Vancouver Magazine

Eight Treasures from the Museum of Anthropology

vanmag — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:55:07 -0500

There's a certain expectation that is set-up when a visitor enters the Museum of Anthropology. The remote location, the serene forest setting, the welcome poles, and finally, entry into the Great Hall. All these things prepare us for ceremonial boxes, woven blankets, canoes, and totem poles. We're ready for items that sit behind glass; we can appreciate them as great art; they've been elevated beyond the simple "curios."

Best 2010 Olympic Houses

vanmag — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:36:26 -0500

We’re all agreed that Canada is going to clean up at these games, both literally and figuratively. But I can only toast with a bland lager and rye so many times (18 to be exact). So for a little imbibage diversity while rocking the rings, I plan to harken back to some glorious Olympians of the past and their national drinks.

Negroni

Sport: Alberto Tomba (2 golds Calgary, 1 gold & 1 silver Albertville, 1 silver Lillehammer)
Too easy— the Italians only have one decent cocktail

Where to Eat During the Vancouver Olympics

vanmag — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:34:18 -0500

From Russia With Lub

The Russian four-masted barque Kruzenshtern—114 metres of German-made tall ship—sails into North Vancouver's Burrard Dry Dock (next to Lonsdale Quay) during the festiviti

Vancouver Public Art

vanmag — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:03:45 -0500

Click here to see a map of locations Click to launch slideshow

(A) Everything Is Going To Be Alright

(B) Barbora

(D) A-maze-ing laughter

Best B.C. Wines

vanmag — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:35:58 -0500

Wines taste of where they come from. Our fresh, lively whites and juicy reds bear traces of the peach, pear, apple, and cherry orchards that preceded them. They taste of the sage and herbs that grow wild in the hills of the Okanagan, and of the salt tang of the coast. Bring home B.C.’s finest—winning bottles from Vancouver magazine’s international wine competition.

White Wines

White Wines Click to launch slideshow

Road 13 Old Vines Chenin Blanc 2008

CedarCreek Proprietor’s White 2008

Orofino Riesling 2008

Stoneboat Pinot Gris Barrel Reserve 2008

Hester Creek Trebbiano 2008

Mission Hill Reserve Chardonnay 2007

Red Rooster Reserve Gewürztraminer 2008

See Ya Later Ranch Chardonnay 2008

See Ya Later Ranch Pinot Gris 2008

LaStella Vivace 2008

Dirty Laundry Woo Woo Vines Gewürztraminer 2008

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Road 13 Viognier Roussanne Marsanne 2008

Red Wines

Red Wines Click to launch slideshow

Nk’Mip Qwan Qwmt Pinot Noir 2007

See Ya Later Ranch Rover 2007

Church & State Hollenbach Pinot Noir 2007

Cassini Pinot Noir Reserve 2007

Burrowing Owl Cabernet Franc 2007

Quinta Ferreira Obra Prima 2006

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan SunRock Shiraz 2007

Burrowing Owl Meritage 2006

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Grand Reserve Merlot 2007

Rosé

Rosé Click to launch slideshow

Road 13 Honest John’s Rosé 2008

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Proprietors’ Reserve Rosé 2008

Rigamarole Rosé 2008

Vancouver's Wildest Workouts

vanmag — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:20:21 -0500

Yride Yoga

Powerplate + Infrared Sauna

Hoops with "Christina Hoops"

Yamuna Body Rolling

Pankration

Robson Square

vanmag — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:57:18 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | LET LOOSE | GET THERE

Vancouver Celebrities: Jan/Feb 2010

vanmag — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Meet this month's shiny, Happy people Click to launch slideshow
Athena Bax
Stella & Pippa Zed
Peter Wong
Kristen & Terry Uppal
Andrew Saxton & Brandi Ferguson
Sindi Hawkins, Dr. Bas Masri, and Kevin Falcon
A.K. Coope, Leslie Uyeda, Heather Pawsey, and Lorna Crozier
Erica Tao & Alexandre Garcia
Patrizia Leone & Alex Burrows
Elena Esovolova & Margherita Donato

January/February Charity Agenda

JANUARY 19 Taste of BC 2010 Liberty Wine Merchants presents an evening of vino paired with nosh by several top chefs. Proceeds to B.C. Children’s Hospital. $50. Tickets at Liberty outlets. Libertywinemerchants.com

Ring Master

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:39:58 -0500

The year was 1982. John Furlong was the director of parks and recreation for the district of Nanaimo. It was the era when “So You Think You’re Tough” amateur fight nights were held in small arenas across the country. And in Nanaimo there was a local fighter who’d built a bit of a legend for himself. His name was Gordie Racette.

