate served with a housemade pandan whippet cookie. Wowzers! To see the full list of venues participating, check out City Food Magazine’s Calendar of Events.
6th Annual Hot Chocolate Festival January 16 – February 14
12 Jan
Dine Out Vancouver 2016 Happens January 15 – 31
6 Jan
Dine Out Vancouver, Canada’s largest restaurant festival gets under way January 15th with a record breaking 288 restaurants participating this year. This year, restaurants will be offering 3 prix-fixe menus, $20, $30 or $40. There are also a number of special events as part of Dine Out and the caliber of them improves every year. This year, we see The Acorn Restaurant and Odd Society Spirits have partnered to offer A Distiller’s Dinner on January 24th for $99. The gang at Off the Eaten Track is offering ‘How It’s Made: A Brewery, Distillery & Winery Tour’. They will take you on a tour of Odd Society Spirits, Vancouver Urban Winery and the Big Rock Urban Eatery. You will, of course, have the opportunity to sip on award-winning craft vodka, gin, three BC wines, and two local ales. This tour also includes a bite to eat at the Big Rock Urban Eatery all for $70. Tours run January 17, 21, 24, 28 and 31. Lastly, our friends at Vancouver Brewery Tours have a Craft Beer & Food Pairing Tour on January 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 for $79 as well as a Craft Beer & Sweets Pairing Tour on January 21 and 28th for $75. If you wish to participate in any of the events during Dine Out, we recommend purchasing tickets promptly, many sell out quickly some already have. If you have a particular restaurant or event you really want to try, make your reservation. Many fill up quickly and reservations start today. We’ve set out some of the East Van restaurants participating below. For a full rundown of all the participating restaurants and events, visit Dine Out Vancouver.
Arriva Restaurant
Cafe Kathmandu
Campagnolo Restaurant
Campagnolo Roma
Cannibal Café, The – Commercial Drive
Carthage Café
Chicha Restaurant
Cuchillo
East is East Chai Lounge – Main Street
Falconetti’s Eastside Grill
Federico’s Supper Club
The Libra Room
Lombardo’s
Merchants Oyster Bar
Nonna’s Table
Poor Italian Ristorante
Romer’s Burger Bar
Torafuku
The Reef – Commercial Drive
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Vancouver Foodster Brings The Brunch Crawl To Main Street January 31st
30 Dec
Richard Wolak of Vancouver Foodster is hosting a Main Street Brunch Crawl on January 31st as part of the upcoming Dine Out happening in the New Year. So if you love brunch, this might be the ticket for you. The event is a culinary roving tour that takes place at different food and/or beverage establishments. You register for the event at the designated spot in this case, The Honey Shoppe, 4125 Main Street. Thereafter, you wander whether by bike, foot, car or transit to the various venues and nibble away to your hearts content. Each location will have specific menu items on offer for the Brunch Crawl.
We understand there will be six stops on this Brunch Crawl which will include juices, smoothies, coffee, eggs benedict, pancakes, french toast, omelettes, brunch pizza, hash browns, desserts and more. Although names are still being added to the list, some confirmed stops include Rosemary Rocksalt with delish Montreal style bagels, Radicle Juice which is a new juicer offering pressed juices and smoothies and a little spot off the radar, Dock Lunch which specializes in comfort food from all over the world. As mentioned, more restaurants are being added, check Vancouver Foodster for the latest updates, but we expect it will be delicious. Tickets for the Main Street Brunch Crawl are now available online. Advance ticket prices are $45 before December 31st after that, ticket price is $60 per person. The event runs from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm with registration starting at 9:30 am at The Honey Shoppe.
