Crystal "The Queen of Sauce" H.'s Profile

Wow! How did I forget to write about the gyros? First, I love that it feels like you're walking into another little Mediterranean world inside Minervas. I'm never sure if they understand what I'm ordering, but whatever they give me inside that big pocket is always delicious.

An un-rainy day, it must be said that sitting on the terrace, eating my gyro and people watching, is one of my favourite things to do on West Broadway. Especially when they load up my gyro with lots of sauce and I'm simultaneously smirking at the cyclists on the sidewalk or someone trying to parallel park while dripping sauce all down my chin!

Oh, and about the EVOO, make sure you check that expiry date :-)

Look up, look way up, that there are snowflakes falling from the sky. The kind where you can actually see each individual particle of ice intersecting and crossing with each other to create a unique star like shape. One of the tiniest wonders in one of the most awe-inspiring regions that I've set foot on.

What does this have to do with Riverside Grocery? This is where I saw my first "real" snowflake ever. (Sure, in Vancouver we have snow, but it's wet and pounds down heavy to the ground where it begins to melt into a raindrop puddle, Meaning, there's never been a chance to have a real snowflake dance in front of you and land, long enough to take a picture of it and everything!)

Riverside Grocery is one of those mysterious little shops, full of nooks, crannies, and much like the random pattern of a snowflakes, it's seemingly random organization is surprisingly easy to navigate. It's a place where no two things are similar: You need some beef jerky? An organic matcha chocolate bar? How about a fishing license? Coconuts? Maybe a can of coconut milk? 5 cent candies? I swear, they have enough random stuff to satisfy any kind of craving!

And the perfect pit stop to and from any Yukon adventure!

The banter alone will make me visit time and time again. They'll keep you on your toes as you make your selection, there's no doubt!

Once I was told that there was an entire display case for soft cheeses, I was swooning. Cheeses were brought out, tastes were given, choices reflected and decided and my budget was kept in tact. (And now, I can't help but think I too need a wire cheese cutter for my butcher's block here at home!)

Mount Pleasant Cheese might not have as many choices as a space like Les Amis Du Fromage, but what they lack in amount, they certainly make up for in taste! From French Canadian cheeses to across the pond and to the UK, the tastes did not disappoint. And, following their advice, I left them unrefrigerated until I needed these tasty wedges later the same afternoon. The second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth tasting round just kept tasting better and better.

Having the labels with wine selections was a great addition. On any other day I would have been all over them -- but this day, these blocks were destined for a baby shower!

All the way out to Coquitlam, I drive every few months. I wake up early, make the journey/ It's all for "Gwen." My Golf VW gets all of her work done here for many reasons but in honour of Gwen's upcoming 5th birthday, here are my top five:

-They don't try to upsell me on additional services.
-Their service people always treat me with care and respect, thoroughly explaining what's going on with my girl before, during and after.
-They have always come through with a vehicle to borrow
-They have coupons for restaurants in the area if you don't want to wait in their waiting area (which ain't too shabby!)
-After all is said and done, I get a survey phone call asking me about my experience. (Can you tell I like to give feedback?)

It might be a little far to go for a car, but its worth it to not have to deal with the headaches and grief I've been caused at other VW dealerships.

After doing some research on baby toys for a friend's baby shower, I made a earth friendly decision to check out Pebble. With their environmentally friendly toys, clothes, baby necessities and keepsakes I knew I'd be able to find a gift without much work.

What I didn't expect was that I would have such a fun time browsing through all of the kiddie things. Local made brands like Lemonade plushies and West Coast Baby, books with enticing names like "The Incredible Book Eating Boy" by Oliver Jeffers and the piece de resistence: U2 Rockababy. Rock out momma's!

With total respect to my budget, the owner walked me through many different options, giving me background information on where the items were made, and sometimes (okay, almost all of the time) what the item was for. After I made my careful purchases, they were gift wrapped  in an eco-conscious manner -- and care was even taken to cover the price tags with stickers!

My friend's gift was very well received indeed! And the couple of extra mommy magazines that were thrown in were a really nice touch!

