SEEN IN VANCOUVER #362: What’s Up With The 400 Block Of Columbia St. In Chinatown?

by Michelle Sproule | There’s been a lot of cool stuff going down on a single stretch of the DTES lately. The 400 block of Columbia is being transformed into something of a magnet to young, independent Vancouver creatives. It is already home to Shudder Gallery, Beats & Bikes, and Positive Negative Gallery, and very soon it will welcome a new shop called Duchesse Vintage & Such, the new headquarters of small scale design house Strathcona Carpentry, and a German street food parlour called Bestie. Here’s a little skinny on each one…

Duchesse Vintage and Such

430 Columbia Street | Anna McLean & Anna MacLellan | Anticipated opening: June, 2012

Duchesse is going to be sweet vintage shop for both men and women. It’ll offer a carefully curated assemblage of vintage clothing, furniture, housewares and all manner of oddities. Ricky Alvarez is doing the interior design and Glasfurd & Walker are doing all the logo, branding and signage work (see Bao Bei, Meat & Bread, etc.). Can’t wait for this one. Anna(s) got taste!

Positive Negative Gallery

436 Columbia Street | Adam Lupton | Open

“Positive Negative is all about creativity: the thought, the expression, and the execution that creative people pour into their passion – their work.” It’s an artist-run gallery that loves showing and promoting local and international artists and designers every month. Colin Moore’s show Monsters of Görlitzer Park is up and running until May 5th, and then it’s the international polaroid show Anywhere But Here from May 16th to June 2nd. The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from 1pm until 5pm. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Beats & Bikes

420 Columbia Street | Justin Jung, Syavash Yorish, German Pombo | Open

Beats & Bikes is a collective group of local designers, musicians, artists and makers that work on creative projects that involve music and bikes. They’re also the folks that brought us this rad PSA on what happens when you steal a bike.

Shudder Gallery

433 Columbia St. | Director:  Mysa Kaczkowski | Asst. Coordinator/Designer: Sylvana D’Angelo | Asst. Coordinator: Sharona Franklin | Open

“Encouraging national participation from artists and performers across Canada for the last 5 years, Shudder Gallery aims to promote all forms of contemporary creative communication and visual arts for the emerging artist. Opening a dialogue within the community and across Vancouver, Shudder is a platform for discussion and discovery.” Be quick to drop in to check out Alex Heilbron’s Haphy, “a light-hearted but emphatic response to the habitual interpretation of contemporary art.” The show only runs until this Saturday, May 5th.

Strathcona Carpentry: Chinatown Experiment

324 Columbia St. | Devon Abson and Devon McKenzie | Opening Soon(ish)

Devon and Devon of Strathcona Carpentry are the contractors behind Gastown’s Housexguest and Strathcona’s Board of Trade aesthetic, as well as numerous residential projects. Their new space is going to function primarily as an office but the storefront will provide a platform for testing out new construction processes, design ideas and to judge the so-called sustainability of new “eco products”. The idea for the experiment portion of their project evolved from their own need as small contractors to try to gain knowledge to build sustainably but remain profitable even on small scale projects.

Bestie

105 East Pender (at Columbia) | Clinton McDougall and Dane Brown | Opening in August

We broke the news on Bestie recently. As you may recall, it’s going to be a 25 seat sausage and beer restaurant in the old “Panda On Pender” location at 105 East Pender just off Columbia (look for the old “Chinese Records, Books, Tapes” sign). Though it technically isn’t on the 400 block like the others, it does share the same secret back alley.  As we wrote previously, their concept is simple: three sausages, three beers, three sides, three sauces, and three wines on tap. Stoked.

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It’s a diverse group, and there’s much to anticipate. As a nearby resident, I’m thrilled about each and every one. I’m sure some of my neighbours would decry them as “gentrifiers” or the foot soldiers thereof (because we all know young artisans, first time restaurateurs, and curators are just rolling in it), but that brand of blinkered assumption comes with the territory. They’re each and every one of them young, independent-minded Vancouverites, and no one should fault them for making a go of it. There’s also word of a biker-friendly cafe going in on the same block, but the owners don’t yet have possession and are hesitant to discuss it publicly until they have a signed deal. We’ll have more on that as it develops, but in the meantime, give this block a proper stroll. Though only three of the above are open now (the rest are coming this summer), it’s still very much worth a wander.

