VANCOUVER DAZE VOL. 54: The Social Feed Dine Out Dinner at Save On Meats
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VANCOUVER DAZE showcases and highlights the lifestyle and cultural scene of our beautiful city, uncovering all the interesting things, misadventures, and shenanigans beyond social functions and local happenings.
We fiercely promote all the fun times, food, culture, and entertainment the city has to offer along with the creative minds behind them.
Follow more of my work/coverage over at RICKCHUNG.COM and on Twitter at @RICKCHUNG.
You can pitch me HERE.
Volume 54: The Social Feed long table communal dinner for Dine Out Vancouver 2012 at Save On Meats butcher shop in Gastown on January 27, 2012. Hashtag: #DineOutFeed. More photos available on Flickr.
Apparently, due to my first article on The Social Feed’s delicious dinner at Nelson the Seagull, Dine Out approached them to do a special pop up dinner at Save on Meats butcher next door to its diner.
The idea of the night was food served in a social fashion as the food was prepared. We dined on the special pop-up “Noise-to-Tail” menu.
I hoofed it solo to Hastings on the end of Gastown to the new Save On Meats for a special pop-up dinner served in the butcher shop after hours, sipping on one of my favourite beers, Phillips Brewing Blue Buck Ale.
My stranger dining mates and I munched on some fresh brioche bread loaf and head cheese with pickled winter veggies to break the ice.
For appetizers, we gobbled up some tasty pork shoulder sausage with boozy prunes and buttermilk whipped mashed potatoes.
Keeping with the different cuts of meat and part of the pig, we were served roasted pork belly, apple compote, sunchoke and spot prawn salade with bisque sauce.
The main attraction was some ridiculously large portioned cuts of pork roast that was really thick and meaty. After our fill of white meat, I ate some salty sweet and decadent pieces of bacon chocolate.
The honey panna cotta dessert was very tasty and delicious. Its candied pork crackling accompaniment was really harsh and well, crackly. It was a meaty, epic five-course dinner at everyone’s favourite neighbourhood butcher shop. The social communal dining experience was again one of a kind.
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Super, Neighbours in British Columbia: Harrison Hot Springs 1 of 5 – Getting There
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Welcome to the latest series of Super, Neighbours blog posts where we highlight incredible travel destinations in British Columbia!
Recently the folks at Tourism Harrison Hot Springs had us out for a weekend to experience some of what this fantastic destination has to offer in the winter. Until this trip the only time I had spent in Harrison Village was in the car passing through on our way to Sasquatch Provincial Park to do some camping, so I didn’t really have much of a grasp on what was in store for us aside from the obvious: the hot springs, which were originally revered as “the healing place” by the Coast Salish peoples.
We’re going to park at the foot of Harrison Lake and bring you inside the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa, we’ll take you to a bunch of great places to eat as well as some unexpectedly incredible experiences outside. It’s not that we didn’t have high expectations for the place but this trip far exceeded what we had anticipated. We’re new (big) fans of Harrison, to be certain.
So first things first: Did you know that Harrison Hot Springs is only a 90 minute drive from Vancouver? Just outside of Chilliwack you exit off Highway 1 and make your way down a very rural two lane route peppered with romantic old farms and plenty of greenery. There’s a few folks who make their living growing hazelnuts in the region and you just might want to stop along the way and buy them direct.
I’m probably not alone in having a “thing” for old barns and silos like this one pictured below. The property that it’s on is currently for sale, priced at $899,999, and it’s got a couple of old buildings on it as well as this gem. I fear it will likely be dismantled once the parcel finds a new owner so, for now, behold this beautiful ghost of rural route past!
And just like that, we’re in Harrison Village at the foot of the lake, as promised! Here’s a photo of the floatplane dock/terminal that was installed in 1982. There are no regularly scheduled floatplanes flying to Harrison from Vancouver and that 90 minute drive is a cost-effective breeze so it’s no wonder that I didn’t see a single plane come in during our visit. However, if you are lucky enough to own a floatplane or are more wealthy than most people I know and would choose to charter a plane instead of drive, then this dock is waiting there for you.
Visit TourismHarrison.com to find out more about the region and stay tuned for Part 2 all about our accommodations.
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DAILY FLICKR PICKR DAY 692
| Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!)
