Restaurant review - The Cascade Room

As a Main Street area resident (no, I'm not one of those "Main hipsters" as people have tended to call them), I enjoy enormously hanging out around my neighborhood. It is what people have termed "a vibrant community". And I am about to rave about a newly opened restaurant: The Cascade Room. I went for brunch many times to the restaurant that used to be in this location, the Main Street Cafe (where the brunch was cheap and nice) but that closed I think by the end of last year. Good thing I took my Mom and brother there before it closed.

The re-incarnation of this space is now a posh, stylish, sophisticated and spacious restaurant-lounge called "The Cascade Room" (their menus will tell you why, and I really appreciated the history lesson, as I have always been interested in the historical development of Mount Pleasant).

Since I had been trying to get to this place, C and B and J agreed to come down to my neck of the woods for dinner. Now, bad decision to come on a Friday night at 8 pm. This place was PACKED. I noticed that while the place is stylish and the decor is posh, I didn't feel that the staff were pretentious at all. Granted, you could see dozens of customers who looked sort of Yaletowners, which is a little funny considering that Main Street (South Main or Mount Pleasant) is considered more of an artsy, eclectic mix. When we got there I felt like I had just switched neighborhoods completely and entered a Yaletown restaurant. However, my opinion changed quickly as I got a very enjoyable experience at The Cascade Room.

Their dinner menu is very good, with great variety, from pasta dishes to excellent burgers. The portions are generous, and the presentation for each dish is superb. I had a Cascade burger with salad, which was really tasty. The salad wasn't drenched in dressing, and the burger was very well prepared (on foccacia bread, which was a bit weird but I really appreciated the flavors). Water refills were extremely prompt.

Our waitress was unbelievably sweet, and at one point she said "my only concern is that you guys have a great time". I mean, good service can't get much better than that!!! The hostess was extremely sweet as well, particularly since I came with C, B and J and we waited for over an hour for a table for four. The service was outstanding. While we waited for our table, I paid attention to the waitresses and waiters. They were like, on the ball! Literally, it was hard to believe they had been going at it since 5 pm (one of the main guys at The Cascade Room, who had an interesting accent which I can't place, may be a Londoner or an Aussie, told us that they had filled by 5.30pm). But you really couldn't tell because the level of service was top-notch.

I walked by the kitchen on my way to the restrooms (these restrooms are very well maintained by the way), and I saw the kitchen staff providing the servers with the food orders, and I didn't hear anybody yelling or notice any bad moods. I would think that The Cascade Room really paid a lot of attention when they chose their kitchen staff and their main-floor staff (hostess, waiters and waitresses, bartenders) because everybody exuded a strong positive vibe.

My experience with The Cascade Room was nothing short of excellent, the food was great and the service was unparalleled. Of course, it helps to be hanging out with B, C and J since they are the funniest people you can get. After dinner we came back for a coffee and some puppy loving (they also loved the puppy I am dog-sitting). And we agreed that we are going to come back for more. The drinks look totally delicious (I saw a mojito from afar and I thought it looked very tasty). But next time we'll probably head down there at 5 pm or on a Tuesday afternoon.

Honestly, I do hope that The Cascade Room keeps this level of good service. It would be a pity if their top-notch food, drinks and service were ephemeral. I sort of doubt it, though. As I mentioned before, by the time we were eating (9pm) the staff should have looked sort of exhausted with a fully packed house all evening long and they were friendly, cheerful, fast and prompt. So I have high hopes for the future of The Cascade Room.

PS - I think the owner of The Cascade Room also owns Habit, right next door. I am not very much of a tapas guy, but I'll try Habit perhaps for just a dessert and coffee. Will tell you what I think of it later.

Best way to score a smile: Walk a puppy!

I am currently house-sitting and also dog-sitting. For me, this is an entirely new experience. It's been years since I last had a dog, so I've completely forgotten everything my parents taught me on how to treat well puppies. As a result, I have printed out instructions, Google'd lots of websites and spoiled the little puppy rotten.