Editor's Note, January/February 2010

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:38:36 -0500

Not long ago I had lunch with an art director who left Vancouver in 2003—the year the city was awarded the 2010 Games—and who just recently moved back from New York. I asked Lisa what she thought of her hometown these days. “I can’t believe the changes,” she said. “It’s astonishing what’s happened in the last six years.” Much of what’s happened, of course, has been driven by the Olympics. The building frenzy of recent years has altered the appearance, the functionality, the very fabric of our city.

BC Place & Canada Hockey Place

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:08:55 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | WANDER | GET THERE

The opening and closing ceremonies at BC Place, and medal games at Canada Hockey Place, will draw visitors to one of Vancouver’s oldest buroughs. While there, take in an impressive slate of new stores and restaurants.

Pacific Coliseum

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:08:43 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | WANDER | GET THERE

Thunderbird Arena

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:55:19 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | MARVEL | GET THERE

Best Olympic Events

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:51:40 -0500

María Pagés One of the world’s leading flamenco dancers presents her masterpiece, Flamenco Republic, which starts
with that most primitive of rhythms, a human heartbeat, and expands into a passionate and personal evening brought beautifully to life by traditional music.
The Orpheum, February 16

North Burnaby's Best Food Shops

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:49:45 -0500

The Valley Bakery
Neighbourhood icon for over 50 years: friendly ladies in aprons, glass counters filled with over 25 kinds of cookies (go for the shortbread), and buns on help-yourself shelves. At the end of the shop, a vast selection of tarts, old-fashioned squares, and cakes, including excellent petits fours.
4058 Hastings St., 604-291-0674. Valleybakery.com

Rocky’s Meats

Olympic Centre

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:43:29 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | GET THERE

Athletes’ Village

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:27:58 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | GET THERE

Home to 3,000 athletes during the Games, the hyper-green Village reinvents an industrial no-man’s-land. (After, more than 1,000 units await buyers like you.) Ogle the sculpted beauty of buildings and jocks, then take the Olympic Line streetcar to Granville Island. A onetime wasteland, this manmade island (cost: $50 million) arose in the 1970s as a temple to walkable shopping and local arts.

Wine Awards 2010: Best in Show

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:26:43 -0500

Spain $24.99 +216770

By Invitation

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:22:34 -0500

IT’S A FALL Friday, and a dozen people have laid down $150 each to attend a five-course dinner at the Baldwin House on Deer Lake in Burnaby. On hand are a pair of architects—one famous, the other not—and their spouses; writers and general culture vultures; and several people (including the cook) who have an intimate connection to Theatre Conspiracy, the group that invented the Secret Spaces Supper Club.

Vancouver Convention Centre

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:21:22 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | WANDER | GET THERE

Shop with a Chef: Esther Tso, Thomas Haas Fine Chocolates and Pâtisserie

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:06:18 -0500

Five a.m. feels painfully early, the still hour of the morning when Esther Tso begins creating jewel-like pastries to adorn the display cases at Thomas Haas’s patisseries. Tso’s career as a pastry chef began nearly eight years ago under Haas’s tutelage—fresh out of VCC’s Baking and Pastry Arts program, she took her work experience at the Georgia Hotel’s Sen5es Bakery. She has worked with chef Haas since then to create decadent delights showcasing the local bounty of regionally sourced, seasonally available ingredients.

