elysian coffee - perfect cup of clover

elysian coffee.
broadway & ash.
(also a location at 5th & burrard.)
they frequently change their coffee selection
(always using freshly roasted beans)
but i believe (don't quote me on this) they use mostly (or a lot of) intelligentsia coffee.

while i normally drink americanos, at elysian i drink their coffee by the cup.
they use a clover & make it to perfection.
if you normally take sugar, you probably won't with this coffee, i promise you.
they also serve tasty goodies made fresh on site.
i'm always drawn to their chocolate cookie with the dusting of icing sugar on top.
i used to make those cookies in high school, so they taste nostalgic to me.
(can things taste nostalgic?)
there's a tap on the bar for water. sparkling or still. your choice.
sparkling water isn't my cup of tea, a bit too fancy for me.
but it might just be your cup of tea. (or water.)

elysian coffee

broadway location:
7-7 everday

5th ave location:
mon- thu 7-7:30
fri 7-10
sat 9-10
sun 11-5

why you should do the culture crawl this year

those of you readers who live in vancouver, i have for you 3 reasons to go to the vancouver east side culture crawl this year:
(specifically my sister andrea armstrong's studio)

1. this is what one of her walls looked like last year.
isn't it pretty?
this year's is even better - i've seen it in progress.

2. guess what is across the street from her studio?
yeah. jj bean.
(keep in mind it closes at 6pm friday, and 5pm saturday & sunday)

3. i made cookies last year for andrea's studio.
and guess what?! i made more this year too.
(and no, my dad didn't make them.)

(i kinda made a lot last year. but this year looks pretty similar.)

(this is what her studio looks like. from the outside.)

crawling hours:
friday november 18: 5pm-10pm
saturday november 19: 11am-6pm
sunday november 20: 11am-6pm

bump n grind: chocolate peanut butter cups + americanos

bump n grind
corner of commercial + venables, vancouver

i've always kind of hated the name of this place, so i never ever went in. but this past summer i tried it out... and honestly i've been missing out. their americanos are pretty great, but the best thing they have is their chocolate peanut butter cups. and what better then to pair chocolate with coffee? not much, i tell you.

so go. go now and eat a chocolate peanut butter cup. with an americano. thank your barista. then come back here and thank me (and my sister who introduced me to them).


bump n grind cafe
916 commercial drive
mon - fri 7-7
sat + sun 8-7
@bumpngrindcafe

another breakfast at the red wagon

i spent a day with a friend from out of town a couple weeks ago. i took some lovely photos of her, you can see them here.

to start our day, we ate at the red wagon. i've eaten there several times since i first went when they opened last november. i really love it.

steph got a breakfast sandwich:

andrea got an omelet of some sort. i think it was an asparagus & goat cheese special:


and i got something i've been eyeing on their menu for a long, long time:

pulled pork pancakes with jack daniels syrup.

i finally did it. i finally ordered it. and i can say.... it was quite worth it. maybe not an every day kind of meal, but most definitely a meal you need to order once in your life (if you eat pork, that is. if you don't, well, maybe you should avoid this one).

i know there are others who like to combine sweet & savory together. i know i am not the only one. otherwise there would be no pulled pork pancakes on a menu, right? i am glad menu items like these exist. they make me happy.

how to brew french press - thanks jj bean!

thanks jj bean*!
my favorite way to drink coffee, explained in a beautiful tutorial video:



*jj bean is a local coffee roaster in vancouver, plus they have some of the best coffee shops too. there's one 2 blocks from my work & 6 blocks from me.

ooh & they have some public coffee tastings coming up:

thursday, june 16: 1:00 pm
jj bean on powell street
1904 powell street, vancouver

friday, june 17: 1:00 pm
jj bean in the granville island public market
1689 johnston street, vancouver

thursday, june 23: 1:00 pm
jj bean on main street
3010 main street, vancouver

friday, june 24: 1:00 pm
jj bean at park & tilford
333 brooksbank avenue, north vancouver

thursday, june 30: 1:00 pm
jj bean on commercial drive
2206 commercial drive, vancouver

friday, july 1: 1:00 pm
jj bean in yaletown
402 davie street, vancouver

read more about the tastings here. i'm going to try to hit up the tasting at powell street if i can remember to!

little nest in east van

little nest is a lovely cafe just off commercial drive on charles street. in the lovely east vancouver neighbourhood. its beautiful, full of light from a huge wall of pure window facing north. full of mismatched furniture and an abundance of childrens' toys and highchairs. its very child friendly, which is awesome for moms and dads who want to go out for coffee or brunch with their friends but worry about whether there will be room or entertainment for their little ones. there is at little nest. lots of it. not to mention excellent coffee and delicious meals.

great place to meet friends for brunch. i did just that a couple weekends ago. i wanted to try the egg & soldiers (soft-boiled egg with toasted baguette) but felt a bit more hungry than that.

so i got french toast. it was served with fresh pineapple, whipped lime curd, crushed pistachios, and maple syrup. it was heavenly. it sounded so unusual i had to try it. it felt a little pricey at $12 when i initially ordered it, but it was worth it. oh yes.

my friend had some kind of fritatta and mushroom special. it looked awesome.

rice pudding. i didn't have it, but tried my friend's. tasty.

my one complaint about little nest (from my 2 experiences) was that the sandwich i had was a little bit dry. the beets were tasty, and made for a gorgeous mess on the plate. i took my leftover half home and re-toasted it with some mayo and more cheese and it was a lot better.

they serve ethical bean coffee. i've had the coffee at little nest twice now and i can't complain.

(i love it when coffee is served in a glass glass. for some really bizarre reason it actually makes me really happy. i'm crazy. i know.)

little nest
1716 charles st
9am to 4pm
every day
(kitchen closes at 3pm)
604.251.9994

THIS IS EAST VAN at make it! vancouver

this past weekend i had the pleasure of attending the spring 'make it! vancouver' show down at the croatian cultural centre on commercial & 16th. it's a great way for consumers to buy directly from artists, crafters and designers.

i have to admit, i felt a tad bit guilty walking into the show, knowing i probably wasn't going to buy much. i really love to support local artists, and i do it when i can, but the truth is, i can't always. sometimes food in my mouth & paying rent take top priority. weird, right?

but i didn't just go to the make it! show to feel guilty or to feel jealousy of other artists' great work. i had a purpose. i was there to buy a book with one of my photographs in it, and to meet the great people behind that book.

the book? THIS IS EAST VAN. a community photography project about life in east vancouver. i live in east vancouver, so i felt it appropriate to submit a couple photos last summer to this project. to my great joy, one of them got in! i was super excited.

the people? erin & jason. they've put so much time, blood, sweat and tears into the making of this book. the book is gorgeous, i hope they are proud.

another cool thing about the book? part of the proceeds will be going to a local east van arts organization, voted on by the contributors. our pick? reel youth.

my obvious bias aside, TIEV's booth had the best looking set up. it was nice to finally meet the people behind this project, they were so friendly and down to earth.

a few gimpses into THIS IS EAST VAN:

my page! my page! (page 157.) coffee is such a big part of east van, and my life in east van, so that's why i chose to submit this photo. this particular cup is from the Roundel cafe in my neighbourhood. after every meal you get a fortune. that day's fortune: "you are prompted to set new goals and discover new desires"

if you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can find them online at cargoh. if you are local, they will be in a few local retailers soon. head to the TIEV website for updates.

(oh, and i did end up buying some beautiful prints from calgary-based photographer amy victoria wakefield)