That being said, there are numerous perks to dog-sit. First, everyone on the street will smile at you. Some of them will say super sweet things to you (like "is this your first dog?" while flashing a mega-watt smile *swoons*), some others will offer pointers on how to treat the puppy and some others will just strike random talk. Second, this particular puppy is totally sweet, and therefore I am enjoying enormously the dog-sitting. Third, walking a puppy will rapidly increase your fitness. At first, he was struggling to walk along with me and now he runs at the same time. So we go for short jogs.

All in all, I would seriously consider having a dog if my place wasn't as ridiculously small as it is and if I didn't lead the hectic life that I have. Puppies are good for my soul.

Inspiring change in Uganda, the Canadian way

I usually peruse numerous news and media outlets because I want to make sure I am always informed, and get my news fix from diverse sources. That's also why the first thing I do every morning is read a substantial number of blogs, both Vancouver and non-Vancouver-centric. I frequently like to read the 24 Hours and Metro on the way to the office as my commute is at least 40 minutes long and I bus to work (see an interesting discussion we had on commute times at Paul Hilldon's blog).

Actually, numerous times I find that 24 Hours has some of my favorite stories. I really like Robyn Stubbs writings, particularly when she looks at environmental issues. Her series on toxins was perhaps one of the best I've seen in a long time.

24 Hours scored another few brownie points in my book by featuring Dr. Erin Baines, an Assistant Professor with the Liu Institute on Global Issues at The University of British Columbia. Erin is an expert in Northern Uganda and conflict.

From her website and in her own words:

Currently, I am focused on working on justice issues, particularly from a youth and gender perspective, in northern Uganda. Since 2003, I have partnered with local researchers on African cultural approaches to justice and reintegration. Today, our project Justice and Reconciliation Project operates in four districts and with nine research officers in northern Uganda.

24 Hours had the good idea of seeking to highlight the issues facing Uganda and thus sought to talk to Erin. The video below is the YouTube version of their interview with her. Erin inspires with her passion to improve the lives of Ugandans.

The good, the bad and the ugly of being a good cook

Not that I am tooting my own horn, but frankly, I cook a great curry chicken. This time I made it with mushrooms, onions, curry paste (red curry) and a bit of tomato sauce to reduce the heat, and boy is it tasty. The only problem now is that, since I cooked a lot of it, now I've had two helpings of rice with curry chicken since lunch (and I did eat a sandwich for lunch!). This is not going to do any wonders to my diet :(

UPDATE .-- I found a recipe for tagliatelle and curry chicken. Yummy! I have always been a fan of pasta with curry. Paesano's (in Richmond) has a mean chicken curry with penne. I am also a fan of Incendio's (Burrard) curry with pasta. But today I'm cooking it with white rice.

It's all about the equipment installment # 7

Despite how miserable this weather is, I am still trying to run every day. Primarily because it makes me feel energized, keeps me fit and allows me to have some cardiovascular resistance for my volleyball games. It also helps me keep my weight at bay (I lost about 20 pounds in the last couple of months and been able to keep them away with exercise and diet).

Running in the cold rain is bad as is, but there are two pieces of equipment that make it better. One, the iPod that Nomade Moderne gave me (which now, thanks to my newfound knowledge of iTunes, contains my favorite songs in a playlist) and two, the iPod arm brace that LSF gave me for my birthday.

In previous weeks I found that I could run with the iPod in my hand, but it was awkward. Now I can run and listen to music (which makes it all better). This particular arm band also has a belt clip that allows me to go out while wearing street clothes and listen to my iPod.

I'm disappointed

I was hoping to see the 2007 AIDS Walk for Life (which took place right at the same time as the BC Tour of Courage) in the front page of at least one or two major newspapers. But that wasn't the case. Admittedly, I am a big supporter of cancer research, and I was also one of the bloggers who encouraged people to attend. But as it usually happens when many events happen at the same time, I always find that some newspapers put different stories on their front page. There's always that degree of diversity. But every paper I read (including Metro and 24Hrs) had Lance Armstrong and a story about the BC Tour of Courage. No reference whatsoever to the AIDS Walk.

