Eatery review - Sushi Sky (West End)

Given that my budget for dining out has shrunk considerably, and that my friends and I are trying to be more conscious about that (I'm glad they are, because I am pretty broke right now!), it was nice to find yet another place with good sushi for less than what I would have paid at Tanpopo or one of those other restaurants.

Sushi Sky is a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place on Bute Street, near Davie. If you know the Jupiter Cafe, it's pretty much right beside it. I have to say that it's such a strategic location. Three of my closest friends live within three blocks of this place. I went there with J for a quick dinner before watching "Brothers and Sisters" at his place a couple of Sundays ago.

The sushi is really good, and for less than $ 6.00 you got yourself dinner. I think the total for two with tip was $ 15.00. I mean, there are times when I pay that much at brunch! So, I'm pretty happy with this little place. Inexpensive and tasty. I'll be coming back again, for sure.

Upcoming event - Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model

I first heard about this event from the Georgia Straight, then I saw a link at VancouverVibe.ca, and finally I decided to check out the website. Something that really made me happy was to find out that the organizers are raising funds for an important charity: Friends for Life.

This past summer, I Blogathoned in support of 'A Loving Spoonful' (I doubt they actually knew that I did this to raise funds for them, but quite frankly I don't care - I did it because I thought it was a worthy cause). More information about Friends for Life:

The Vancouver Friends For Life Society serves as a catalyst to enhance the wellness of individuals living with a life threatening illness by providing complementary and alternative health and support services.

Friends For Life was built on the belief that no one should have to face the many challenges of serious illness alone. Our philosophy recognizes the connection between the mind and body with a view towards treating the whole person - the mind, body and soul - rather than treating the illness alone. [Friends for Life Society website]

This is a worthy cause and of course I encourage you to participate. It should be fun. The list of contestants (with pictures and all) can be found here.

Restaurant review - Swagat Tandoori Restaurant

You are probably wondering how can I have the nerve to write a restaurant review after my recent post on the execrable crime against a TransLink bus driver on Halloween night. However, it is my belief that even when negative things happen, we ought to focus on the good and the positive. And I did find one positive thing about this weekend. I found a place for GREAT Indian food, both for take-out and in-restaurant dining.

Swagat Tandoori Restaurant is located pretty much in beautiful English Bay, around the corner from Denman and Davie. I had been trying to come here as their lunch and dinner buffet special seems totally worth it and inexpensive ($10.95 for all-you-can-eat Indian for dinner - sweet deal!) Anyhow, J and I were walking by and we thought "oh well, since you want to try it, why not buy some take-out".

Let me tell you, two people ate and I still took food home! The place is neat, the owner is sweet and the food is OMG to-die-for. Very good food, I had the butter chicken with rice and vegetables and I swear I can't stop eating this food until I am completely full. The portions are generous and I look forward to a continued consumption of food from Swagat Tandoori.

They do delivery within the West End (if I recall correctly) and dinner for two is totally a sweet deal at $ 24+tax.

Upcoming event - National Coming Out Day (Vancouver)

Coming out of the closet (in the sexual orientation kind of way) means opening up a whole can of worms when it comes to acceptance by mainstream society, job security and the existence of glass ceilings, conforming to societal norms and dealing with potential rejection. The reason behind National Coming Out Day seems (in my interpretation) a celebration of that moment in a person's life when it becomes important to embrace a whole identity, not just portions of it.

I had heard about National Coming Out Day but I hadn't seen any ads for celebrations. However, it appears as though Xtra West Vancouver does have some information about an upcoming event. From their website:

The Centre presents an evening of storytelling to celebrate National Coming Out Day. Includes improv comedy with Tops & Bottoms and guest speakers Kevin McKeown, Nicky Phillips and others. Light refreshments. Free admission. Coast Plaza Hotel, 1763 Comox Street, 7-9 pm. 604.684.5307.

The Centre, for those of you who don't know it, is a community resource run by volunteers mostly that provides services and support to the Vancouver queer community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirited). From their website:

The Centre is a community resource providing support, health and social services, and public education for the well being of lesbians, gay men, transgendered and bisexual people and their allies in Vancouver throughout B.C.

The Centre is committed to building pride and acceptance of diversity and to mitigating the impact of homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia and biphobia.

The Centre welcomes and values all people regardless of race, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, marital status, family status, colour, age, disability, pardoned conviction, sexual orientation, gender identity, and source of income.

The event organized by The Centre at the Coast Plaza should be a lot of fun. And to read an advertisement by KPMG celebrating National Coming Out Day on the Xtra West, this is really outstanding. I am not that surprised since I thought that KPMG has always been a very progressive firm (not that I know them all too well, but if you think about the fact that they have a Director of Diversity and that he gave a talk at an OutRights conference, it speaks volumes!).

I quote from KPMG's ad (I don't have the website, otherwise I'd link to it):

KPMG is committed to building a workplace that fosters diversity and inclusiveness. We salute our colleagues who have chosen to live their lives openly with pride, and support those who continue to struggle. You are not alone.

Other firms that have shown commitment to equality, diversity and supporting queer causes include VanCity and TD Canada Trust (from those that I have seen, I might have missed a few other companies). I had previously read about VanCity's and TD Canada Trust's commitment to diversity here (Nathaniel Christopher's website). Kudos to these firms!