Tales of the City: January/February 2010

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:03:41 -0500

The Coda

Some years back, I took it into my head to join a choir. At the time Vancouver offered only a few secular options for a middling baritone, so I contacted the queen of voice, Chor Leoni’s Diane Loomer. My memories of the audition are mercifully dim, but I do recall the gracious way she paused at the keyboard of her piano, an imposing piece in a West Side home filled with lovely objects. I felt her looking at me, but I kept my eyes on my tennis shoes. “Not ready,” she said gently. “Not ready.”—John Burns

Canada Line

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:56:02 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | PAMPER | GET THERE

Vancouver Magazine Wine Awards 2010

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:53:30 -0500

The Process

Wines were tasted blind on a like-with-like basis. Our judges were divided into three mini-panels. Flights of wine were organized by style and price. Winners were chosen by consensus among the judges, who collectively decided which wines represented the best values. The mini-panels then united for the final playoff among all the category winners, at which the Beronia Rioja Reserva 2004 was voted Best in Show.

Best Sparkling and Fortified Wines

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:46:15 -0500

Best Sparkling Wines

Life is too short not to drink bubbly. Great early in the day; great with fruit, especially fresh strawberries; particularly great with Dungeness crab

Best Sparkling Wines Click to launch slideshow

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva

Segura Viudas Brut Rosé

Mionetto Il Prosecco

Henriot Brut Souverain

Pol Roger Cuvée de Reserve Brut

Blason de Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne

Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir

Bottega Petalo Moscato “Vino dell’Amore”

Mount Riley Sparkling Savée 2008

Best Fortified Wines

Best stick to tradition here: olives and toasted almonds for sherry, aged Cheddar or Stilton for port.

Best Fortified Wines Click to launch slideshow

Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino

Gonzalez Byass Nutty Solera Oloroso

Chalmers 1528 Chocolate Port

Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003

Hardys Whiskers Blake Tawny Port

Free Olympic Events

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:45:48 -0500

Lunarfest 2010 A car-free Granville Street becomes a sea of lights between Robson and Georgia, adorned with 2,010 uniquely decorated paper lanterns. (Create your own at family-oriented days February 13 and 14.) Granville St., January 22 to February 28. Lunarfest.org

2010 Aboriginal Pavilion Inuit throat singing, Métis jigging, and myriad examples of Native art will be housed by the twenty-metre-tall multimedia sphere at Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza.

Best White Wines

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:27:36 -0500

Best Light White Wines

These wines are perfect for Asian/Latin flavours. Think prawn curry, pad Thai, or fish tacos

Best Light Whites Click to launch slideshow

Road 13 Old Vines Chenin Blanc 2008

Gatao Vinho Verde

St. Ursula Devil's Rock Riesling 2008

CedarCreek Proprietor’s White 2008

Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio 2008

Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2008

Orofino Riesling 2008

Dr. L Riesling 2008

Hester Creek Trebbiano 2008

Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2009

LaStella Vivace 2008

Belisario Verdicchio di Matelica Vigneti del Cerro 2008

Alliance Loire Chenin Blanc “Les Pouches” 2008

Best Medium White Wines

Super-adaptable, drink-anytime whites. Think linguine vongole, mushroom risotto, chicken satay, or pizza

Best Medium Whites Click to launch slideshow

St. Hallett Poacher’s Blend 2009

Moillard Viognier Hugues Le Juste 2007

See Ya Later Ranch Pinot Gris 2008

Stoneboat Pinot Gris Barrel Reserve 2008

Red Rooster Reserve Gewürztraminer 2008

La Chablisienne La Pierrelée Chablis 2006

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay 2008

Laurenz und Sophie Singing Grüner Veltliner 2007

Wither Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Road 13 Viognier Roussanne Marsanne 2008

Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Best Rich White Wines

All-occasion showstoppers. Just the thing for Sunday roast chicken, grilled halibut, or luxurious shellfish dishes

Best Rich Whites Click to launch slideshow

Heggies Chardonnay 2007

Mission Hill Reserve Chardonnay 2007

See Ya Later Ranch Chardonnay 2008

Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2007

Saintsbury Carneros Chardonnay 2007

Anakena Single Vineyard Viognier 2009

Dirty Laundry Woo Woo Vines Gewürztraminer 2008

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Best Red Wines

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:15:56 -0500

Best Light Red Wines

If your light red is Pinot Noir, pray for sockeye salmon. Otherwise, go to town and don’t be afraid to chill slightly