I am a big supporter of both causes and would have liked to see the Vancouver Sun or the Province at least to pick up on the story. AIDS is still a major pandemic and many Vancouver people are affected, so every effort that is made to prevent the spread of this disease should be promoted. Hopefully the AIDS Walk will receive some coverage in the next few days.

So long, good weather

So this is what the rest of the year is going to look like, huh? I had to wear a sweater AND a jacket on top of my t shirt today. The weather was horrible. Despite what my friend J says (yesterday he was wearing shorts and t shirt), I can't cope with less than 15 oC or I feel like I am freezing. And if this is the kind of weather that we are going to have in Vancouver for the rest of the year, I am toast. Darn it!

Restaurant review - Swiss Chalet (Boundary and Lougheed Highway)

In more than a decade living in Canada, I had never set foot on Swiss Chalet. It was always funny to hear the commercials and see the postings for new employees (the branch on Broadway and almost Balaclava is fairly new). But I never actually thought of eating there. So when J suggested that we try it out (given that it's sort of a family place) I thought "heck, why not?". So off we went. I have to say that the portions are generous, the food is fairly good (you can't go wrong with rotisserie chicken, baked potato and garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette) and inexpensive. The dry ribs with honey garlic were very tasty too :) Honestly, I will go back to Swiss Chalet, even if it sounds corny!

Restaurant review - Marpole Grill

While usually my Friday nights are dedicated to dinner with B & C, this weekend we switched our schedule as to accommodate some of my own personal affairs (namely, dealing with work stuff and decompressing). So we set on brunch down in Marpole. Now, I know that Marpole is close enough to them (since they live in Richmond) and to me (it's less than 40 minutes commute, very doable and this area is very well connected - 99 B-Line then 98 B-Line).

So I had to find a place to have brunch there and the only one that I could find was Marpole Grill. I didn't know anything about this place since I rarely go to the Granville and 70th Avenue area, but I am glad we did have breakfast here. B and C treated me to a great brunch. The Marpole Grill is located at 67th Avenue and Granville, it's very well decorated (classy and elegant).

It is well attended (we saw a myriad of senior people, but I think that's just a coincidence) and the waitress was super sweet and very prompt with water and coffee. We had to wait a bit for our orders to come, but I think it was the result of the fact that Marpole Grill has just recently come under new management.

I would come back to the Marpole Grill for brunch for sure. The food was very good, and the service was actually impeccable. If only our brunch had arrived sooner! But that wasn't the waitress' fault, I think they are just experiencing what C indicated "teething pains".

I'm very privileged

I am a lucky guy. I really am. I just came back from a wonderful birthday celebration with some of my close friends. For one reason or another, several of my good friends were unable to join me tonight but many of them did. We went for dinner at La Bodega (a Spanish restaurant that I've reviewed before on my blog) and then for a drink to 1181 (a bar on Davie Street that has awesome drinks). I had such a great time. I think that I am very lucky to have the friends I do. While admittedly I tend to be self-centered (because, you know, it's all about me), I just told my friends a truth that is always on the back of my mind: I did not have a life to go back to. I always have had a life, and my friends have always been a part of it. Again, thank you. Thank you very much.

Restaurant review - Mirchi Restaurant Ltd (Marpole)

There are three types of food that I never get tired of: Indian (e.g. curry chicken and rice), Ethiopian (e.g. injera and yedoro tebs) and Italian (e.g. penne a la puttanesca). Mirchi is one of those reliable places you can go to if you want amazing Indian food. Located around 63rd Avenue and Granville. Their curry is not for the faint of heart, though. I went there with L and K for dinner, and while we ate as much as we wanted to (and still managed to down a mango lassi), my stomach was a bit upset. It wasn't because of the quality of the food (which is good) but because I ate way too much and it was a tad spicy. But if you can handle hot food, Mirchi is one good place to go to in Marpole.

Support worthy causes this and next weekend

I am beginning to understand the challenges of trying to stay on top of things, as I almost forgot to promote three events that I strongly support. So without further ado, here they are...

