Acme Cafe

I know I just wrote about food a couple of days ago, but I can't ignore the amazing lunch I had at Acme Cafe on Monday!

For those of you who haven't heard, it's a new spot in Gastown at 51 W. Hastings. Very small, and diner style, Acme Cafe serves up home made soups, delicious baked treats and a quiche that makes you want to ask for seconds. The quiche comes with the soup of the day and a salad, which were both fantastic. I purposely put one bite of the quiche aside so that after my soup and salad were gone, it would be the very last thing I tasted. Strategic eating; it was that good.

I was eyeing the tables around me to see how their food looked, and I must say, those sandwiches were looking pretty tempting. Just as I was starting to plan my week around tasting their entire menu, my server informed me that they had one gentleman come in four times last week! At least I know I'm not alone in this new found love.

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Fresh | Local | Wild

Kudos to the city of Vancouver and all of the recent gourmet street food carts that have been popping up. Case in point, Fresh, Local, Wild, located on Granville St. at the corner of Robson.

When they say this food rivals your favorite restaurant, they aren't kidding. I had the Hot Smoked Northern Coho Salmon Sandwich, and the Chanterelle Mushroom Poutine (as pictured). Wowsa! As far as the sandwich is concerned, the coleslaw was the cherry on top for me; talk about perfection! The salmon was beyond fresh. (It seriously tasted like it had been swimming in the ocean a mere hours before it entered my tummy.)

Photo Courtesy of Maurice Li 

As a person who was born and raised on the east coast, I know poutine. We have poutine carts on every block, but none of them are smothered in chanterelle mushrooms. I am loving this twist on my old favorite.

Chef Josh Wolfe and Andy Fielding were both hanging out at the cart when I stopped by. These guys are friendly, chatty and above all else, excited about what they're selling.

I was telling a friend about Fresh, Local, Wild and they were immediately concerned about the price. "How expensive is this place?". Surprisingly, not expensive at all. A poutine at Mega-Bites costs $5.99. They make it in the microwave and the fries come out of a deep freeze. A poutine at F.L.W. costs a mere $3!

Do yourself a favor and check this cart out. It's amazing and the only problem with something this good is it means I'll need to increase my gym routine because there's no way I can stay away.

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Whip my Hair

Nine years old. Nine years old! Do you remember what you were doing at nine? I was laying in my bunk-beds, reading the Baby-Sitters Club books. Do you know what Willow Smith is doing at nine? Getting signed by Jay-Z.

Seriously, could the Smith family be any more talented? Papa Will has got to be one of the luckiest people of all time, because not only has he managed to become a super A-list celebrity, but he does so without having to sell his soul to the tabloids. Then he marries the beautiful Jada, and they produce an army of talent, with big brother Jaden staring in the Karate Kid earlier this year.

But back to Willow... listen to these vocals! I want to compare her to other teen queens out there, but that wouldn't be fair; Willow isn't even ten years old, and if you stacked up her talent next to Miley Cyrus... well even Billy Ray would be waving the white flag.

With nearly 4 million views on Youtube in only 3 days, it's safe to say I'm not the only one who can't believe their eyes (or ears). Willow Smith is this generation's Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Beyonce all wrapped into one.

Say hello to the world's next mega star...

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Joe Freshing it!

Fashion lovers were rejoicing over the flagship store opening of Joe Fresh at 540 Granville St. in downtown Vancouver on Saturday. Finally, we no longer have to drive out to Richmond to get our inexpensive fashion fix! (Not to mention the serious lack of sizes out there). If you haven't had a chance to check out the store, it's most definitely worth a visit.

Saturday was the official opening. With the closing down of Granville St., Marianas Trench played to an eager crowd, (some of whom were waiting since 6am for their favorite Canadian rockers to show).

After the concert, the store was shut down for a VIP opening party. I had the pleasure of assisting the PR team with the festivities and can tell you first hand that this party stood out. It wasn't your typical shopping event; this party had models, TV crews and many familiar faces (including Joe himself). The theme may have been affordable fashion, but these party goers were decked out with Louboutins, Gucci bags and some seriously fierce attire.

I don't always enjoy spending my Saturday night working, but trust me when I say this was a labor of love.

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VIFF and the Two Escobars

VIFF means a lot of things for Vancouverites; great films, cool parties and something to do every night of the week for two weeks straight.

Last year I went to the opening gala, but that's where my VIFF experience ended. This year, I was lucky enough to be hooked up with some tickets from Vancouver 24 hours. I took advantage of the passes and on Friday night took a girlfriend to see the documentary everyone had been talking about "The Two Escobars".

To summarize; the doc is about the 1994 world cup soccer game in the USA where star player Andrés Escobar accidentally scored on his own net. Weeks later he was shot to death, presumably by Columbian drug cartels. The story also chronicles the rise and death of Pablo Escobar.

With intimate interviews from the close friends and families of both Escobars, the documentary unfolds the story about a time in Columbia where drug money funded not only the soccer league, but built homes, parks and schools for the poor, when their government couldn't afford to do so.

At the end of the film, director Jeff Zimbalist did a question and answer period, which was a definite highlight for me. His passion for the project beamed as he answered each question casually without a nervous bone in his body.

This movie is too good to miss. They've already shown it twice at VIFF, with a third screening scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 (and possibly a forth being planned, due to popular demand).

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The Social Network

How many of you ran out to see The Social Network over the course of the last week? I certainly did! Best Saturday night ever.

I saw Mark Zuckerberg on the Oprah show earlier last week, where he stated that the movie is purely entertainment, but after watching the film, I'm not so sure it's all as fictional as he would like us to believe. A quick search on Google paints a different image of the "shy" Zuckerberg, with leaked (juicy!) text messages about the Winklevoss twins and interviews where he seemingly talks down to the reporter.

The funny thing is, I think I like this version of Zuckerberg more than his squeaky clean, geeky image he's trying to hard to portray.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I think it's definitely worth the $12. I really enjoyed the story and couldn't help but day dream about becoming a billionaire myself after watching it (very unlikely). It also brought back memories of when I was first introduced to Facebook, back when you had to have a student email address in order to sign up.

Facebook has literally become our lifeline for communicating with friends, family and even total strangers, with most of us logging on everyday. Social networking is more than just a movie; social networking is our way of life.

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White Space at The Bay

This week has already been nuts! I came down with a cold/some sort of evil throat bug over the weekend and it threw my whole week off. Now that we're at the hump day there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the new White Space at The Bay in downtown Vancouver.

Think Holt Renfrew meets, well, Holt Renfrew.

The event was great with a surprisingly high turn out. There was a fall fashion presentation by Rebecca Tay from Fashion Magazine, lots of champagne and very tasty food being passed.

In my goody bag there was a Dior primer mascara, which is a new concept for me. I always thought it was a gimmick, but I gave it a whirl this morning and I can honestly say my lashes have never looked longer!

I always say fall is my favorite season and these shopping events are one of the main reasons why. There's a mile long list of stores hosting events over the next couple weeks, including BCBG on Robson tonight. See you there?

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