Posts

Stack Of Cloth Napkins shutte

Why You Need To Use Cloth Napkins Daily

Here’s why you should use cloth napkins every day—and how (and where) to sew beautiful mitered-corner ones for yourself. (VIDEO)

Stack Of Cloth Napkins shutte

 

MONEY WELL SPENT | You should be using cloth napkins every day not only because doing so will save you money by cutting down on paper waste but also because you deserve nice things, and cloth napkins are nice all around: better next to the skin than paper ones, generally larger and more absorbent. Read more

Sophia Vartanian - Modern Farmer magazine

A New Magazine For Modern Farmer Types

This new international magazine with a Vancouver connection is for anyone interested in where their food comes from.

Sophia Vartanian - Modern Farmer magazine

 

NEW NOW NEXT | While magazine publishers everywhere are getting out of print, Vancouver billionaire philanthropist Frank Guistra is jumping in. Last month, Modern Farmer, a new quarterly magazine on farming, which comes in both print and digital versions, launched in the U.S. with Guistra’s name listed prominently on the masthead as equity partner. Guistra is betting on the public growing ever more inquisitive about where their food comes from, how it’s produced, and how they can participate in the modern farmer movement. And he is counting on the talent and international connections of editor-in-chief Ann Marie Gardner, who made a name for herself as a writer and producer at Monocle and New York Times T: Travel, two stylish magazines known for nailing the zeitgeist. Read more

Top Up Your Old Silver Service For Less

Where to find the missing pieces for your grandmother’s old silver service for less.

SPENDING SMART | Early last April when we were busy launching Frugalbits, I was also busy buying sterling silver flatware. The only other time I’d purchased sterling silver was the last time the U.S. and Canadian dollar were at par. Whenever the dollar is near par, I think about buying things south of the border that I’d otherwise consider an indulgence; much as I love it, sterling silver flatware falls into this category. Read more

Chef John Bishop’s Top Shops & Nosheries

Celebrated Chef John Bishop shares his favourite shops and nosheries (and what to order) on Vancouver’s Westside.

Regional, seasonal cuisine made with fresh, organic, local ingredients is common- place at many restaurants in Vancouver today, but this notion was revolutionary in Vancouver in 1985 when John Bishop opened the casually elegant restaurant that bears his name on 4th Avenue.

Consistently listed among restaurant guidebooks as one of the city’s top fine dining eateries, award-winning Bishop’s seasonal menus continue to reflect Chef Bishop’s original commitment to sustainable ingredients and the growers who produce them, a dedication also affirmed in his now-classic 2002 documentary, Deconstructing Supper, that investigates food safety in the age of GMOs (genetically modified foods) and industrial agriculture.

This past year, John Bishop received the first-ever Governor Generals’ award for culinary arts, plus a coveted Edna. The Edna, a Canadian Culinary Book Award, is a lifetime achievement prize given to someone who has contributed significantly to the promotion of regional cuisine In Canada.

John Bishop’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more
Martin Tessler

Martin Tessler Views, Noshes and Shops YVR

Photographer Martin Tessler is our guy with an eye for what to see, eat and buy in fair and rainy Vancouver.

Martin TesslerA favourite among Canada’s top shelter magazine editors and art directors as well as talented architects and interior designers from coast to coast, Vancouver photographer Martin Tessler is known for exploiting the most dramatic, least apparent angles of the buildings, rooms and gardens he shoots.

Tessler recently won both gold and silver honours at Canada’s National Magazine Awards and includes among his current high-profile assignments Douglas Coupland’s home and James Franco’s portrait for The New York Times. Oh, and he also covered Canadian Architect with Bob Rennie’s private and uber cool Wing Sang [art] Gallery located on Pender Street. Read more

Coreen and Heike - Martin Tessler

Heike and Coreen Do YVR On The Green Side

Top casting directors Heike Brandstatter and Coreen Mayrs explore Vancouver (and Bowen Island) on the green side.

Coreen and Heike - Martin TesslerEmmy Award-winning casting directors Coreen Mayrs and Heike Brandstatter spend most of their days casting feature film and television shows, having worked on such past projects as Juno, Battlestar Galactica, Capote and Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Their current projects include This Means War (starring Reese Witherspoon), Hellcats, Smallville and the soon-to-be-released Tron: Legacy. In their spare time they can be found exploring sustainable design, green building and cooking with organic ingredients.

Heike and Coreen’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver (or beyond) Read more
Robert Belcham, Executive Chef, Refuel Restuarant, Vancouver, B.C.

Chef Robert Belcham Dines, Shops, Splashes

Dine out, walk, shop and splash with uber chef Robert Belcham of the illustrious Campagnolo and refuel restaurants.

Robert Belcham, Executive Chef, Refuel Restuarant, Vancouver, B.C.Spending the frigid Saturday afternoons of his childhood in Edmonton and Peace River eating fresh-from-the-oven cookies and watching PBS cooking programs, chef Robert Belcham was interested in cooking from a young age.

Starting out as a line cook at Rebar, an innovative vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, followed by as stint at The Aerie Resort on Vancouver Island, Robert eventually received a call from star chef Thomas Keller, offering him a chef de partie position at his famous Yountville restaurant, The French Laundry. He then became a private chef in the Silicon Valley, where, he says, “I became much more aware of what the guests feel, what they want and what they need. I know I’m a better chef because of it.” Read more

Cookbook: Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef

It’s Hip To Cook Retro With Vintage Cookbooks

It’s fashionable to cook retro right now, and to do it using old recipes from outdated cookbooks.

 

Cookbook: Cooking at Home with a Four Star ChefFOOD FOR THOUGHT Blame it on Julie & Julia (both the book and the movie) if you want to, but it’s fashionable to cook retro right now. Who could have guessed that when New Yorker Julie Powell spent 365 days in the early oughties cooking every dish from Julia Child’s 1961 classic, Mastering The Art Of French Cooking (volume one), that both her book and Child’s classic would reach the top ranks of The New York Times bestsellers list—and that curious cooks across North America would take a new interest in making old dishes from recipes found in outdated cookbooks? Read more

Don Genova Shops & Noshes In Vancouver

Noted B.C. food journalist Don Genova shops, slurps and noshs his way around Vancouver.

Don Genova At Legendary Noodle - C. PhaisalakaniDon Genova is a food journalist and educator who splits his time between Vancouver and an acreage in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. His work is heard regularly on CBC Radio and seen in Aqua magazine with a column called Pacific Palate. Don teaches food and travel writing at UBC with in-person and online courses and offers sustainable eating courses at the University of Victoria. You may also catch him teaching cooking classes at Thrifty Foods or the French Mint cooking school in Victoria. You can follow Don’s adventures in eating on his blog, blog.dongenova.com, and get information on his classes on his website, www.dongenova.com. He also tweets @dongenova.

Don Genova’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more

The New Potluck

Cheesy tuna casseroles and Jello salads are definitely not on the menu.

Seared Ultra-Rare Albacore Tuna Salad

DEALS ON MEALS | One adjustment I’ve made to my budget the past year is to limit restaurant dining in general and high-end restaurants in particular. But by no means have I forgone the fine dining experience—I’ve just changed the venue. The latest take on potluck—a.k.a. The New Potluck—redefines the word to include communal menu planning that results in a restaurant-quality meal for a fraction of the cheque, and without the service charge.

How is The New Potluck different from your average dinner party? Simple: all the hard prep work and cost of the meal is shared. How is it different from the old potluck? Also simple: boring tuna casseroles and three-bean salads have been replaced with a sophisticated dine-out style menu. Read more