• The BC Cancer Foundation Tour of Courage 2007 Community Ride, which happens this Sunday September 23rd. Support the fight to find cures for cancer! I found that local blogger Buzz Bishop will be participating (thanks to Rebecca @ Miss604.com). I have lost two members of my family to cancer and thus know first hand the pain that this disease inflicts on entire families. See my previous post on the topic for more info.

• The AIDS Walk for Life Vancouver takes place this Sunday too, September 23rd, at Stanley Park. Registration begins at 8.30 am and the walk begins at 11 am. This is a cause I have supported since long ago, and recently I Blogathoned for A Loving Spoonful, a charity that provides meals for people living with HIV/AIDS. Please show your support! Most likely, I will be doing the walk with a group of my close friends.

• The CIBC Run for the Cure happens on September 30th, this event is in support of the fight against breast cancer. Both Rebecca and John will be participating in the run (I'll be cheering online! and might show up in person), so head over to their pages to sponsor them (click on the links above).

Music Review - Heartbreak Hotel (Whitney Houston)

I hadn't listened to the Elvis Presley version of Heartbreak Hotel (I know - a sacrilege - sorry!) but I found a song with the same name by Whitney Houston recently and I really liked it, since it sounds so sexy and calming. This is not the best song I've heard of Whitney Houston but it certainly qualifies as one of those I really enjoy listening to. The video starts here:

Music Review - Because of You (Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson)

As mentioned before, I rarely watch TV, but recently I was watching a broadcast chat between Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson, where they were discussing that they kept in touch via email and what not. I kept wondering this until I switched channels and noticed that they had done a duo. I don't follow nor listen to country music myself, although some friends of mine do. But I like this song, included in Reba McEntire's "Reba's Duets" forthcoming album. This version is excellent. I loved Kelly Clarkson's version but I saw this video recently and it made me like this song even more. Yes, it does remind me of someone. No, you can't ask who :)

When being a hummingbird is not so great

I've been nicknamed 'hummingbird' since about 2002 due to my propensity to do things fast and quick. I am lucky enough to have photographic memory, I touch type over 60 words per minute and I speed-read. I have also been considered unhealthy for people with low tolerance for sugar because I am too sweet.

The unfortunate part is that, as a hummingbird, I often tend to make on-the-spot, rushed decisions that not only do not save time but also make me waste money. That was the case with a misunderstanding of the Translink information system that led me to miss the bus 160 to Port Coquitlam.

The 160 would have taken me directly to the Harry Jerome Sports Centre in Burnaby Mountain. I tried to catch up using desperate measures, including switching to the 19 Metrotown, taking the Skytrain to Broadway Station, switching to the Millenium Line eastbound from Commercial Station to Sperling and then taking the 134 Brentwood Mall bus north on Sperling to Kensington and Hastings. As the 134 was turning left, we saw the 160 pass right in front of us.

My frustration increased because I was late for volleyball try-outs and thus I had to take a cab, which cost me less than $ 8.00 CND but still, it was stupid of me because of my lack of patience. Had I been patient enough, I would have not had to pay for a cab, hustle and rush through the transit system to try and catch up to a bus that clearly I wasn't even going to be able to catch up to. Even though I would have arrived a bit later than I anticipated, if I had waited patiently for 30 minutes, I could have taken the 160 without any problems.

I did make it to try-outs reasonably on time because the position I was trying for had been delayed, and I had a really great time (although I was exhausted by mid-afternoon and needed a nap). Having had competitive experience before, I was still surprised by how rusty I was in some areas and how well my body remembers how to do certain things despite the amount of time I've spent not playing volleyball.

Photo source: The Selvatura Canopy Tour Monteverde website.

Viva Mexico!

I didn't attend any of the Mexican Independence Day celebrations in Vancouver, although I did try to find some scoop (by the way, did anybody go? How was it?) for a lot of people in Vancouver (I am assuming, either Mexican or of Mexican heritage) who were desperately Googling for information. I walked by Zocalo on Main Street and apparently there was some sort of celebration. At any rate, Feliz Dia de la Independencia y que viva Mexico!

