Contributor: Talia Kleinplatz

Portrait

Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Talia Kleinplatz fell in love with food at the apron strings of her mother and grandmother whose kitchens wafted the intoxicating aromas of fresh dill, homemade pies and painstakingly slow-cooked brisket. She completed her degrees at Concordia and McGill, graduating with a Master’s in Social Work in 2009. Her six years in Montreal taught her to eat well but it was her move to Vancouver in 2011 that taught her to drink well. In 2013 she launched her award-winning cocktail blog, Two For The Bar. She lives in South Granville with her husband and her three-legged, curmudgeonly cat.

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Intelligence Briefs

On Fake Orgasms in Restaurants and Sipping Cocktails With San Francisco’s Rats

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia learns of alligators being jerks and the things people put on ice cream.

Intelligence Briefs

On Truffle Fraud, Spray Cheese, and Bartenders Making Good Politicians

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia learns of amazing street foods and an insect that makes coffee.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Archaeology of Beer and the Slow Death of the Old School Diner

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia investigates honey in space and what it's like to eat the story of the slave trade.

Intelligence Briefs

On Thousand Dollar Wine Mistakes and the Many Modern Roles of the Bartender

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia finds weird cheeses and cotton candy playing nice with coffee.

You Need To Try This / Alberta

You Need to Try ‘The Lumiere’ Cocktail at The Vermillion Room

Here’s the thing about The Vermillion Room at The Fairmont Banff Springs: you really can’t go wrong with a drink order.

Intelligence Briefs

On Michelin-Starred Exhaustion and Taking the Spritz Out of Aperol

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia finds mergers brewing and people eating other people's leftovers.

Bartifacts / False Creek

So, About That Lethal Weapon Hanging Above the Bar…

Talia sat behind the bar at Ancora and noticed a bayonet from the 19th century hanging out with the top shelf booze. This is its story...

Intelligence Briefs

On Dire Threats to Maple Syrup and Wondering If You Could Ever Eat Yourself

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia considers drinking from a cluster bomb and wonders at guacamole cheese.

Intelligence Briefs

On Women Jumping Out of Cakes and Debating the Merits of Glitter Beer

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia learns about pre-batched cocktails and beholds a mighty ice cream taco.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Rise of Japanese Gin and Using the Word ‘Crack’ to Sell Deliciousness

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia learns of Diet Coke addictions and the history of classic red sauce joints.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Complicated History of Curry and the Great Mashed Potato Mystery of Mississippi

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia finds terrible dining advice and feasts on Game of Thrones.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Millennial Drinking Problem and Dads Stealing All the Girl Scout Cookie Cash

In her latest read of the food and drink news, Talia finds new food court eats and a food writer who thinks hard about word choice.

Intelligence Briefs

On Dive Bars as Endangered Species and Discovering New Ways to Hide Vodka

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia finds shrooms in marshmallows and good coffee in all the right places

Intelligence Briefs

On Killing the Craft Beer Buzz and Restaurants Asking Guests for Stool Samples

In her latest read of the food and drink news, Talia gets grossed out by a new restaurant concept and looks behind the lens of a famous bartender.

Intelligence Briefs

On Loving Terrible Booze and Setting Venerable French Restaurants on Fire

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia balks at expensive "vintage" water and wonders at pizza-eating pigs.

Intelligence Briefs

On Bad Days With Champagne Towers and Restaurants That Love MAGA Hats

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia revisits the Night Cafe and ponders booze journalism's relationship to social justice.

Intelligence Briefs

On Dinosaur Restaurant Critics and How Politicians Gain from Hospitality Experience

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia sips a Mai Tai and finds a sommelier dissing wine and food pairings.

Intelligence Briefs

On Drinking All the Expensive Whisky and Deep Thoughts on the McRib

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia hears of famous chefs going sober and the origins of our food aversions.

The Dishes

Danielle Tatarin Does ‘The Dishes’

9 Places

Dani might be spending a lot more time in Baja than YVR these days, but she can still point us in the direction of deliciousness...

Intelligence Briefs

On Drive-Thru Groceries and Writing About Beer in Ways That Get You Fired

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia finds a gummy bear monster and a misogynistic clusterf*ck.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Sommeliers of Everything and How to Properly Complain In a Restaurant

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia consumes a great whisky list and has a laugh with Seth Meyers.

Intelligence Briefs

On the New Canadian Culinary Champion and the Return of Tableside Service

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia digs into homemade bread and looks at the politics of serving people in MAGA hats.

Intelligence Briefs

On Never Putting Parsley in Your Junk and the Genius of Italy’s Perfect Ingredient

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia hears tell of tidy kitchens and tries to imagine Donald Trump buying groceries.

Intelligence Briefs

On Instagram Closing Restaurants and Banning Solo Women From Barstools

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia remembers the Great Molasses Flood and finds a chef doing what's right.

Intelligence Briefs

On Corona’s Right to Be Pissed and the Bizarre Diet of President Richard M. Nixon

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia gets to the bottom of gabagool and learns what BC diners are really like.

You Need To Try This / Downtown

You Need to Try the Dreamily Transportive ‘Mi Luz’ Cocktail at Elisa

Created by Devin McKeigan, this delicious drink is a mix of rum, white vermouth, apple demerara, orange bitters and salted caraway.

Intelligence Briefs

On the Scourge of Fake Whisky and Wonderfully Terrible Restaurant Reviews

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia learns some food rules and wonders at the future of the term "organic".

Intelligence Briefs

On Ratty Trainwrecks and the Role of the Restaurant as a Political Space

In her latest read of the food and drink headlines, Talia returns from holidays with new lists, new predictions, and a tale of vermin woe.