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Gourmet Warehouse Cooking Classes In The New Year
21 Dec
The Gourmet Warehouse has a great line up of cooking classes in the New Year. Attending one of these classes, is a fun way to spend an afternoon. Of course, there is always shopping after the cooking class as participants are offered a 10% discount for purchases made the day of your class. For a full line up of all the classes Gourmet Warehouse is offering visit Cooking Classes. We have set out a sampling of some of the delicious classes they have lined up:
Flavours of Morocco – Saturday, January 23rd 11:00 am ($65) SOLD OUT
Chef Cindy Low invites you on a culinary adventure to Morocco. This is home to one of the world’s most intriguing cuisines. You will learn about the countless spices used in their dishes and the combination of sweet and savory that produces some unforgettable dishes. You will learn to make some classic dishes like briouats (filo pies), tajines (stews) and couscous. The menu for this class includes:
- Briouats – Moroccan spiced beef wrapped in filo pastry
- Kale salad with carrots, dates, pomegranate-orange vinegrette
- Chicken Tajine (stew) with preserved lemons and olives
- Butternut Squash tajine with chickpeas
- Saffron Cous Cous
- Chocolate-Mint tea sorbet
David Robertson of “The Dirty Apron” – January 28th 6:00 pm ($75)
Chef David Robertson, Chef and Owner of the Dirty Apron Cooking School, is their celebrity guest chef this season. Chef Robertson is known for making meals effortless. His class focuses on flavour and having attended a cooking class at Dirty Apron, we expect it will be rather fun as well. The menu he has lined up for this upcoming class includes:
- Grilled Corn, Double Smoked Bacon & Clam Chowder
- Carmelized Fennel, Seared Haloumie Cheese with a Pomegranate Reduction
- Miso Sake Roasted Sablefish
- Green Thai Curry
- Frangelico & Red Wine Poached Pear Tart
Game Day – Feeding A Crowd – Saturday, January 30th ($65)
Are you planning to host a SuperBowl Party this New Year? Chef Cindy Low will show you how to feed a crowd for game day or for any other occasion where you might be feeding a hungry crowd. Chef Cindy will focus on delicious and (mostly) make-ahead favourites so you won’t miss all the fun during your party. The dishes she has lined up for this class include:
- Pulled chicken sandwiches with homemade barbeque sauce
- Grilled marinated flank steak (Argentinian style) with chimichurri sauce
- Turkey chili mole – chili with minced turkey, six varieties of beans and a hint of chocolate
- Cajun roasted potatoes
- Tangy coleslaw
- Chocolate chip ice cream
If you are interested in any of the cooking classes, be sure to register early to avoid disappointment, classes do sell out. Bon Appetit!
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Bakeries in East Vancouver – We Run Down Our Favourites
18 Dec
We are often asked where is a good place to go for brunch, coffee, dinner, live music or drinks in East Van. So we are beginning to feature some of our personal favourites as well as those we’ve been hearing great things about. Our first feature was Let’s Do Brunch in the Hastings Sunrise area, next up we are tackling our favourite bakeries. With Christmas coming, many of us our looking for that dessert to serve, or sweet treats to have on hand we just might not have time to bake So whether it’s an Italian pannetone, a German stollen or Christmas cookies or those croissants for brunch, we’ve listed a few of our favourites spots.
THE DRIVE
Bakery Sate: 2879 Commercial Drive
This spot is run by Eric Ho, Pastry Chef & Owner, and he makes a mean croissant. Eric also has an amazing and delicious selection of gluten free cakes and desserts such as Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel, Black Forest and Cheesecake.
Fratelli Bakery: 1795 Commercial Drive
This Italian bakery makes one of our favourite things, St. Honore cakes. Others may try and imitate, but personally we think theirs is hands down the best. Why accept imitation, as they say. They also carry an amazing selection of dessert items.
Uprising Breads Bakery: 1697 Venables Street
This spot is just one block West of Commercial Drive and is most certainly a favourite go to spot for two things. One is Ginger Snaps and the second is pie. They generally have small and large pies on hand and on Fridays pie is 25% off which means, get their early or they will be all gone. They do have a wide range of sweet and savoury items including delish scones. Be sure to stop by and try this East Van staple that’s been a part of the community for over 40 years.
Andy’s German Bakehaus, 935 Commercial Drive
If you love German style cheesecake (think quark), flaky apple strudel and piled high Black Forest cake, this is your spot. This is a smaller bakery and café and thus not high volume, but quality authentic German sweets and breads. So if there’s something specific you want, we recommend ordering in advance. Definitely worth a stop.
THE FRASERHOOD
Batard Bakery: 3958 Fraser Street
This is a favourite spot not only for their amazing bread, but something I’ve come to love financiers made from mostly almond flour. They have some amazing individual decadent desserts for taking away or having in, but their seasonal treat that has us excited is a German stolen passed down from Oma’s recipe (translation grandmother for those not up on their German) and yes for the diehard fans, with marzipan.
Brekka Bakery: 6533 Fraser Street
I grew up on just about everything from this bakery when it was called Fraser Bakery. It has many German favourites including a variety of strudels, Black Forest Cake, Christmas cookies and a Bee Sting cake or Bienenstich in German which is a white sponge cake with pastry cream in the middle and topped with honey glazed shaved almonds. A personal favourite. The added bonus is if you are in a time crunch trying to get yourself organized for Christmas and need to pick up some items in a hurry, Brekka is open 24/7 seven days a week.
