IMBIBE | Zarak x ¿CóMO? x Tocador x Vancouver Cocktail Week 2024

Mount Pleasant—(March 5, 2024) In its third year, the annual Vancouver Cocktail Week continued its libatious celebration of the art of the cocktail through a variety of bartender-forward events, tastings, and dinner pairings across the city. Among many of the thirsty day trips offered, I was invited to one of VCW's neighbourhood jaunts, the Main Street Cocktail Crawl, visiting three of the hottest restaurants for a drink and snack at each stop.

WEEKENDER | Adam Pally Live x Just For Laughs x Rio Theatre

"It's nice to step outside into a city and see The Last of Us."

Drake and Adam Pally / Photo credit | Grailed

Commercial Drive—(February 17, 2023) I spent An Intimate Evening with Adam Pally last Friday night alongside a packed house full of initially cautious fans of varying levels of inebriation seated inside the Rio Theatre as part of the returning, ten-day-long seventh annual Just for Laughs Vancouver (formerly JFL NorthWest) live comedy festival.

TREAT | Sneak Peek x Fufú Pancake Café x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—(August 28, 2019) The hotly anticipated Fufú Pancake Café specializes in serving Japanese-style soufflé pancakes, and local diners seem excited about its impending opening on West Broadway.

GRUB | Katsu Curry x Saku Tonkatsu x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—(July 28, 2019) Saku, the very popular Japanese tonkatsu house known for its trademark deep fried breaded pork cutlets (loin or fillet) and set meals, officially opened its second, already bustling new location on West Broadway near Cambie Village recently, after a long soft opening period.

GRUB | Moderne Burger x New Burgerette x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—The beloved Moderne Burger finally reopened in its new counter-service "Burgerette" location on West Broadway after the long-serving, original Kitsilano spot shuttered last year, leaving seventeen years of history due to dreaded redevelopment.

KAFFE | Buns + Boba Café x Bubble Tea x Mount Pleasant

"But first boba."

Mount Pleasant—It was bound to happen. One of Vancouver's newer (and definitely hipper) cafes has a decidedly Taiwanese sweet drink twist. Buns + Boba Café, located centrally on East Broadway, takes the simple pleasures of bubble tea drinks and brings a more artisanal style approach.

KAFFE | Cafe and Cozy x Modus Coffee x Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant—After a couple of years of hustling in Vancouver's vibrant coffee scene, the folks behind Modus Coffee Roasting Co., owners Sharif and Jessica, finally opened a proper brick-and-mortar coffee shop on West Broadway late last year.

KAFFE | Honolulu Coffee x West Broadway x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—Popular Hawaiian cafe chain Honolulu Coffee has expanded nicely with its second Vancouver location (open for a while now), conveniently placed on West Broadway just off the Cambie Village corridor.

GENRE | 'Bodied' Slam – Joseph Kahn Battles Hard x Rio Grind

"Probably assume everything is a gun metaphor."

Commercial Drive—(November 19, 2017) Korean-American filmmaker Joseph Kahn, most famous for directing visually inventive music videos from pop artists like Taylor Swift and Britney Spears, seems to very much understand and is ably qualified to break down the ills and artistry of contemporary culture and sociology.

WEEKENDER | Vancouver Mural Festival 2017

Mount Pleasant—(August 12, 2017) The second annual Vancouver Mural Festival (previously known as the Autumn Shift Festival before that) and its accompanying street party took over the closed-off Main Street this past weekend, showcasing many talented artists across East Vancouver.

KAFFE | The Paper Crane Coffee x Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant—The Paper Crane Coffee shop is East Vancouver's latest, slightly out of the way neighbourhood cafe located on East Broadway.

GRUB | La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop, and the Vancouver taco brand in general, has been a steady staple in the Cambie Village neighbourhood along with the original Gastown location, newer ones in North Vancouver and Victoria in addition to their two upscale La Mezcaleria sister restaurants.

WEEKENDER | Vancouver Mural Festival 2016

Mount Pleasant—(August 20, 2016) The first-ever Vancouver Mural Festival hit the streets—taking over for the previously annual Autumn Shift Festival—over the weekend closing off parts of Main Street and the Eastside while showcasing some of our most talented local artists.

GRUB | Yolk's Breakfast x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—The new Yolk's Breakfast eatery on West Broadway near Cambie Street is another evolution of the popular food truck after its Strathcona Commissary. This location is modelled more like a quick and casual breakfast diner in the bustling area.

KAFFE | Platform 7 Cafe x West Broadway x Kitsilano

Kitsilano—Platform 7 Cafe opened a second location on West Broadway and your first impression will certainly be how its decor perfectly fits in with an classic, old timey King's Cross style train station.

GRUB | Tacos and Horchata x La Taqueria x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop is a quick and easy but still very delicious eat-in or takeout meal option in the bustling Cambie meets West Broadway neighbourhood. Always friendly and full of Mexican spirit, La Taqueria is already on its third location (four if you count La Mezcaleria on Commercial Drive) for good reason. As the name suggests, it's all about tacos with a healthy dose of variety while maintaining a no-nonsense appeal.

KAFFE | Kafka's Coffee & Tea x Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant—I find Kafka's Coffee & Tea one of the better and friendlier neighbourhood coffee shops around with its serious but no nonsense approach to coffee blends and reliable selection of baked treats.

From the Weekend: Hawkers Market x Kingsway x Mount Pleasant

Hawkers Market at The Independent at Main building on Kingsway in Mount Pleasant on February 28, 2015.



Hawkers Gonna Hawk. Hawkers Market, the growing local, independent food market, keeps evolving, adding more elements and vendors to its quarterly Saturday night lineup. A healthy crowd packed the empty 188 Kingsway building (a Rize Alliance development property) early and often with a long line for standby tickets after selling out earlier in the day with a steady stream of attendees refilling the event well into the night.

From the Weekend: Hawkers Market x The Independent

Hawkers Market at The Independent at Main building on Kingsway in Mount Pleasant on November 15, 2014.



The last Hawkers Market of the year, Vancouver's monthly "underground" food marketplace usually taking place in or around the hip Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, went down this weekend. The series of markets continues to promote local food culture and independently made goods. It's a way to encourage artisan startups and connect with the community over food and drink. New to Hawkers was the roving, collaborative dim sum push cart (crafted by J&S Reclaimed Wood, above), serving Asian fusion style dishes (including kimchi over fresh oysters) and it proved to be a popular hit with the crowd of eaters (the beef tartare was dynamite).

From Spicy to Tuna x Sushi California x West Broadway

Lunch at Sushi California on West Broadway in Mount Pleasant on July 26, 2014.



Sushi California's central location on Broadway, blocks away from Broadway-City Hall skytrain station is easily one of its most appealing factors. Don't get me wrong. The sushi is reliably satisfying, generally well-made, and predictable (in a good way). In many ways, it's a more convenient alternative to Burnaby's Sushi Garden.