Have you ever been a step parent? Thought about being a step parent? Maybe you are one. Having had the personal experience, it is not for the faint of heart. Thick skin and patience are two pre-requisites for this role, but like all paths in life, there are the challenges but also the rewards. This March, Standing Room Theatre Only brings you a one woman show Almost A Stepmom. It is the true story of Keara Barnes who moves to Ireland and becomes a stepmom, well almost. This dark comedy shows you first hand the ups and downs of being a stepmom and brings you multiple characters including an attempted murder in this one woman show. Almost A Stepmom has received rave reviews at various festivals throughout Western Canada, most recently winning the Emerging Artist Award at the 2016 Calgary Fringe Festival. You catch the show at Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive between March 14 and 18. Tickets are $18 and available online from Brown Paper Tickets.
Whiskey Pairing Dinner At Fets Whiskey Kitchen February 21st
15 Feb
If you love whisky, you may wish to check out the Whiskey Pairing Dinner being held at Fets Whiskey Kitchen Tuesday, February 21st. Marcio Ramos, a brand ambassador for Beam Global, will take you on tasting tour of three of Scotland’s whiskey regions. Fets Whiskey Kitchen will be pairing 5 delish delishes with 5 whiskies from 4 distilleries. Cost for the event is $85 and there are only 25 spots. To get your ticket, check out the online registration at Fets Whiskey Kitchen.
Photo Credit: Denise Docherty
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Disney On The Drive February 19th At Café Deux Soleils
13 Feb
You are invited to a family friendly event at Café Deux Soleils on Sunday, February 19th called Disney On The Drive. A group of local artists will be featuring songs from popular Disney movies like Let It Go from Frozen and Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid. Some of the artists performing at this event include Julia Spitale, Shera Kelly, Michael Averill, Joseph Spitale, Ross Christopher Fairbairn and Matt Langill. Cover is $5-10, but we hear no one will be turned away for lack of funds. The show kicks off at 7:00 pm and although it may be a bit late for some very young children, kids of all ages are welcome.
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Snowed In Comedy Tour At The York Theatre February 11th
30 Jan
Looking for a bit of humour? The Snowed In Comedy Tour is happening February 11th at the York Theatre it might just be what the doctor ordered. This is a Canadian comedy tour which liken themselves to the Tragically Hip touring across Canada. The show features comedians Dan Quinn, Craig Campbell, Paul Myrehaug a recent winner of the $25,000 Great Canadian Laugh Off and Pete Zelacher. They are billing this comedy tour as the “Better Than The Just For Laughs Tour”, but they do boast some standing ovations so there might be something to their gloating. Tickets for the show are $35 and available online via The Cultch. Note, this event is for audiences 19+.
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Bodegas Lustau Sherry Tasting Experience At Cabrito Tapas February 28th
27 Jan
Do you love sherry? Granted this libation isn’t for everyone, or maybe it’s just the ones you’ve tried. Either way, if you would like to learn a bit more about sherry, than Cabrito Tapas on The Drive has an event for you. If you don’t know Cabrito Tapas, well you are missing out, it is a delish spot on the Drive serving Spanish tapas. On February 28th, they will be hosting their first ever Sherry Experience. They will be featuring 7 different sherries from Bodegas Lustau in Spain. Not only will you get to experience the sherries, but Chef Alex will be pairing them with tapas to highlight both the food and the sherries. Cost of this event is $75 which includes tax and tip. To register, visit Cabrito Tapas.
Photo Credit: Cabrito Tapas
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Let’s Do Brunch On The Drive
20 Jan
We are often asked where is a good place to go for brunch, coffee, dinner, live music or drinks in East Van. We started our brunch series with setting out some of our favourite spots in the Hastings Sunrise area. Next up we’d like to feature some very delish spots along Commercial Drive, some we’ve tried and some we’ve heard great things about through our grape vine.
Bandidas Taqueria, 2781 Commercial Drive
Brunch 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
We confess we have not tried this spot. We have noticed that it is a rare occasion that this spot is not busy, no matter the time of day or night. Bandidas Taqueria serves brunch daily from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm as well as breakfast all day. Most of their items are gluten free and we like that they get their gluten free bread from local fav spot, East Village Bakery. Eggs, beans and guacamole are featured heavily on their brunch menu, but we have our eye on the Cornbread Muffin Tops with honey butter. Bandidas Taqueria will make any breakfast vegan. This spot is certainly on our list to try not only because of the food, but their focus on minimal impact to the environment and their of support local smaller distributors. Bandidas Taqueria is located just North of 12th Avenue on Commercial Drive. Just a 5 minute walk from the Broadway Skytrain Station if you are travelling from elsewhere in the City.
Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive
Breakfast 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Weekdays + 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Weekends
You can’t miss this spot for the colourful mural outside. Cafe Deux Soleils is a long standing business on The Drive having been there for over 20 years. Here you will find eggs, but you won’t find meat if that’s what you are looking for. You will though find Veggie Ham or Veggie Sausage and lots of other great items as well as a kids menu. It’s a popular spot day and night as this spot includes a stage where you will find many local performers whether comedy, music, poetry and much more.
Havana is a great spot for many reasons, people watching from their patio is certainly one of them. It’s always a busy hopping spot that offers modern Latin fare and Caribbean cocktails. It is another long standing business that has been on The Drive for 20 years now. Havana serves breakfast 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm with some great offerings including a Pulled Pork Breakfast Taco. Another thing we love about Havana Restaurant, is they are a great supporter of local arts. They have a small gallery in the back next which is situated next to a small theatre which features some great local theatre groups. It’s a great intimate space if you haven’t checked it out already. We recommend it.
Biercraft Tap & Tapas, 1191 Commercial Drive
Brunch Saturday, Sunday & Holidays 10:00 am – 3:30 pm
On the Drive since 2005, Biercraft Tap & Tapas is another long standing business on the Drive. Everyone has their own unique spin on brunch on the Drive, as does Biercraft with Bangers and Mash, and Stovreji Hash browns topped with Belgian beef stew, blue cheese crumble and two poached eggs for those with a hearty appetite, but we like the Eggs on Cornbread and for those coming with kids, they have a kids breakfast menu for $6.00.
La Mezcaleria, 1622 Commercial Drive
Brunch Wednesday to Sunday Until 3:00 pm
This is a fun lively spot at any time serving delish Mexican fare including breakfast as well as a great selection of mescal and tequila should you wish to go there. They have some creative dishes, but what we have a hankering for is the Pan Frances which is Brioche French Toast topped with bananas, dark rum, salted caramel sauce, candied pecans, strawberries and gooseberries. If that doesn’t sound like a bite of heaven, we don’t know what does.
Tangent Café, 2095 Commercial Drive
Breakfast 8:00 – 3:00 Saturday – Tuesday & 8:00 am – 2:00 pm Wednesday to Friday
Although this spot is home to great live jazz music on Thursday and Sunday evenings, they also have a good breakfast menu. If you are a meat lover, you will find several options here, but if looking for vegan options, they have that too including a Malaysian Vegan Scramble.
The Dime, 1565 Commercial Drive
This is not a spot we’ve tried, but local historian Jak King and long time resident of The Drive swears by this spot. He says “it is nothing much more than a bar with background music, TVs on most walls, heavily tattooed staff (giving great service), and good cheap food.” Seems they offer a breakfast menu during week and a brunch menu on the weekends we couldn’t locate the latter, but Jack tells us Chorizo Hash Skillett is a good way to go. “It is a good plateful of potatoes and onions and peppers, a fried egg, with enough chorizo to give it a kick, and served with a form of hollandaise that is to die for.” Kicker is all dishes on the menu are $5.95.
Prado Café, 1938 Commercial Drive
As of Monday, June 19th the purveyors of kick ass coffee, have launched a full brunch menu at their Commercial Drive location. We’ve seen some pics on social media and have to say the dishes look great. If you head one block up the street North, you can also check out their sister restaurant Spade at the corner of 3rd Avenue. They have a small breakfast menu but are open at 8:00 am daily.
While you are in this part of East Van, there is so much else to see, do and taste while on The Drive. Whether it’s coffee, gelato, pasta, art, bookstores, cheese, licorice or chocolate. If it’s cheese you are after, La Grotta Del Fromaggio is our go to spot. We recommend one of their sandwiches to go, or if you’ve built up an appetite wandering, they are delish. If you love licorice, a stop at the Licorice Parlour is a must. If you aren’t a licorice fan, they also have handmade chocolates. If you are looking for beer after a wander, Biercraft offers quite the range of Belgian beers. If it’s whiskey, then a stop at Fets Whiskey Kitchen would be in order and side note they do serve brunch as well.
