Smoke Break #921: A Short (Awesome) Film On Mid-Century Coffee House Life In London

The more things change, the more they et cetera. (via)

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TEA & TWO SLICES: On Police Priorities, The East Van Rent Hike And Holy Saint Leonardo

by Sean Orr | Vancouver cops send innocent man to the hospital. Because most bank robbers stop to take out the trash in the middle of a police chase. Morons.

Take a bite out of crime: Police dog attack sparks Vancouver lawsuit. Meanwhile, organized crime controls the ports, where drugs and weapons flow in and out, and targeted hits in fancy restaurants continue without let up. But a skateboarder breaks a window? Yeah, fuck that guy up!

I won’t tase you bro: Transit cop says using Taser against drunk man ‘sickened him’. “I don’t think they are quite as safe and useful as I once believed.” That is exactly how I feel about cops, transit or otherwise.

Will young homebuyers say goodbye to Vancouver for good? Disguised in this is a weird truism: what Rennie and Co. were selling this whole time was a lifestyle. Lured in by granite countertops and chrome fixtures, all these couples bought condos downtown. But now, all of a sudden, they have a family, and nobody wants to live next to one of those (they smell like farts and influenza).

Lapdog Land: Editorial: Vancouver’s ‘unattended’ dog bylaw should be scrapped. Wherein we have abandoned the idea of raising families (having replaced them with pets).

Location is everything: 45% rent hike ‘unbelievable,’ East Van tenants say. So, no matter how shitty the building, if you live in a ‘nice’ area where other buildings are charging way more, you get dinged by proxy. Does that mean if you live in an area where rents were low, but your building was super nice and the rents were high, you could get them to match the market geography? Nope.

I guess we’re all just going to have to start stealing more bikes: New VPD property office: home to hundreds of stolen bicycles. A rotating rack of 400 bikes? That sounds like it could also be in the MOV.

Nevergreen Line: $1.4B Evergreen Line to open by 2016. Coincidentally, that is also the year Hell will start hosting hockey games.

Last resort: DiCaprio thanked for putting dead ski resort on road to rebirth. Is there anything he can’t do?

VANCOUVERITES: 10 Questions With Kyla Leslie, The Owner And Creator Of “Kove”

by Jenny Bachynski | Kyla Leslie is the creative force behind Kove, the gorgeous crochet line made right here in Vancouver. When I stumbled on her work awhile back, the colours, quality, and meticulous attention to detail really stuck with me and got me excited. I needed to know more…

Who are you and how did Kove came to be? Born and raised west coaster, aspiring yoga teacher and corporate drop-out; lover of textiles, travel, fashion and Indian food. Kove has been this amazing experiment-turned-success. I came home after my last trip to India and started playing around with the crochet hooks for the first time in years (my mom and grandmothers had taught me in my pre-teens). I put a little collection together, photographed it and opened my Etsy shop with no real expectation of what was to come. I just made the kinds of pieces I like to wear and hoped others would like them too.

When did you realize that this could become a job? It was sometime this fall (probably in the middle of the night, working on orders) I realized this not only could be a full-time gig, but that I really wanted it to be. What Kove grows or evolves into, we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m really excited for what next season brings.

What has been the most exciting thing that has happened to you since you started Kove? Successfully pitching for a pop-up shop space at Rize House in October. Designing the concept for the space, putting the shop together and then using it as a showroom for the line was absolutely one of the highlights of this season.

What do you think makes your work stand out, compared to the other designers around? Being so close to my work, that’s a hard question to answer. I think the most obvious difference is that my designs are crocheted, and the majority of what is out there is knit. Like any designer I’m always trying to learn new skills, and this season I spent a bunch of time working on a more traditional style of crochet that you can see in some of the more intricate textures, like the boot warmers, for example.

What do you think is the most valuable skill to have when starting a business? To know what your skills are and when you need to outsource the expertise of others.

What is your favourite thing about owning your own business? I love that most of the time work is just this great evolving project that I get to spend my time on. Having my own schedule is something I really value. As for least – well, who likes doing their own bookkeeping?

What is the best advice you were given when you started your business? Who was it from? Having started Kove on a lark, the support and encouragement to keep going has been the biggest boost. I have a group of entrepreneurial friends and family members who make a great sounding board for ideas and are always around to answer questions.

If you could hire anyone in the world to work for Kove, who would it be? Living: I’d actually love to hire a farm and produce my own yarn. Deceased: My grandma.

What is your favorite Vancouver small business? Is this the part where I shamelessly plug my (very talented) friends? I could never choose just one – this city is full of creatives doing fantastic things.

If the world was going to end this week, what would be the last thing you would make? Something like this would be perfect, don’t you think?

To learn more about Kove visit www.kove.ca and www.facebook.com/kovehandmade.

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Jenny Bachynski was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. In her teenage years she packed up her bags and headed to Vancouver to pursue further education in fashion design. In 2009 she started her own small business Jenny Andrews Recycled Leather Goods, as well as her blog Jenny Loves. After starting her blog, Jenny discovered that one of her greatest joys was stumbling upon beautiful and interesting things, and sharing them with anyone who would listen.