MOUNT PLEASANT
Gluten Free Epicurean: 633 East 15th Avenue
Located in Mount Pleasant at the intersection of Kingsway & Fraser with great neighbours Like Matchstick Coffee and Les Faux Bourgeois. Everything here is made in house and is a 100% gluten free for celiacs and those that are gluten sensitive. They have an amazing selection of sweet and savoury ready made and frozen. Be sure to check out this quaint little spot.
HASTINGS SUNRISE
Delish (Formerly East Village Bakery): 2166 East Hastings Street
Lots of delish options for sweet and savoury items including scones, cupcakes, cookies and more. Quinoa is used a number of their baked goods, which is certainly a heathy choice. They also have some vegan options.
Italia Bakery: 2828 E Hastings Street (#104)
This amazing bakery has a great selection of cakes always at the ready. Lots of Italian sweet treats and a great selection of biscotti.
Black Rook Bakehouse: 2474 E Hastings Street
This spot is famous for it’s Black & Tan Cake which has been featured as the one of the things you must eat before you die. Really, we aren’t making it up. They have an amazing selection of desserts, cake and pies. Did we mention their cakes have names, Harold seems to be a running favourite, but when these cakes are featured on social media, best be quick. These cakes don’t tend to last very long.
Le Gateau Bakeshop: 3458 East Hastings Street
Tanya Muller is the owner and pastry chef of Le Gateau Bakeshop and we think the creator of some of the most beautiful wedding cakes we’ve ever seen. She of course also has an array of seasonal sweets cupcakes, tarts and cookies. All decadent and beautiful as you can see pictured above and below.
MAIN STREET
Trafiq Café & Bakery: 4216 Main Street
Trafiq is a chic little café which we’ve only popped into briefly, but we keep hearing great things about this spot and the cakes look to die for. They have a Lemon Lavendar cake that’s caught our eye and sounds amazing.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Half Baked Cookie Company and PBC Bakery. We’ve received some feedback that these two bakeries should be our list. Of course, there are many great bakeries in East Van not included, we write about what we know, so we will be doing a bit of research to learn more.
NEW IN TOWN: Oh Sweet Day Bakery, 1706 East 1st Avenue by the lovely Fanny Bay, cookbook author and self taught baker has just opened shop (or is about to open her shop) on The Drive as of June 2019. Just waiting on confirmation on official opening.
So much sweet stuff so little time. We hope you get a chance to get out and indulge your sweet tooth.
Photo Credit: Le Gateau Bakeshop
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Gifting An East Van Experience This Holiday Season
17 Dec
We here at ILiveInEastVan.com are big fans of gifting experiences. There is so much to see and do close to home and sometimes we just get busy and don’t get organized to put it together. So why not gift someone a fun East Van experience this holiday season? We have set out below a few of our favourites which include brewery and foodie tours, cooking classes, theatre as well as dinner and dancing. We have included links which take you directly to each site to make that gift giving easier.
Vancouver Brewery Tour – East Van Brewery Tour
Vancouver Brewery Tours does great brewery tours in and around East Vancouver. A $75 gift certificate gets you onto one of their regularly scheduled brewery tours which run approximately 3 hours. Another option is purchasing tickets for their Beer and Food Pairing Tours which happen in January 2016 for Dine Out.
Off The Eaten Track – Culinary Tours
Off The Eaten Track offers a number of culinary tours including Vancouver’s Best Brunch Tour which takes you through the Hastings Sunrise area for $65. There is also the Railtown Urban Eats Tour runs you $55 and starts in the historic ‘Japantown’ and takes you to a number of stops including Railtown Café and the Settlement Building. Also on offer are the Main Street Hidden Gems Culinary Tour for $65. Then a personal favourite, the Vancouver Distillery Tour which stops at a number of local distilleries and provides tours, tastings and bites for $75. Tours all begin at the Waterfront Station and times vary but approximately 2 ½ hours for each.
Federico’s Supper Club – Dinner & Dancing
What about a gift certificate for an evening of dinner and dancing. Federico’s Supper Club offers amazing Italian food, wine and impeccable service. You will regularly find owner, Federico Fuoco, belting out tunes but they regularly bring in lots of local talent to mix things up.
Les Amis Du Fromage – Wine & Cheese Tasting
If you know someone that loves cheese, you may wish to consider purchasing a ticket(s) to one of Les Amis Du Fromage’s upcoming wine & cheese tasting classes. They have some delicious classes lined up for the New Year including Viva Le France on January 27th and March 9th for $65 and a Wine & Cheese Tasting Class on February 23 for $60.
