Darcy C.'s Profile

Feast of Fields is an annual fundraiser for Farm Folk/City Folk, a non-profit devoted to developing a sustainable local food culture and food supply chain.  

The Feasts are held in the Lower Mainland, the Okanagan, and on Vancouver Island, and consist of wonderful food and drink from tons of local restaurants, bakeries, butchers, brewers, wineries, distilleries, meaderies- everyone and everything you can think of.  For $85, you're given a glass and a napkin, and you spend a lovely afternoon chatting and tasting on a beautiful farm while listening to great local music.  

And, it's one of the few higher end food events that is truly kid friendly, although it's not primarily for kids/families.  

Feast of Fields is one of the best run and most lovely food events I've ever attended ... and I've done quite a bit of eating in my time.

I've rented my current place for just over two years.  The unit is privately owned and Prompton is the property manager for the owners.  

First- the good- Monica, my first property manager, who I worked with for the initial rental, was *terrific.*  She was very helpful for me in the context of my move (I was moving up with the States) and she was also just a joy to deal with, very organized and proactive, very pleasant.

Now- the bad- since Monica, four or five different property managers have been placed in charge of the unit.  It took me five months of email nagging and finally threats of non-payment of rent to get them to fix broken lights throughout the unit (every ceiling fixture in the unit was dead), and when my ceiling started leaking due to a flood in the unit above, I was reprimanded for calling the "emergency" line ... which didn't lead to a person, or to any outcome other than being told I was over-reacting.  

You know, I'm a landlord, too, back in California, and I *want* my tenants to think  that water leak leading to 2x3 foot stains on the ceilings of my properties are an emergency, particularly when they're still dripping!  

All of this in a higher-end Yaletown condo, with a rent increase.  

I would strongly recommend *not* using Prompton to manage your rental units, if you want your units kept in good repair and your tenants happy.  But, if you do use Prompton, make sure Monica G. is in charge of your units.

They are super quick and right by the hospital, which remains in the favor, but yesterday I grabbed one of their to-go rolls and it was ... Not Good.  The salmon tasted a bit ... off.  The Calif and veg portions were fine, but it was about the same as the pre-made rolls you can get in the hospital cafe.   So, no need to run down the street, if time is short.

Well, the deal is done, and for those following along ... this deal was particularly complicated due to some very tight seller-insistent timelines, and the fact that the building was having some work done, making some lenders leery.  Justin made it happen with time to spare, with a great rate.  I couldn't have been happier.  I definitely recommend these guys, particularly for first-time and new-to-Canada buyers.  

I'm friends with a couple who have used them as well, on my recommendation, and they were just as happy.  

Averbach's a great find!

La Stella's new building is totally gorgeous, and perhaps I am being unfair here to them in particular to have my little nostalgic screed, but it makes me very sad that wineries in the Okanagan are starting to charge - kind of a lot - for their tastings.  Five bucks?  Come on!  

One of the things I've loved the most about tasting in the Okanagan has been that it feels like getting off the track.  I love the family feel and utter enthusiasm for food and wine so many of the wineries offer, and the chance to just hang out and have a nice conversation while tasting.  

For me personally, I always buy more when I feel like I connect.  And, La Stella felt like some of the more sterile mass producers in Napa/Sonoma.  Maybe that means they've "arrived," but it feels to me like something's been lost.  

That said, their sparkling muscato is absolutely delish and you should definitely buy some- you can still get it in town at Firefly.

Thanks to Sheila for the suggestion!  Noble Ridge has some wonderful wines, but even more wonderful ... they have a fridge where they sell fresh made charcuterie plates and lovely local cheeses, which is just the thing you need while on a long afternoon of wine tasting.  Their deck is absolutely lovely, overlooking a wonderful lake with a nice walk down to some walkways where you can do some bird-watching ... but, most importantly ... you can sit on the deck and have something to eat, which, after a few wineries, is just the thing to do.

Lovely, as ordered- the escargot in particular was delicious.  Good service, lovely mussels and frites.  Very nice French country food, at a very reasonable price.

Okay ... my deal is done, and I have to say, I would give Rob six stars if I could.

He found me the absolute perfect place- not just one of the cutest lofts I've seen in Vancouver, but one of the cutest lofts I've *ever* seen, and it was significantly underpriced.  Given this, it went into multiple offers, and one could consider some of the seller behavior ... challenging.  

Rob went above and beyond and got me the place.  He was a tireless and creative advocate, without being pushy or obnoxious.  As potential problems kept popping up, he kept offering potential solutions and managing all possibilities proactively.  And, he remained appropriately paranoid- not only did he get me the loft, but he got me the place *safely,* protecting my assets and to the degree possible, my sanity.  

As the listing agent said when giving me the signed contract, "You have a great realtor."  

Seriously- six stars.  Rob's the real deal.

Really?  No one has reviewed R & B?  

These guys TOTALLY ROCK!  They make a number of delicious beers, with my summertime favorite being their Sun God wheat.  And, while making good beer is enough to make them rock stars, they don't just make good beer.  They are also incredibly active in the local food and art scenes, particularly at fundraising and charity events.  If you're at a big enough fund-raiser, it's almost guaranteed that the R & B guys will be there, being low-key and cool, and making the world a better place.  

With beer.

The Red Room is a good dance club with a nice variety of live shows (lots of burlesque) and dance nights, including a good Latin night.

However, this five star review is really for Eddie the (assumed) manager, who found my lost wallet totally intact and called me to get it back to me, saving me untold hours of heartache and trouble, as well as quite a bit of cash, replacing everything.  

You rock, Eddie!  You are good people!