The curved escalator was just about as good as this casino gets! No, I'm being too harsh. When a good name is in town, the theatre is a good venue, not amazing, but solid. And now you can bring drinks in so no more chugging them down outside!

What really sucks the life out of the River Rock for me is the casino - you know-- what they're named for. Men in suits and ladies in sweatpants bidding on roulette with their sad, "I just lost all of my money" thoughts and "this next one is going to be the big one" grimaces. The "live entertainment" left me wondering if A) Amy Winehouse knew they were butchering her Rehab song and B) How the one girl with a decent voice had a wind machine following her. I felt guilty for laughing, but between the token white dude duwoping with the gals and the tragic group of youngings trying to create a dance floor, it was just sad, sad, sad.

With a bud light with lime (Yes, that's what I said I was drinking - options at one particular kiosk were Smirnoff Ice, Kokanee, Budweiser, Corona and Canadian-yick, yick, and yick) wetting my whistle, I felt like I was one of the gang, but truthfully, I was all alone in a sea of "bigshots" with "gold member cards" attached to bouncy cords.

It wins it's way into the 3 star realm only for the fact that the ceiling was twilight sparkling, the Canada Line goes straight to the casino and of course, the fact that bring in some pretty good stand up acts (I've now seen Sarah Silverman and Bill Mayer there).

Wax Poetic in the Twentieth Century. No this is not the name of a song or film, these are two outstanding cocktails at Voya. Cozy, dark and comfy, this place could easily be a new neighbourhood haunt for me... if I lived within walking distance. Ironic, isn't it? A local secret space for a nightcap within the walls of a hotel!

As I send myself to dreamland I'm inspired to quote some words from the fair Emily Dickinson:

I taste a liquor never brewed-
From Tankards scooped in Pearl
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield Such an Alcohol

Yes, it's now a Whole Foods; yes it's pricier than your average Safeway, and yes, sometimes, most of the time, I'm feeling like I'm paying through the nose on anything in the deli...

but...

The free parking, the dark chocolate raspberry tarts and espresso chocolate chunk muffins, plus all of the other organic, hormone free, good for the earth and good for the body food makes this one of my go to destinations.

Especially today! Today I was in the market for squash. A lot of squash! Filling up an entire Yelp canvas tote, I made my way to the check out. I thought I would be less hassle to leave the heavy beasts in the bag, but then I realized that the petite cashier was having a hard time hoisting all 25 lbs of them to the scale. Oops :-) She was super cool about it though!

That's the way that it is at this Capers, for the most part the people are cool, the produce is fresh, the shelves are stocked and I'm in and out pretty quick. (It's just my wallet that's always a bit lighter!)

Baby it's cold outside...and my hands are just like ice! The steamy windowed Spices was the perfect way to warm up.

Like their hearty and flavourful pho broth, this is a strong and fragrant 3 stars. The salad rolls were plentiful with green leaf lettuce (not that icky iceberg stuff). The peanut sauce could have been bigger, but that's only because it was so tasty and we were double dipping :-) The large crepes were definitely enough to share, which I did, and truth be told, that could have been a full meal for me.

But I'm so happy we got the rare beef and beef balls soup, because it was really good. We had to ask for raw bean sprouts, which we were given. I found out the reasoning behind Vietnamese restaurants serving cooked sprouts is because of an article in a newspaper, health and cleanliness reasons I assume.

I hummed and hawed quite a bit about 3/4 stars, but the prices were high, even though they definitely win a thumbs up on having a nice decor!

When you arrive there's almost a sense that you may just travel back through time and be immersed in a Vancouver from long ago. Sleepy eyed travelers waiting to hear the "All Aboard" call for a southbound train queue, first to check in, then to pass through "customs." (Customs must be put in quotations here because it is quite laughable. I think they'd let anyone on a train.)

Looking grand from the front, and roomy once you're inside, Pacific Central is also rather large behind. Behind the station sit all those buses and trains. It's here in the dark, dreary and very early morning that I almost feel like I'm getting ready to explore Northeastern Europe!