For coffee, well we can’t just pick one, there are so many places offering great coffee, you can’t go wrong whether it’s Continental Cafe, Joe’s Café, Moja’s, The Drive Coffee Bar (you will find Cartem donuts here though) or any other café. If it’s a muffin and coffee you are after, JJ Bean at 6th Avenue. Their muffins are legendary. Gelato, there are a few offerings which you can’t miss if you are walking The Drive, but if are looking for pastries, our personal favourite is Fratelli Bakery which an amazing selection of sweet treats. And more recently, there are so new delish offerings including The Bench Bakehouse in the Il Mercato and Livia Sweets at Kitchener Street. If you find you’ve done a fair bit of walking on the Drive and want a light bite such as pizza, take your pick, Famoso Pizzeria, Lombardo’s, Marcello’s or a quick wander over to Via Tevere on Victoria Drive. Of course, if you wish to pick up some pasta to cook later at home (fresh or frozen), we recommend Bosa Foods just off Commercial Drive at 562 Victoria Drive. We could keep going as this area has so much to offer from Venables to 12th Avenue and a bit beyond on either side of that. If we missed your favourite brunch spot that you think should be included, drop up us a line ILiveInEastVan@gmail.com and tell us why it should be included.
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Story Story Lie Back At Café Deux Soleils Friday, January 13th
2 Jan
If you have yet to catch Story Story Lie, you are in luck it now has a regular monthly gig at Café Deux Soleils on The Drive. Story Story Lie happens every second Friday of the month at 8:00 pm with the next show happening Friday, January 13th. What’s it all about? The show is part storytelling and part game show. You will hear five embarrassing and intimate stories and one lie. Through some interrogation of the storytellers the audience gets to guess who the liar is. First one to guess wins a prize. Organizers have a great line up of storytellers for the first show of 2017 including local comedian, Ivan Decker, who has been featured on The Debators along with Zain Mejhi of the Daily Hive, as well as comedians Mufaro Mbudzi and Alison Ogilvie and poet, Andrew Warner, Now if you have a strange story to tell or a lie you’d like to see featured at Story Story Lie to make things more interesting, you are invited to submit it by email storystorylie@gmail.com in advance of each show. Each evening will be hosted and produced by Jo Dworschak and gets under way at 8:00 pm with doors at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available via Eventbrite for $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Can you spot the liar?
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Dine Out East Village Brunch Crawl Saturday, January 28th
21 Dec
Dine Out Vancouver, Canada’s largest restaurant festival gets under way January 20th and runs to February 5th. Each year the line up of delicious events gets better and better. One of many that caught our eye was Vancouver Foodster’s East Village Brunch Crawl happening Saturday, January 28th in the Hastings Sunrise area. The event will begin at The Waldorf Hotel, 1489 East Hastings Street, with registration which takes place between 9:30 am and 10:30 am. You will pick up your “passport” which is your guide to a number of restaurants in the Hastings Sunrise/Grandview Woodlands area. Some of the delish foods you will enjoy include fresh juices, smoothies, coffees, eggs benedict, pancakes, waffles, omelettes, brunch pizza, meats, seafood, hash browns, baked goods and a few more goodies. Some of the stops we hear include Nonna’s Table, Gourmet Warehouse, Italia Bakery, Platform 7 Coffee and Di Oliva Tasting Bar with more to be announced soon. Outside of your passport, we do recommend you bring your appetite. We don’t expect you will leave this event hungry. Cost for the Dine Out East Village Brunch Crawl is $52.50 and includes all food and beverage samples at each participating location. To purchase your tickets for this Brunch Crawl, visit Tickets Tonight. The event runs from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. If you’d prefer to do a brunch crawl along Commercial Drive, that one is happening on Sunday, February 5th which kicks off at Federico’s Supper Club. For more information, visit Vancouver Foodster.
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Eastside Culture Crawl – Bits, Bites, Beer & More On The Crawl
18 Nov
For all those participating in this year’s Eastside Culture Crawl which is taking place November 17- 20, 2016, we have a few thoughts on where to stop to refuel. We know from first hand experience all that walking on the Crawl makes you hungry and thirsty and the opportunity to put your feet up for a bit, is a welcome one. With that in mind, we thought we would set out some delish spots to check out for a bite, refreshment or more. As the Crawl covers a great deal of ground, we have set it out by geographic area. Since our experience has been to pick a general area to concentrate on and stop in at a number of artists within walking distance.