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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GOODS: Beatty’s Award-Winning “Chambar” On The Hunt For Full-Time Kitchen Staffers

Chambar is located at 562 Beatty St. in Vancouver's Crosstown neighbourhood | 604-879-7119 | www.chambar.com

The GOODS from Chambar

Vancouver, BC | Chambar Restaurant is looking for full-time cooks with a minimum of 3 years of experience in fine dining. Chambar is a high volume and fast paced environment. The candidate must have a strong work ethic and be detail oriented. Wages are very competitive. Please email resumes to jobs@chambar.com. No phone calls please. Learn more about the restaurant after the jump… Read more

SEEN IN VANCOUVER #348: Main Street’s “Gene Cafe” Transformed Into Hawker Stand

Culinary enthusiasts Alex Dadzis and Ken Tsui took over Gene Cafe (2404 Main) last night and turned it into a hawker stand. They were flogging steamed Fei Bing pancakes stuffed with ethically-sourced ingredients like Paradise Valley pork belly with house-made apple jelly (also sesame shiitake & smoked tofu with hoisin and sriracha; five spice yam chips; and “ice queen sweethearts” – almond cookie ice cream sandwiches). Awesome grub guys. Keep up the good work!

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EVERYTHING SEEN IN VANCOUVER

TEA & TWO SLICES: On Demographic Time Bombs & History As A Pretext For The Future

by Sean Orr | Revising the revisions: History: B.C. teachers’ strikes are so last century. Hey, check it out! We’ve always treated teachers like shit, so let’s keep treating them like shit! Besides, as a province, we are totally broke.

In other news, B.C. is totally not broke.

Pending spending: Minister Ida Chong defends $3 million in unallocated discretionary arts funding. And in doing so, she leaves us with this insight: “If we decided we were not going to expend it and felt that all dollars that we wanted to spend on arts and culture for the year were complete, we would have just returned the amount to treasury”. Holy shit that is brilliant! So, for the next budget she should announce that she’s “allocating” ONE BILLION DOLLARS to the arts, spend only a fraction of it, and then just magically absorb the rest!

DOXA’s Open Letter to Canadian Heritage Minister, James Moore. “If Canadian Heritage’s funding criteria have suddenly changed, how have they changed?” You’re fooling yourself, DOXA. If it doesn’t have Canadian Geese, a moose, an orca, or has nothing to do with hockey/Tim Hortons/the War of 1812, then it isn’t “heritage” enough.

War on Kids: Jobs recovery for young ‘almost non-existent’. Read it and then look at the VPDs latest riot poster. Now, watch this trailer.

Free Ride: Eliminate all tolls on highways and bridges. Oh, and demand more highways and bridges (a reaction to something the mayors never requested, unless Frances Bula is living in an alternate universe).

Fresh scabs, old wound: Rocky Mountaineer workers face another lost year. An interesting tidbit: the owner donated passes to all Oscar nominees, oblivious of course that all Oscar nominees belong to a union.

Smoking the equity pipe: Vancouver’s Demographic Time Bomb. That’s awesome. It also reminds me of going camping at Chehalis Lake in Dean’s truck listening to Rancid the whole way up.

Cool Thing We Want #334: Hand Made Silver Branch And Twig Rings By Colby June (Etsy)

Set of sterling silver branch and twig rings with a bronze and 14k gold rock ring | Colby June Jewelry

EVERY COOL THING WE WANT

GOODS: Vancouver Island’s “Deerholme Farm” Joins The Growing Scout Community

We’ve invited Vancouver Island’s awesome Deerholme Farm to join our curated GOODS section as a recommended boutique getaway for food-lovers. They’re now proud members of Scout, and as such we’ll be posting their news in addition to hosting a page for them on our awesome list of independent goodnesses. We’d like to take this chance to thank them for their support of Scout, and for making BC a more delicious place to live.

ALL THE LOCAL “GOODS”

DINER: Sediment At The Bottom Of An Old Bordeaux Bottle Lands Wine Writer In Court

(via NYT | photo Natalie Hayes) Recently, acclaimed wine writer Mark Oldman was leaving what sounded like an especially luxurious dinner at New York City’s Colicchio & Sons when he was written up by the police for carrying out an empty bottle of well aged Bordeaux as a souvenir.

Oldman tried in vain to explain that this was only sediment: “It’s what is left after you decant a mature bottle!” But the police issued him a court summons anyway.

Yikes. What follows then, is the awesome record of the court proceedings…

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Court Officer: Mark Oldman, Docket ending 9818, open alcohol container.

Jed Philwin, the court-appointed lawyer: Move to dismiss, facially insufficient.

Judge: What was this? [referring to the bottle in question.]

Oldman: It was an empty bottle of 40-year-old Bordeaux I was taking as a souvenir. I’m a wine writer. The officer thought there was something in the bottle. He started writing up the ticket. I’m a well-known wine writer.

Judge: A well-known what?