Got a chance to get outside with my camera today. Headed down to False Creek with the intention of possibly using my neutral density filter and shooting some daytime long exposure photos of the water and whatnot, but alas, there really was no good “moving water” to take advantage of. So I wandered around, snapping photos of stuff I found interesting anyway. I haven’t dumped anything off my card yet though, so I haven’t even seen what I managed to get! Hopefully there’s something good in there. Fingers crossed. ;)
I might head out for a late night shoot in the next day or so to capture photos like the one I’ve chosen from today’s Daily Flickr Pick pool from waynesonc titled Going to Town. An awesome long exposure photo of the Skytrain whizzing by. Not only is the capture of the Skytrain awesome, but check out the starbursting lights and the cloud movement. If you’ve never done long exposure night photography, now is the time of year to do it and let this awesome photo be an inspiration.
Enjoy Going to Town from waynesonc
John
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Van City Kitty: Ziggy Stardust
| A new kitty once a week! Click here to find out how your cat can appear on Van City Kitty.
Here are the deets on Ziggy, submitted by VIA reader Leah K:
Name: Ziggy Stardust
Breed/Colouring: Flame Point Siamese
Hood: Cedar Cottage – East Van
Habits:Adopted at 9 months after spending a good portion of his kittenhood in a Northern BC shelter, Ziggy now resides in a cozy apartment in East Vancouver. He’s very social and loves meeting new people and other animals. With his constant need to be the center of attention, Ziggy can often be found wandering around announcing his actions in loud Siamese yowls and trilling sounds. He is also known to enjoy the odd car ride and chewing on sparkly sequin garments.
If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our Happy Tails feature or our monthly Van City Kitty Take Us Home editions (most recently here or here.)
If you adopted your pet from the SPCA and would like to share your awesome story on Happy Tails, send an email to Rory.Blanchard@novusnow.ca.
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BC BuzZ: Scott Patey – Actor & Comedian
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BC BuzZ is a magazine-style interview show that celebrates all things British Columbian. Art, artists, entertainment, events, movies, music and more, this series of videos gets up close and personal to showcase the best of arts and entertainment in our great province. It’s served up on Vancouver Is Awesome every week or so and aims to support local communities.Get BuzZ’d at BCBuzZ.ca and @bcbuzztv
BC BuzZ got the chance to sit down with our Border-Town buddy Scott Patey. Originally from Lloydminster Alberta/Saskatchewan, this fresh face in comedy is a relatively new transplant to British Columbia and lighting up the stages weekly in Vancouver with some of BC’s best comics. From film & TV to local comedy clubs, Scott is a one-of-a-kind artist that is making a name for himself and getting laughs on a regular basis where he performs!
Check out Scott Patey at Corduroy in Kits for Rock, Paper, Corduroy on Monday nights and his monthly party of laughter and music at the Media Club in downtown VanCity for Laugh Your Ass Off.
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V.I.A. Weekly Nardwuar – Week 70 Nardwuar vs. Dan Quayle
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As the US Republican Party battles over who will be the next leader, I though it might be time to remember an encounter I had with a certain former Republican Vice President, Mr. Dan Quayle. Doot doola doot doo… doot doo!
Nardwuar vs. Dan Quayle
Stay tuned for another interview next week and if you can’t wait then head over to NARDWUAR.COM, FACEBOOK.COM/NARDWUAR or TWITTER.COM/NARDWUAR!
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FeastVan – Cafeteria Redux
| Due to crossed email wires my fellow V.I.A. editor Joel Levy and I decided independently to go to the same restaurant to participate in FeastVan…so if you want to know about the food at Cafeteria (which was super delicious and well worth the visit) click through to read his post from earlier in the week.
So instead of scrapping my post all together for fear of underwhelming readers with an all too similar post, I thought that I would write more about FeastVan and what it means to the community it is supporting – and why you should in turn support it for its final few days.
For those of you who don’t know what FeastVan is, here is a crash course:
FeastVan is a two and a half week dining event running from January 20th to February 5th which was created to help introduce diners to the incredible array of restaurants that East Vancouver has to offer. FeastVan is a chance for foodies, casual eaters and Vancouver visitors alike to enjoy a selection of specially priced three-course meals from some of East Vancouver’s best restaurants.
Okay so this sounds a bit familiar, right? Vancouver abounds with dining events throughout the year – what makes FeastVan so special?
First of all it focuses on and showcases the incredible and thriving East Side and the restaurants that make it a foodies dream come true. With most menus ranging between $30-$35 for three courses, even those on a budget can afford to treat themselves all while supporting the Vancouver Inner City Back Pack Food Program .
So how exactly does your dinner help the program? $1 from every specially priced three-course meal for lunch and/or dinner will go towards the Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program, and a percentage of the proceeds from every keg of R&B Brewing East Side Bitter will also go towards the program.