Light Reds Click to launch slideshow

Antinori Santa Cristina Toscana 2005

Spinelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007

Cusumano Nero d’Avola 2007

Remy Pannier Chinon 2006

Georges Duboeuf Brouilly 2007

Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir 2007

Magnificent Wine Company House Wine Red 2005

Mount Riley Pinot Noir 2008

Church & State Hollenbach Pinot Noir 2007

Saintsbury “Garnet” Pinot Noir 2008

Quinta Ferreira Obra Prima 2006

Best Medium Red Wines

Pork is perfect here: marinated pork kebabs, smoked pork chops, chipotle pork burgers, roast pork tenderloin, smoky baked ham

Best Rich Red Wines

The perfect antidote to a rainy Vancouver winter night. Try a big-bowled, aroma-harbouring glass and a well-aged piece of cheese

Cool Treats

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:48:17 -0500

Click to launch slideshow
Parliament
MoovBoots
Juma
Bio Organique
Omega Olympic Watch
Leather Jacket
The Pet Shop Boys

Sea-to-Sky Highway

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:40:12 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | DETOUR | GET THERE

Once a white-knuckle run, the highway connecting Vancouver with Whistler has been turned into a safer, scenic byway by means of a $600-million upgrade. After the Games, day-trippers and weekend skiers will shave time from their commute, and some will add years to their lives.

The Real Thing

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:26:00 -0500

Sol Guy’s leaving for Africa in 24 hours. But right now he’s on the phone with Coca-Cola.

“We just really want the hook to be featured,” he’s explaining. “We’re happy with them doing the vocals. But we want to hear the hook.”

That hook is the irresistible chorus of “Wavin Flag,” a song by the Somali-born Toronto rapper K’naan: “When I get older/I will be stronger/They’ll call me freedom/Just like a waving flag.”

“No problems, bro. We just want to see it, me and K’naan. I’m sure it’ll be cool.”

Vancouver's Best Vegetarian Restaurants

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:06:17 -0500

Radha Walking up the stairs into Radha, you’re greeted by warm brick walls, candlelight, hardwood floors, and, if you time it right, a spectacular sunset through floor-to-ceiling windows. By day a yoga studio, the space at night becomes a locally sourced, organic restaurant that provides a gourmet answer to the question, “What do vegans eat?” Here you’ll find the best (and one of the cheapest: appetizers and desserts, $8; mains top out at $15) vegetarian meals in Vancouver.

Lost & Found

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:02:37 -0500

The undertaking was hellish. Paint each of the “missing women” who disappeared from the Downtown Eastside. Paint 69 murdered faces three metres tall. Paint their scarred and battered expressions in uncompromising detail when even police had scant evidence of their features. In essence, bear witness to lives that ended because of their very anonymity. Undo 69 oblivions.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:47:42 -0500

Was there a moment when you decided to devote your life to helping others?
There was never a question what I would end up doing; the question was how. Growing up in a close-knit home taught me about giving my love, time, and support to others. One vivid childhood memory was an outing with my Sunday School class to the Downtown Eastside, to work at a soup kitchen for the day. I remember crying myself to sleep,
wondering why some had so little while others had so much.

Why are you focused on Iran these days?

The Next Course

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:01:53 -0500

It's a Thursday night at the bar of a busy, buzzy 113-seat room in Gastown, a room that honours its ancient brick-and-beam bones (and these shaky economic times) with a design amalgam coolly evocative of the Prohibition Era. The crowd, a healthy mix of downtown suits and neighbourhood hipsters, spills onto Victorian armchairs and sofas in a long saloon bar that specializes in brown spirits. Antique radiators are cleverly reclaimed for a one-of-a-kind balustrade. The dining room is gussied up with white linen and wine glasses.