The Gourmet Warehouse – Cooking Classes
Have a foodie in your life that loves cooking? Or someone that wishes to kick up their cooking skills a notch to impress that special someone? The Gourmet Warehouse offers some delicious and fun cooking classes. In the New Year they are offering Flavours of Morocco on January 23rd for $65, David Robertson of ‘The Dirty Apron’ will be on hand the evening of January 28th showing you how to make some delish dishes for $75, or if you are feeding a crowd for SuperBowl this year, there is Game Day – Feeding A Crowd for $65. Most classes are instructional vs. hands on, but certainly informative. To purchase tickets, call the store at T: 604.253.3022.
The Cultch – Live Theatre
This is a favourite spot of ours. The Cultch has an amazing array of talent that graces their stages whether drama, comedy, musical, historical, they cover all the bases. In the New Year, they have an interesting show we have our eye on called Leftovers. It features Charlie Demers, one of the stars of CBC Radio’s the Debators and best-selling author. This is a political comedy which we hear will cut through decades of BS. Tickets are available online from $10. Note the show itself takes place at the York Theatre between January 26 – 30, 2016.
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Vancouver Farmers Market Holiday Market Croatian Cultural Centre December 12
10 Dec
The Vancouver Farmers Market is hosting their annual Holiday Market this Saturday, December 12th at the Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive. Now in its 19th year, this event is a seasonal celebration of food and art and runs from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. This Saturday, you will find over 60 vendors offering everything from delicious food items such as cheese, fresh bread, olive oil, chocolates jams, coffee and honey as well as handmade jewellery, delectable desserts including homemade pies plus home accessories such as handmade cutting boards. There will be lots on hand perfect for gift giving or holiday entertaining this holiday seasons such as BC Wine Studio’s Siren’s Call Pinot Noir. Admission to the market is $3.00, but free if you are a Market Member. Hint: If you check the most recent edition of the Georgia Straight, you will find a 2 for 1 coupon for entrance to the Holiday Market.
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Cooking Classes: Holiday Entertaining & Sweet Treats To Gift At The Uncommon Cafe
26 Nov
The Uncommon Café, 477 Powell Street, is hosting some fun cooking classes which will help you with your holiday entertaining and/or gift giving or possibly both. Valentine Kitamura owner of Tartine Maple will be leading two classes this December. Valentine was born and raised in France and is a chef that has worked in hotels in Paris, Singapore, New Orleans and Toronto. She now works with The Uncommon Café, a commissary and café located just across the street from Oppenheimer Park. This December they are collaborating and offering two cooking classes Holidays Entertaining and Sweet Treats to Gifts.
On December 2nd, the cooking class is all about entertaining for the holidays. Valentine will show you the endless possibilities of puff pastry. Learn both sweet and savory variations including brie & cranberry squares, palmiers and apple roses to wow your guests. This is a hands on class and you will get to eat everything that is made during the class. Oh and did we mention, there will be champagne for sipping while you take this class. You are asked to bring containers so you can take some of creations home, that is if you don’t eat them all. This Holiday Entertaining class is $60 and runs from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. To register, visit Eventbrite. Register by November 29th and save $10.
On December 16th, learn how to make marshmallows, we are hearing much easier than one might think as well as caramels and truffles. All can be tweaked to individual tastes so you can create your own unique flavours to either give away as gifts or keep for entertaining. Experience is not required for these classes, but a few items would be handy to make these items at home including a good mixer, a cooking thermostat and baking pans. This is also a hands on class and yes again with champagne! Don’t forget to bring some containers to take home the treats you’ve made. The Sweet Treats to Gift class is $60 and also runs from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. To register, visit Eventbrite. If you register by December 9th, save $10.
Bon appetit!
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The Baker’s Market Returns This Winter
16 Nov
The Baker’s Market is back for just a few markets this holiday season. This market is truly “one of the sweetest events in Vancouver”. This community based event brings together local baking enthusiasts, pastry students, mommy bakers as well as budding entrepreneurs. If you are looking for some amazing Christmas baking, but don’t have the time to do it all yourself, this is where you should be headed. Some of the delicious things you will find include exquisite French macarons by J’adore les Macarons, handmade caramels and chocolates by Caramel & Company with some delish flavours such as Raspberry Earl Grey, Mango Coconut and Smoked Chili Chocolate. The Scone Queen will be on hand and we are hearing quite a bit of buzz about this vendor. Flavours you can expect for the Baker’s Market include aged cheddar and chive, Cardamom and dried currant, dried sour cherry and white chocolate and apple and aged cheddar. Some other vendors on hand include Apricus & Co. with gluten free goodies, Matcha & More and a personal favourite Marsh&Mallow with gourmet handmade marshmallows. Each week you will find a different group of bakers, so the offerings will vary each week, but some of the goodies you can expect to find include cakes, muffins, brownies, handmade chocolates, Belgian waffles, scones, preserves, breads, tarts, Christmas baking and much more. The Baker’s Market will be held at Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre, 7646 Prince Albert Street (60th & Fraser). Admission to the market is free, there is ample parking and our favourite part, lots of samples! So come out and support your local talented creative bakers. The markets take place from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on November 29th, December 6th and 13th.