Hastings Sunrise
In Hastings Sunrise, there is no lack of choices along the stretch of East Hastings. Some great options include Roundel Café, Jackalope’s Dive and Red Wagon Café for brunch for starters. For coffee, we’d hit Platform 7 Coffee. Of course, for lunch or brunch, Tacofino Commissary is a no brainer anytime. If you have a hankering for something sweet, well a couple of great options include Black Rook Bakehouse and East Village Bakery.
Grandview Woodlands
If you are wandering in the Grandview Woodlands area, you could start with breakfast or lunch at Scandillious at 25 Victoria Drive. Looking for coffee? We’d hit Pallet Roasters. If it’s a stop for beer or a cocktail, check out Parallel 49 Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Storm Brewing or Odd Society Spirits. Looking for something sweet, well the Pie Shoppe on Powell Street at Victoria has that covered off with a selection of handmade chocolate from Melt Confections on hand along with their amazing pie. If you are looking for dinner after the Crawl, Bistro Wagon Rogue that has casual French fare and it’s located right next to the Pie Shoppe on Powell Street.
Commercial Drive
On Commercial Drive you have a plethora of options whether it’s coffee, cocktails or a bite. We couldn’t even begin to name them all, but a few that come to mind include Moja’s Coffee, Continental Coffee, The Drive Coffee Bar and Turks. For the perfect sandwhich to go (and big enough for two in most cases), we recommend La Grotta del Fromaggio. While there, we highly suggest a stop into Fratelli Bakery next door. If it’s brunch you are looking for, Havana Restaurant and is one of many great spots on the Drive. Just up the street you have Biercraft which also serves brunch and a great selection of beer. Of course just a quick walk from The Drive down Venables is Uprising Breads for a great coffee and snack spot. Oh and we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a favourite spot for licorice lovers, the Licorice Parlour. If you are looking for pizza on The Drive, there are a few options Famoso, Lombardo’s, Marcello’s and just off The Drive on Victoria Drive is a personal favourite Via Tevere Pizzeria.
Strathcona/Railtown
Well there are some delish stops in this general area including the Settlement Building in Railtown which is a great spot for brunch before you start or a glass of beer or wine during or after. Les Amis du Fromage is hosting a Pop Up Shop with the Salty Cookie Company this Saturday, November 19th. So if you have a sweet craving, we do encourage you stop by. If you are looking for dinner after Ask for Luigi is in the area as is the MacKenzie Room directly across from Oppenheimer Park and The Heatley not far down the street. If you wish to make a stop for coffee, the Wilder Snail in the heart of Strathcona is a quaint option.
Clark Drive
This is a developing area which we expect will be changing more in the coming years. Right now it’s home to Strange Fellows Brewing which is featuring Moving Art as part of the Crawl, so beer and art under one roof. For coffee, check out Agro Roasters at Frances Avenue on Clark Drive. For sushi and something quick and reasonable, Fujiya at the corner of Clark and Venables. Of course, Yolks Breakfast at East Hastings has breakfast all day to fuel you and if it’s beer you are after Callister Brewing just off Clark on Franklin Street is a collaborative brewery which always has some great art on hand all year long.
Which every way you slice it and where you decide to Crawl, get out and see some great art!
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The Art Of Magic At Havana Theatre Starting November 3rd
3 Nov
Camilo Dominguez, also known as Camilo The Magician, brings his show The Art of Magic to Havana Theatre starting November 3rd. Camilo was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia and started doing magic at the age of 4. At the age 15, he moved to Victoria where he explored and pursued acting and performing. He has been mastering his art form for many years now. His previous show Supernatural sold out shows across Canada and he invites you to check out his new show The Art of Magic. This show blends different forms of art and magic for what we hear will be a truly unforgettable experience. You are invited to join Camilo at Havana Theatre for an evening in which you create a masterpiece together. Camilo wants to “make you believe the impossible”. The Art of Magic runs at 8:00 pm November 3 to 5, 10 to 12 and 17 to 19. Tickets are available online for $30.
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