Participating Restaurants:
Au Petit Chavignol
Cafeteria
Campagnolo Roma
The Cascade Room
Founders Lounge (@ the Cultch)
Fray
Habit
Latitude
les amis du FROMAGE
Les Faux Bourgeois
R&B Brewing Co.
The Red Wagon
Two Chef’s and a Table
The Union Bar
Vancouver Alpen Club
The Waldorf
So that leads to the next question – what is Food Insecurity and how does the Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program help to combat this?
While I am well aware that people go hungry every single day in our city, it wasn’t until I became familiar with FeastVan that I had ever heard the term Food Insecurity. For some reason this term hit me really hard emotionally – while I know what it is like to go hungry, I have no idea what it is like to suffer on a continual basis with not knowing where my next meal will come from, nor the brutal reality of having to choose safe shelter over food security and watch my children go to bed hungry night after night.
This is a choice that families who live in the Downtown East Side and Strathacona neighbourhoods must make, and it is an unfortunate reality that for many people living in those areas it is impossible to achieve both safe shelter and food security at the same time.
What the Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program does is assist some of the most in need people of these areas – inner-city elementary school aged children. These children, who are from families that have the lowest median incomes in all of Canada, do not have consistent access to nutritious food staples. This program aims to bridge the weekend gaps when school food programs are not running. The Vancouver Inner-city Backpack Food Program will provide kid friendly, nutritious snacks and meals for food insecure children from Strathacona Elementary Schools over the weekend.
Access to healthy food on the weekends is vitally important for these children as hungry or undernourished children are more likely to become sick, miss school, exhibit behaviour problems, and fall behind in class.
The Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program and the food being provided will offer many benefits including increased ability to participate in recreation, closing the gap of food insecurity over the weekend, helping to improve both attention span and behaviour during the week in school, mentoring interpersonal and communications skills to the children who receive backpacks, as well as providing leadership and pre-employment training to youth volunteers.
Can’t make it out to dinner during FeastVan? The Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program needs donations as well. Here is a list of items that they are most in need of:
Brown/White rice cakes
Seaweed snack
Whole grain crackers
Granola bars without chocolate
Small snack boxes of raisins
Small packs of unsweetened apple/fruit sauce
Low sodium tetra pack or canned soups
Pasta and jarred pasta sauce
Low sugar/salt cereals
Canned salmon
Baby bel individual cheese portions
Cheese strings
Low sugar individual yogurt cups
For more information on FeastVan and the Vancouver Inner-city Back Pack Food Program visit the FeastVan website.
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DAILY FLICKR PICKR DAY 691
| Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!)
So stoked! Well, as stoked as I can be without positively knowing that the weather is going to hold out and be nice tomorrow. All the arrows are pointing in the right direction as of now though. I will finally have some free time to get out and shoot on a nice day! Believe it or not, this will be the first day this year where I have enough “free” time to myself to get out and shoot. So stoked.
Anyway, enough about that. Let’s take a look at today’s Daily Flickr Pickr pool submission shall we? An awesome landscape photo taken somewhere that looks somewhat familiar, though I can’t quite put my finger on it. Steveston? North Shore? New West? Regardless of where it was taken it’s an incredible photo. The cold colors, the wide angle, the slight movement of the clouds. Very nicely done. Gives me some inspiration for tomorrow…
Enjoy The Cold Landscape by Matzuda
John
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THE BASSMENT, VOLUME THIRTY-TWO: ALVARO PROL OF BLUEPRINT EVENTS + CITY & SLOPE FESTIVAL + DEDOS CLOSING PARTY
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The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is.
If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.
I have wondered a lot recently about the evolution of music and the current explosion of electronic music in particular. With stadium shows being sold out and artists like Skrillex getting 5 grammy nominations there is no doubt that the DJ era is still upon us. I had a chance to sit down with the owner of Blueprint Events Alvaro Prol to chat about music, City & Slope festival, the next step in entertainment and of course Blueprint Events.
Photo: Courtesy of Blueprint Events
Electronic music has been around a long time and people may have underestimated it’s full potential. Why do you think that is?
I don’t know if people underestimated it. People may have thought of it as a sort of sub-culture. Something that is not as popular as it is now. I have seen electronic music be popular for a long time. I have been going to shows since the early nineties. It wasn’t just jungle. It was house music, deep house it was everything. I think now it has become a little more popular where Rihanna is doing tracks with Calvin Harris or Skrillex getting 5 grammies. It has just become a bit more broad and accepted. Not just a sub-culture. It can be as popular as pop music. A lot of famous pop musicians have their music produced by electronic producers.
Why do you think that electronic music is moving into these large stadiums and sell out shows?