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Eastside Culture Crawl November 19-22: 457 Artists + 83 Buildings
12 Nov
The Eastside Culture Crawl is back again for 4 days starting Thursday, November 20th. This 4 day arts extravaganza really is a must see. During “the Crawl” over 400 artists in and around the heart of East Vancouver open their studios to the public. The event which grows each year now comprises some 83 buildings from Main Street to Victoria Drive and First Avenue to Powell Street. The mediums vary and include painters, jewelers, sculptors, textile artists, furniture makers, weavers, potters, printmakers, wood carvers and photographers. There is no set schedule for this event, you go where your mood and interests take you and the array of talent is amazing. To help guide you, the Eastside Culture Crawl has a great rundown of all the artists on their website including a printable .PDF map to help you find your way. The Crawl runs November 19th and 20th from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 21st and Sunday, November 22nd from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. To figure out what you wish to see and when, check out the Issuu magazine online.
If you wish to mix things up and do some side trips in and around East Vancouver while on the Crawl, there are so many great stops en route. For instance, in Railtown there is Vancouver Urban Winery & Lounge which is a perfect start for brunch in the Belgard Kitchen before the Crawl or for a bit of wine or beer tasting after. There are more beer options if you head West a little ways including Parallel 49 Brewing Company, Bomber Brewing, Powell Street Craft Brewery and a newcomer Doan’s Craft Brewing. If Belgian beer is more up your alley Biercraft on Commercial Drive which is also a good spot for brunch before the Crawl. If you are looking for the perfect cocktail, we recommend Odd Society Spirits. Personally, we will be making a stop for brunch first before the Crawl. There are so many options in the Hastings Sunrise area and on The Drive including amazing coffee shops. If you are looking for suggestions to eat before the Crawl, in Hastings Sunrise there is the Roundel Café, Yolk’s Breakfast and Red Wagon Café for starters. On the Drive, there is Havana Restaurant, Scandillious or for the perfect sandwhich to go (big enough to share) we recommend La Grotta del Fromaggio. While there, we suggest making the walk next door to Fratelli Bakery for something sweet. You won’t be disappointed.
During the Crawl, les amis du fromage, 843 East Hastings, is another great spot to stop in and do a bit of cheese sampling. They will also have some local vendors in store doing Pop Up Shoppes. On Saturday, November 21st from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm they will have Mixers & Elixers. They produce small batch shrubs also known as drinking vinegar used in soda water and cocktails. Also on hand Saturday will be Grain which sources exclusively Canadian dry good products from farmers and processors they know. On Sunday, November 21st Noon – 4:00 pm, you will find SaltSpring Kitchen Co. in store. Melanie Mulherin makes delicious small batch preserves in some unique flavours such as Meyer Lemon & Lavender Marmalade, Sour Cherry, Rhubarb & Rosemary Jam, Blueberry & Basil Jam and the one that caught our eye Winter Wonderjam (Strawberry, Cranberry, Orange & Bourbon). Les amis du fromage is perfectly situated in Strathcona within walking distance of many artist studios.
For some more sweet stuff, the Licorice Parlour is a great stop with over 65 flavours on hand. If you are looking for coffee, there are many great options including the Wilder Snail in the heart of Strathcona, Pallet Roasters, 323 Semlin Drive and Platform 7, 2331 East Hastings St. Of course, there are an array of excellent choices along Commercial Drive including Continental Café, Moja’s Coffee and Prado Café to name but a few. If you find yourself in the Stratchona area, might we suggest a stop at Crackle Crème at 245 Union Street. This sweet little dessert cafe serves up artisan crème brûlée and authentic Belgian liège waffles as well as coffee. There will be many local restaurants, breweries and coffee shops at the ready to help you recharge your batteries before, during or after the Crawl.
See you on the Crawl.
ILiveInEastVan.com 