Inside Vancouver

Weird Frankenstein-Shaped Pumpkins on Sale in Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Uncategorized on October 24, 2014

Photo credit: Tony Dighera

Have $79.13 and want to get yourself a really cool pumpkin for Halloween?

Vancouver’s Urban Fare grocery stores are selling what may be the world’s creepiest (and most expensive) pumpkins. Known as Pumpkinsteins, they’re actual pumpkins that have been grown to look like an orange Frankenstein head.

And I’m not just talking about a passing resemblance. These pumpkins have eyebrows and noses and lips and a receding hairline and ears … basically everything except the two bolts that stick out of Frankenstein’s neck. It’s like Frankenstein got stuck inside a pumpkin and is trying to burst out from inside.

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Weird Frankenstein-Shaped Pumpkins on Sale in Vancouver

Taste of Yaletown 2014 fortified with beer and spirits

by Carolyn Ali in Uncategorized on October 3, 2014

Trout scaloppine at La Pentola della Quercia in Yaletown. Photo from the Opus Hotel’s website.

While you’ll have to wait until January to experience the city-wide Dine Out Vancouver Festival, this month’s Taste of Yaletown takes a bite out of dining scene with a focus on one neighbourhood.

The Yaletown festival runs from October 16 to 30 and highlights 25 restaurants in the upscale False Creek area. While reservations aren’t necessary at some places, they are highly recommended at others, so the sooner you solidify your plans the better.

Although fixed-price menus of $25, $35, and $45 make up the festival’s foundation, there’s a lot of flexibility within them. Restaurants don’t necessarily follow the appetizer-main course-dessert format: they’re free to create any food and drink combo, or customize the experience with a special event. This is great for people who, for example, don’t really do dessert or are looking for a lighter lunch rather than a formal dinner.

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Taste of Yaletown 2014 fortified with beer and spirits

Luxury Farmers Market Sets Up in Downtown Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Green City on May 30, 2013

Photo credit: Mr. T in DC | Flickr

Vancouver has plenty of farmers markets. But only one is attached to a five-star hotel.

The Shangri-La Farmers Market is back for another season, offering trendy downtown shoppers a place to find the freshest fruits and veggies and a little something more.

Held every other Sunday in the plaza between the Shangri-La Hotel and Urban Fare grocery, the market has carved out a niche with its specialty prepared foods – everything from organic olive oils to goat cheeses and Italian delicacies.

But this year, the Shangri-La is offering something few markets can boast: cooking demonstrations with one of the top French chefs in the city. Continue reading:
Luxury Farmers Market Sets Up in Downtown Vancouver

Is Olympic Village the Hottest New Neighbourhood in Vancouver?

by Remy Scalza in Town on September 7, 2012

Tap & Barrel in Olympic Village. Photo credit: Canadian Veggie | Flickr

It’s been more than two years since I first wrote about the Village on False Creek – the brand new neighbourhood created from the 2010 Olympic Village. And for much of that time, the much-hyped Village was pretty much a ghost town.

After the athletes moved out, few new tenants moved into all those gleaming new condo towers. The original site developer went into receivership. The thriving community promised in all of the real estate brochures never materialized.

But you just knew it was a matter of time. How could a waterfront community situated a stone’s throw from downtown Vancouver not take off?

Well, I think it’s now safe to say that the Village on False Creek has officially turned a corner. It could just be the hottest new neighbourhood in the city. Here’s why. Continue reading:
Is Olympic Village the Hottest New Neighbourhood in Vancouver?