I think as a concert goer it is more fun to go to a dance party with your favourite artist and dance for 4 hours than it is to see (as much as I love him) Jay-Z for an hour. I think it is a different concert experience. People go to these parties and they get there money’s worth. It is not like a concert where you go to your seat and wait for each song. It is a non stop party so it can be a lot of fun. When you go to these massive shows and you see 3-4000 kids going crazy it is quite the site.
How do you think technology has done for the rise of electronic music?
I think what technology has done for the rise of electronic music or any music for that matter is the availability of finding out about it. Before people used to have to wait at the record stores on Thursdays to get the new record. That is the way it used to be and DJs would fight over the new records. Now if you want a song you might want a producer from Russia who no one knows but the blogs and internet make it big and all of a sudden he is touring and he is a big name. I see it so many times now from guys that are internet sensations and blow up so quickly because it available through technology. Any kid can sit in a room and make music now.
There have been a lot of people bringing in audio visual experiences to their shows. Such as Amon Tobin. What is your opinion on this new phenomenon?
Some of the artists that I have hired in the last year that travelled with their own production. Skrillex travelled with his own 3D mapping visual system. Deadmaus’ production is very well done as well. It is just like a rock show. The very pro guys are going that way because they want to give a better show for their fans. It is not only about the music. The production elevates the show. It takes the experience to the next level.
Any chances of Amon Tobin coming?
You know what it is so weird. We do a lot of different sounds and it is hard to stay on top of it all. He has been on our radar for awhile but we just haven’t had the chance to look at him yet.
How do Vancouver’s stages compare to the world stage?
I get a feedback from these guys that travel all over the world. They love the fans here. We have kids here that let loose, they really know the music. A lot of these young kids, even people our age, really know their stuff. We are educated in the electronic scene. Any kind of music genre that we bring in from dubstep to house the performers are really happy because the crowd is into it. There aren’t just a few fans hanging around. They dance they go crazy they react to the big songs. How we compare to other cities? I think we are still a small city and there are only certain size venues available. Now we have the convention centre and other venues where we weren’t doing shows before. I think it has got away from the whole rave thing to actual concerts.
What is the idea behind the City & Slope festival?
City & Slope festival’s idea is to incorporate a weekend event out of a series of concerts. Also using our unique geography which has 3 local mountains that are so reachable from the city makes it more of a full weekend event. If you are an out of towner and coming into town it will be really fun. Can hit the mountains during the day and then party at night. I am excited about it.
What are your plans for Blueprint now?
Ya, you know we have moved into some new markets such as Victoria and Edmonton. I love Vancouver, I love all these markets. It takes a lot to do the other markets though. I care a lot about Victoria. We have been doing shows there for 10 years. The scene there is getting a lot stronger in the last couple of years. We have a lot of University fans as well as loyal Vancouver Blueprint fans that go there for shows. I think our priority is Vancouver and Victoria and see where it goes from there. We were the first to do something really big in Vancouver and we will keep working and finding things that are fun.
Have you ever thought of doing your own festival?
You know, I think it is every promoter in the world’s dream to do a festival. There are a lot of difficulties to make that happen of course. I think Vancouver and surrounding area has some beautiful outdoor areas to do an event. We were lucky enough to help with the Pemberton music festival and had a tent there. We will be looking to do something in the future. The rain does scare me though.
Why Vancouver?
Ya good question. I moved here as a kid when I was 13 with my family. They chose Vancouver. I do love it here. We have it very good. We have loyal customers. It is a beautiful city. We built a real niche so I think it would be a mistake to leave. This is my home. This is where my baby lives. If I do ever move it will be somewhere sunny. I have no plans for going anywhere though.
Where will the electronic music age will go next?
It will change for sure. Dance music, electronic music whatever you call it people have been dancing in clubs forever. You can call it disco or dubstep people will always dance. It will change 100 times over, trends will come and go but dance music or whatever you want to call it will be around forever. I can’t wait to see what the next step is, what will come back and disappear again.
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DEDOS CLOSING PARTY – NIGHT OF THE DEDOS
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 4TH AT AYDEN GALLERY
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Random Act Of Awesomeness – Made In Vancouver Start-Up Directory
| Wow! The City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Economic Commission, Growlab, Ayoudo, and Techvibes have teamed up and done something super awesome:
They’ve launched Made In Vancouver, a soon-to-be-populated digital directory of Vancouver-based start-ups. It aims to become a community resource providing a comprehensive list of the City’s leading innovators, shining a light on local tech companies and letting you know which of them are hiring. Job board = major bonus!
HERE is a link with all of the info and HERE is what Mayor Gregor had to say about it.
Stay tuned for more Random Acts!
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