Olympic Venues & Neighbourhoods

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:58:07 -0500

Athletes' Village

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Whistler Sliding Centre

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:38:20 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | RELAX | WANDER | GET THERE

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Vancouver's Best Buys

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:35:21 -0500

The city's best buys Click to launch slideshow
Dayton Boots
Rajboori Textiles
Thunderbird Salad Servers
Jeff Trigg
Allison Wonderland
Lululemon
Billy Would Designs
Surface Collective
Synthesis Studio
Straight Line Designs
Mira Yung
Possum
John Ross Design
Pyrrha
John Fluevog
Dace
Sabina Hill Design
Sienna Ray & Co.
Dexel Crafted
Henderson Dry Goods
Propellor Design
Molo Design
Jason Matlo

Cypress Mountain

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:24:23 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | GET THERE

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Showstopping Wine Bargains

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:53 -0500

Wine Bargains Click to launch slideshow
Spinelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007
Moillard Viognier Hugues Le Juste 2007
Castillo de Monséran Garnacha 2008
Viña Maipo Reserva Carmenere 2008
Gatao Vinho Verde
St. Ursula Devil's Rock Riesling 2008
Antinori Tormaresca Paiara 2006

Return to 2010 Wine Awards

Olympic Oval

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:42:06 -0500

SHOP | EAT & DRINK | EXPLORE | GET THERE

Once a small fishing and farming town, Richmond has grown steadily since the 1990s with each new wave of immigration from the East. Today, the city boasts a rich collection of Asian restaurants and shopping malls. The Richmond Olympic Oval, home to the speed skating events, is a vision of ecological elegance with its expansive curved roof made from salvaged pine-beetle-damaged wood.

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Whistler

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:41:19 -0500

Behind the curtain, Whistler has never been the innocent snow globe fantasia it so stubbornly mimics. When its infrastructure was first realized in the ’60s, it was thanks to a group of businessmen with their eyes set on a bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics. In the intervening decades, an aren’t-we-pleased patina has certainly developed—one grows used to the ubiquitous fluorescent ski gear and venti Starbucks cups.

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Chinatown Syndrome

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:27:18 -0500

Saturday morning in Chinatown. Short women carry plastic bags with the green leaves of gai lan poking out. Frail old men shuffle along in runners and golfing caps. Clusters of confused-looking tourists circle aimlessly on the plaza in front of the Chinese Cultural Centre on East Pender.

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Vancouver Culture

vanmag — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:24:11 -0500

Movies

Twilight: New Moon Okay, Robert Pattinson isn’t a vampire (he just plays one on the screen). But Twihard celebrityhood has made him, and the city he calls his part-time playground, eternal.

Superbad Was life funny before Seth Rogen? The former Point Grey High student wrote the script for Superbad here at age 14, then disappeared into the bosomy delights of Hollywood. Take us with you!

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Wine Pick of the Week

vanmag — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:20:48 -0500

Chris Shaw The outspoken neuroscientist-turned-activist uncovered money scandals, environmental disasters, and civil-liberties violations in his book Five Ring Circus. Fellow Work Less Party member Conrad Schmidt followed Shaw’s lead to create a documentary film of the same name. Where will you be during the Olympics? “Out on the streets working as a medic to keep protestors as safe as possible.”

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Tales of the City: December 2009

vanmag — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:10:03 -0500

Gratis

For our anniversary, my husband and I celebrated at an Italian restaurant on the Drive. Sometime during dinner my wallet was stolen from my purse. When we realized it, we informed the waitress; after delivering the bill, she informed the owner. He shrugged, grimaced, and walked us out. We pressed him to take action or at least share our outrage. Instead, a round of ouzo shooters appeared, then another. Soon, awash in licorice, my husband and I wandered off happily to spend the rest of the evening looking in dumpsters. —Holly Yoos

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Shop with a Chef: David Foot, Market

vanmag — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:57:02 -0500

David Foot spent his teenage years at a Galley Bay commune along the shores of Desolation Sound. He scoured bricks from old homestead chimneys for his mother, who fashioned them into a wood-burning stove—it was there that he made his first forays into baking bread. Years later, Foot travelled the globe, only to return to Market by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La, but his dedication for sourcing seasonal, regionally produced ingredients hasn’t waned. Market’s menu reflects a West Coast approach to classic recipes from Vongerichten’s restaurants.

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