#e2go

So this is the place I was talking about. I go here as often as I can afford. The owner glenn is truly an amazing chef, he bakes his own bread, pickles his vegetables by himself and is a real artisan.
The food tastes amazing and you'll really love the ruben sandwich with Montreal style smoked meat on the picture below.
Best lunch ever!

Homemade bread and pastry and some selected groceries.

Three favorites

The last several days I was pretty busy working a lot and wandering around town to get to know some more awesome places in this beautiful city.
I was told that one of the best coffees in town is right across the street from where I work. Well, I consider our coffee as amazingly good too but I must admit that it is very dark roasted.
So for everyone who prefers a lighter roast and a more flowery and fruity taste the Revolver on Cambie is the place to be. I made a mistake though and ordered a cappuccino which they also make with those extremely fruity light roast. So it basically tasted like a raspberry milkshake. Maybe those coffee hipsters like that...

There are several bean around the worlds in downtown, and there is one that has an own bakery. Viktoria told me that their carrot cake is probably the best in town and as I got to know their baker Taylor a few days ago I had to check it out. The shop is on Davie St. right next to the fabulous Holly Lodge, an amazing old heritage building from the turn of the century.

Bean around the worlds are all a bit individual and this specific one gives you a little t-rex for your order, so that the waiter knows where to bring the cake. Mine was trying to steal the cake away from me!

Canadians seem to be a little bit obsessed with sandwiches. Maybe because you can eat them to go easily. So there's a large variety of sandwich places around here some better some subways. A real famous one which has also been on TV several times is Meat&Bread. One of their shops is at Cambie two stops away from where I work. They are crowded all the time! The Porcetta is their signature sandwich and is very bavarian indeed. It's pork roast!

But for a place that's called Meat&Bread the bread is freshly baked of course, but it's only ciabatta and not that impressive at all. I prefer a tiny little shop that just opened 8 months ago and still is kind of a secret spot.

victory bean

So I've been working quite a lot the last few days and I kind of picked up some differences between German and Canadian coffee shops. Well especially Victory Bean, the Bean Around The World coffee shop I am in is privately owned by Motion, a nice and stylish ex-carpenter and ex-mountain bike racer. He definitely has a sense of style though and some impressive hand crafting skills. He handcrafted the hardwood floor, some of the tables and the amazing massive concrete countertop which is one of the most beautiful and simple I ever saw. He told me though it took six people to set it up because it was so heavy.
It was worth it! The shop fits perfectly to the stylish heritage neighborhood of Gastown.
Here's some impressions of the shop and its wonderful arty interior.

By the way, it's called Victory Bean because it's located at Victory Square.

finally back on an espresso machine.

I just thought I had it figured out what the cool brands are and what brands I should avoid. Blenz and Starbucks are the big players. Franchise enterprises with standards set and followed over all outlets. Bean around the world, Trees Organic and JJ Bean already have several outlets but still artisan roasting.
49th Parallel, Matchstick and the Cafe for Contemporary Art are highly individual and entrepreneurial. Only the last seemed to have the kind of spirit I was looking for.
And then I took a step into the Bean around the world at West Hastings street. Actually I just wanted to use the wifi, but the whole atmosphere was cool so I handed in my resume.
10 minutes later I was asked to make a latte, because the owner was coming and he always wants his latte.
I had the interview 5 min later and after an hour of talking about everything but work I was hired.
And then something happened that I have never seen before. The staff came and congratulated me to my success!
Should I wear something specific? "well... don't dress like a slut!" they replied!
First day is tomorrow, I love this place already!

5 activities. 5 days. 5 pictures.

The Mexican breakfast, huevos rancheros at the cafe for contemporary art.
Created by Everyday Tacos.

Admire a mans beard at 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters

Made a friend laugh.
With Cathrine at Stanley Park

Tried to hug a tree... well still worth trying.

Created a big picture using lots of small ones.
Sorry for the deviations of Lions Gate Bridge.

kitsilano

I got up really early today heading for Kitsilano to visit 49th Parallel Roasters. One of the micro roasters that are supposed to offer great quality coffee. When I crossed Burrard bridge it was still dark and the view over the city was quite beautiful. The weather was pretty bad though. I went down Cornwall Avenue down to Kitsilano Park and then up Yew Street. I must admit 49th Parallel Roasters is a really stylish coffee shop! I admire the colors and the designs! And the heavily bearded Barista knows his job! Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the radio, I love this place!

supplement to abode

Actually I forgot something important when I wrote about that Stanley Park beer. Maybe because of the Stanley Park beer... I told you I was going to get some coffee there too because they have a beautiful espresso machine. It's a Synesso. I have never heard of that before, but it had the looks. I found out later that it is handmade in Seattle and designed to be extremely barista friendly. I really love drinking coffee, but I truly enjoy making coffee and I didn't steam milk in quite some time. I miss it! Actually, the cappuccino I got was really bad. way too hot and badly made.

 

get packed!

Ok, seriously I am not able to take everything I want with me on this trip, it would just be too much.
Especially because I want to spend some of the winter in Whistler. So I need my board as well.
But while trying to figure out what to pack and what to leave I found this amazing board bag. It is called "the locker" and basically that's what it is!