Bar review - 1181

Even though I have lots of friends who live in the West End, I almost never come down unless I have a specific schedule (e.g. dinner or dancing) and an arrange date with these friends. However, Nomade Moderne and I were already Downtown for the VQFF and therefore we thought we'd eat in the Davie Street area. We had an amazing dinner at Cafe Luxy (not surprising because as I mentioned in previous posts, Cafe Luxy is one of those trusted pasta houses where you know you are always going to get amazing food and great service). We were definitely not disappointed (though I wish we had bigger stomachs!)

After dinner, H and I decided to hit 1181 for a couple of drinks. The place is small, sleek, elegant, sophisticated and (yes) full of testosterone :-) But more than that, 1181 has a great female DJ who plays (amongst other of my favorites) Kaskade, Lisa Shaw, Synthique, Miguel Migs, and the list goes on. She really knows how to rock the house. On the plus side of things, the always amazing company of Nomade Moderne. On the down side, this place is really small. But the truth is, the overall experience was very nice. Good screwdrivers and caipirinhas. This is a good place for drinks and maybe some dancing, but definitely not the place to hold a conversation. But hey, who is actually wanting a conversation here? :-) I am sure we'll be back to 1181 soon!!!

Restaurant review - Joe's Grill

With Pride weekend happening (B.C. day is on Monday, which ends up being a holiday), this is the best opportunity to catch up with old friends. So I ended up contacting S and R, and they called up A and P so that we all could go for brunch. I chose Joe's Grill on Davie and almost Burrard because I had heard rave reviews of the place. I am sure I came to Joe's Grill at some point with L, early in our friendship. But that was years ago, so I had to come again.

Anyhow, Joe's Grill did not disappoint. I had the "Chopped Steak" (scrambled eggs with a beef patty) and it was awesome. I could almost say that Joe's Grill's eggs rival those of Crave on Main or Burgoo on 10th and Sasamat. The food is inexpensive, very filling and the service was top-notch. The best part of it was seeing S and R again (they are close and dear friends of mine) and the fact that they invited A and P really was the icing on the cake.

I would strongly recommend Joe's Grill for brunch. I would like to try Score or The Fountainhead, I am sure they have good food. Happy Pride everyone!

Restaurant review - Moxie's

The more I have dinner at this type of restaurants, the more I realize the broad variety of food we have in this city. Vancouver is unique in that regard. Unfortunately (or luckily) for me, I have started to become a repeat customer of many restaurants, so I am running out of restaurants to review!

One of those restaurants that I've become very used to is Moxie's. The one location that always comes to mind is the one on Georgia and I think Hamilton or Seymour (more likely Seymour). But recently I've discovered one on Broadway and almost Burrard and of course, Davie between Thurlow and Bute (in the West End). This is the one I've been to most recently.

Touting itself as "casual dining", Moxie's service is top-notch. I was very pleased that the chef and the waitress were very accomodating with my summer feature: tandoori wild salmon. The food is not that terribly expensive, with entrees hovering around the $20 dollar mark, and it's filling and tasty. I really liked the tandoori salmon but next time I think I'll stick with pasta.

As I was writing earlier reviews of Cactus Club, Milestone's, Earl's and others, I would think that Moxie's is the same type of restaurant: reliable, good food, excellent service and atmosphere.

UPDATE - I included both gadgets from Urban Spoon because I have been to both locations, the Broadway one and the Robson one.

Bar review - Oasis

I took two of my out-of-town friends to this bar on the premise that it was a really good bar (located along the Davie Village) and it had a nice atmosphere. While I am guessing that Oasis also has food, I thought it was more appropriate to indicate that this was a bar, rather than a restaurant. Well, perhaps the category should be more "bar-lounge". The place advertises itself as a cocktail lounge.

I had been here before with A and S before S went to Africa for a short stint, but I hadn't been back in a long while At any rate, The Oasis has fairly good, not-too-expensive drinks. There were two things that I didn't really like. Smoking is permitted on the patio, and lots of people take advantage of that fact. I am a non-smoker and of course that spoils my evening. Second, our waitress got to a point where she just simply slapped us with the bill before even waiting to ask whether we wanted to go or not. I actually did not appreciate that.

But to be fair, the service is always good (except this last time) and the bartenders are sweet. I ordered a sweet drink and since it wasn't sweet enough, the bartender added some grenadine. So, really, who can complain? :) And the place is so beautiful and has such a nice atmosphere, I'll definitely be back.

Restaurant review - Cafe Luxy

I have been to Cafe Luxy for dinner a few times, and the funny thing about it is that I never remember to suggest it when I am asked "where should I go for dinner?". I think that the reason is that I am rarely around the West End. Since moving to the South Main area, I've become more acquainted with (and interested) spots that are geographically close to my place.

In the past few months, with increasing readership, I've felt more of a responsibility to write more detailed restaurant reviews and to carefully choose which restaurants I review. Dining out in Vancouver is sometimes hit-and-miss. One night, you can get a fantastic plate and the next week the service can be horrible. Luckily, Cafe Luxy is not one of these places. It is actually good and reliable.

Very recently, a friend of mine took me for lunch to Cafe Luxy (my first time doing lunch there, though most certainly not my first time to the restaurant). I ordered a linguini con chorizo (really good). Lunch is really inexpensive, but don't be mistaken. This doesn't mean that it's cheap, only that it is affordable. Lunch came with a small salad and was more than plenty. The dinner size portions are slightly more expensive (but still in the realm of $15.00).

It's safe to say that Cafe Luxy is a reliable dining spot around the Davie Village. Located on the 1200 block of Davie Street (close to Bute St.), it's a brilliant choice either for lunch or dinner. I just noticed they have brunch, so I'll have to come back for that.