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GOODS: Chef Frank Pabst Reveals 2012 “Unsung Heroes” Menu At Blue Water Cafe

Blue Water Cafe is located at 1095 Hamilton Street in Vancouver, BC | 604-688-8078 | www.bluewatercafe.net

The GOODS from Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar

Vancouver, BC | Executive Chef Frank Pabst’s eighth annual Unsung Heroes Festival takes pride of place at Vancouver’s multiple award-winning Blue Water Cafe throughout the month of February. Chef Pabst, who has won many culinary distinctions, has long been a champion of the sustainable fisheries movement. He created the Unsung Heroes Festival specifically to draw attention to the diversity of formerly under-utilized species. His concept is simple: Avoid species that are over-fished, or fished in ways that damage ocean beds or cause unnecessary by-catch, by introducing diners to new experiences and flavours using species found in abundance.

Since then, the Festival has become ‘wildly popular’ at Blue Water Cafe, as avid diners seek out new dishes, as well as returning favourites from Unsung Heroes past. 

“Eight years ago, this was quite a radical concept,” Pabst says. “But now our guests are well-informed as to just how delicious and nutritional some of these lesser-known seafoods can be. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to introduce them in the mainstream.” Again this year, 10% of proceeds will be donated to the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program, of which Blue Water Cafe is a founding member. Take a look at the menu after the jump… [ Keep reading ]

Smoke Break #920: A Heady Glimpse Inside The Quickly Fading World Of Moveable Type

These days, it’s easier to find moveable type as detritus gathering dust in the drawers of antique stores than it is to locate a printing workshop that still uses the stuff. This short film about letterpress reveals one of the few survivors in the UK (Plymouth University). Hang in there, dudes!

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GOODS: In the House Festival & Gastown’s Salt Tasting Room To Present “Fourplay”

Salt Tasting Room is located in Gastown's Blood Alley | 604-633-1912 | www.salttastingroom.com

The GOODS from Salt Tasting Room

Vancouver, BC | Why is love so illogical? Enticing, compelling and often oh so awkward, what makes us behave the way we do in our quest for partnership? Fourplay takes you on an interactive exploration of the various stages of courtship. All shows take place at Salt Tasting Room. Each show has a special menu created uniquely for each event. What are you in store for when you go to Fourplay? [ Keep reading ]

GOODS: Tickets For The 2012 “Tales of the Cocktail On Tour Vancouver” Now On Sale

Canadian Professional Bartenders Association (CPBA) | #900–555 Burrard | Vancouver, BC | canadianbartenders.com

The GOODS from the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association

Vancouver, BC | This February 12-15, Tales of the Cocktail on Tour returns to Vancouver to celebrate the city’s emerging cocktail culture and give a small taste of what’s in store at this summer’s 10th Anniversary Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Access to this second annual event is available exclusively through an all-inclusive festival pass, on sale now at TalesoftheCocktail.com for just $195 plus service fees. This pass gives guests full access to all Tales of the Cocktail on Tour events including seminars, tasting rooms, parties and more; each featuring some of the biggest names in mixology from Canada and around the world. Get all the details after the jump… [ Keep reading ]

Food Media Omnibus #555: On Chinese New Year Foods And Resolving To Drink Whisky

by Claire Lassam | Presenting Scout’s weekly Food Media Omnibus, a collection of links to the local and international food stories of the day…

The lovely Design Sponge makes dark, fudgy brownies.

Alexandra Gill gives us the lowdown on Chinese New Year foods in The Globe and Mail.

Ferran Adria gets a home cooked meal in The Financial Times.

Frank Bruni writes a compelling piece on health, Paula Deen, and yoghurt for breakfast.

The gold winner of The Korean BBQ Festival talks about beer braised pork and Joy Division in The LA Times.

Il Buco gives you a day in the life of a charcuterier with full pictures to match in Bon Appetit.

Saveur gets excited about squash in it’s many forms.

Andrew Morrison resolves to indulge more in the Westender.

The kick-off party for the International Playhouse Wine Fest gets a rave review in the North Shore News.

I made mediocre fried rice for dinner tonight. The Guardian corrects that problem, albeit an hour too late for me.

The Vancouver Sun reports on Starbucks starting to sell beer and wine in the States. How much do you want to bet that our liquor licensing policies would never allow that?

How does McDonalds not know better by now? The mega chain lost control of its twitter hashtag this week (#McDStories), and now include stories about stoner dinners and puking on tables. The Huffington Post looks into it so we don’t have to.

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Claire Lassam is a baker, blogger, and freelance writer based in East Van. She has been cooking and baking her way through the city for nearly five years, working in restaurants ranging from Cioppino’s to Meat & Bread. She currently toils at Beta 5 Chocolates and runs the baking blog Just Something Pretty.

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The View From Your Window #120

Reader “D.G.” | Gastown, Vancouver | 4:43pm |  SHARE YOUR VIEW

We love posting the photographs that reveal the views from our reader’s windows. Whether it’s a back alley in the fall or a sandy beach in high summer, we’re always stoked to see what you see from home, work or while on the road. Some of our all-time favourite reader submissions below… [ Keep reading ]

GOODS: Chef Ned Bell To Prep Full Weekend Of Valentine Feasts At The Four Seasons

YEW Restaurant is located in the Four Seasons Vancouver at 791 West Georgia St | 604.692.4939 | YewRestaurant.com

The GOODS from YEW restaurant + bar

Vancouver, BC | Executive Chef Ned Bell has created five inspired Valentine’s menus that build from First Date Saturday and Second Date Sunday, to No Pressure Weekend Brunch, Going Steady Monday and True Romance Tuesday. Each menu offers a little something different and range from a three-course brunch menu for $45, a four-course dinner menu for $59, to a five-course dinner menu for $79. Get all the details after the jump… [ Keep reading ]