:)

By the way, Rebecca @ Miss604.com invited me to do a guest blog post on Mexican food in Vancouver! I felt very honored and flattered, and I do hope that my suggestions are helpful. Mosey over to her blog to find my guest post. Thanks Rebecca!

Music Review - Uptown by Aya (Original Version)

Few songs make me dance around like Uptown by Aya. Her style is amazing and the song just transports me to good times. This is the traditional version but the Trentemoller version is just as fun. This song could very well be my "emblematic song" if it weren't because it's too deep house and some people who think of me as the never-tiring hummingbird might think this is not my style of music. However, it is!


So much for not blogging more over the weekend!

Restaurant review - Addis Cafe

This will probably be my last blog post of the weekend as I have a gazillion things to do (unless I get bored with work in which case I might blog again). But I can't leave this one out of print (or online publication) because I had been wanting to go for Ethiopian food at Addis Cafe on Commercial Drive for a long while.

My good friend NW and I hadn't seen each other in a few years (unbelievable considering that we live in the same city and very close neighbourhoods -- but bear in mind I had been away from Vancouver for a couple of years too). N and I share very similar views, and in some ways, there's a lot of work that we do that is similar.

Anyhow, we agreed to meet here for lunch. Ethiopian food is very social and I've become sort of the "guy to ask about where to eat Ethiopian in Vancouver" with my friends and colleagues, so I am pretty confident that I know almost every place that serves this type of food.

The staff were super sweet (I am not sure if they're the owners, but definitely had the feeling that they were). The great advantage: they take credit cards, debit or cash. N was kind enough to treat me to lunch which I really appreciated, but more than that, it was the opportunity to catch up that made the occasion special.

We ordered a vegetarian combo with chicken (5 veggie items and the chicken in the middle). I absolutely loved it. I found the veggie portions a little smaller than I have tried at, for example, Red Sea Cafe and Fassil on Broadway and Fraser but the flavour was great. I couldn't finish eating simply because I was so full.

The great thing about NW and I is that we're able to synthesize what has happened in our lives in a few minutes. We both have MBA training and thus know the value of transmitting our ideas across within a very short time frame. It pretty much took an hour and a half to catch up on the last few years and we both promised we'd get together much more often now.

I also should credit NW with a few lessons (I am not sure she knows I learned all this from here but here they are...

• How to itemize my work into discrete units (she's great at it).
• The value of good writing (she's an excellent writer).
• The value of good people skills (she's fantastic to network with!)

It was a great experience, so the good food was just a nice added touch. "Icing on the cake" as they would say.

TV show review - The Smart Woman Survival Guide

I rarely watch TV, considering that I have too much work (and I rarely turn on my TV anyways). But on rare occasions, I find myself at home at 11 am on a Saturday and I turn on the Woman's network (Channel 19, Vancouver cable). Once, I watched a really funny show called "The Smart Woman Survival Guide". This show depicts the behind-the-scenes lives of the creators of 'Smart Woman', a how-to, lifestyle kind of TV show. So it is a show about a show. Would be ridiculous if it wasn't so funny. Watch it and let me know what you think. I couldn't embed a snippet of the show, but you can watch here the YouTube video that shows how the cast and crew pronounce the boss' name (Lana).

Coffee shop review - Bean Around the World Coffees

I am a big supporter of local business, and to be frank, I always had a soft sport for Bean Around the World. One great thing about this particular location on Main and 20th is that it's really close to me and other colleagues, and I thus I can hold work meetings or just relax with a coffee.

Bean Around the World has wireless internet, and a large patio. I would say best place to do work around the Main area, but there are other coffee shops that are so cute. JJ Bean, The Grind, Cuppa Joe and Waves. And the coffee is really good!

Furthermore, BATW has a card similar to Starbuck's with which you can pay your drinks. I quickly proceeded to buy one as I never carry cash with me. So, all around, fun to go to this BATW, I recommend this coffee shop!