Oldman: Wine writer. I was taking the bottle as a souvenir. It was a 40-year-old bottle. I have it downstairs. They wouldn’t let me bring it up.

Judge: Let me get this straight. Your job is to go around drinking wine all day?

Oldman: Yes, it is. And writing about it.

Judge: Before or after you drink it?

Oldman: A little of each.

Judge: What’s your record in one day of consuming wine?

Oldman: It’s quality, not quantity. It’s not about drinking as much as you can.

Judge: Have you ever seen Night Train Express?

Oldman: I love it. Does a body good.

Judge: Who pays you to drink wine? I know of a lot guys that would like that job. Read more

GOODS: Gastown’s “L’Abattoir” Hunting For A New Foodrunner To Join Its Service Team

L'Abattoir is located at 217 Carrall St in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood | 604-568-1701 | www.labattoir.ca

The GOODS from L’Abattoir

Vancouver, BC | Gastown’s L’Abattoir restaurant is looking for a competent food runner to work 3 to 5 shifts a week on a flexible schedule. The restaurant will prove to be a great training ground for those looking to move up in the trade. Minimum restaurant experience unnecessary, but desired. The lucky candidate will really only need to be intelligent with a great attitude, a driven sensibility, and a yen for learning from some of the best in town. Only the brave need apply to paul [at] labattoir [dot ca]. Learn more about the restaurant after the jump… Read more

Five Minutes With Damian Van Zyll De Jong, Vancouverite And Creator Of Native Shoes

All the kids are wearing them. In fact, this season Native Shoes have reached an unprecedented level of cool in the EVA-foam-injected slip-on shoe world: the Fall 2011 limited edition Jimmy boot was designed by Marc Jacobs! Beat that, Crocs! Local boy Damian Van Zyll De Jong founded the company in 2009 with the help of his friend Matthew Penner. As the PR says, “as the visionary behind the Native brand, Damian sparked a footwear revolution, and his unyielding passion continues to propel the brand forward.” Scout stole five minutes of Damian’s time to ask him a few questions and this is what we got:

When did you know Native was really going to happen? When I started doing it.

Some folks describe Natives as Crocs for cool people. What do you think about that? Everything is everything.

Most mind-blowingly satisfying celebrity/Native pairing? Obama’s daughter.

When you see someone in your neighbourhood wearing your footwear, what goes through your mind?Amazing!

What is it about West Vancouver that makes you want to live there: The Mountains for sure.

Architectural style that you most identify with: Fave architect is Ai Weiwei.

Three words that describe the vibe of your current living space: Open, organic and free!

What inspires you? People who do things well.

Describe your favourite photograph: It’s a Tim Barber photo of a friend of mine standing on a diving board over the edge of a cliff.

Default drink: Carrot, Ginger, Apple.

When you can’t sleep: I text my employees.

Favourite place to see live music: A backyard.

Cheap place for dinner: The Fridge. Read more

Tea & Two Slices: On SoMa, The Burrard Gateway And Green Men

by Sean Orr | The Transition from Mount Pleasant to SoMa is almost complete: Massive project, 26-storey tower at Broadway/Kingsway. I blame Tim Hortons.

‘Burrard Gateway’ project proposed for area north of Drake. It would be better if it was an actual gateway so we could filter some of the riffraff that wander/cycle over that ill-forsaken bridge. Instead, it’s going to be a fancy Jimmy Pattison Toyota dealership with condos on top and an Urban Fare below, because obviously that is something we need.

Charge corporations that profit from conflict with war crimes, BC prof says. Whoa. That’s crazy! I mean, how else could we have built the Canada Line, duh? Just because SNC Lavalin makes bullets doesn’t make the Iraqis jump in front of them when they are fired by the US Army. There’s got to be at least some measure of personal responsibility.

Green Men make return tonight at Canucks game. OK…so often I make fun of the news for its frivolities, but for some reason I’m drawn to these guys as if ensnared in a modern, myth-making ritual. We are such a new city that it seems we have to embrace these micro-histories in lieu of the macros. Also, speaking of Green Men, I am really stoned. Perhaps I’m reading waaaay too much into this.

I can also deign to find this Vancity Buzz post humourous: Stop Masturbating in the Showers. Although I believe the story is quite old. Quite so, indeed.

Great Beginnings can sometimes have uncertain endings. I’m not exactly sure how – if Campbell stopped funding the project – this is somehow Gregor’s fault. I agree, however, that it’s pathetic how we as a city should have to resort to such corporate gimmickry.

Honorary Vancouverite of the Day: Gordon Pinsent. OK, now for Halloweeen I am for sure going as the kid who got punched in the face by Justin Bieber  Read more

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