Dressew Supply

Rated this place:

337 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 1H6

Halloween store: Every year this store transforms from regular fabric story to custome extravaganza! A good place to go if you have no idea what to dress up as for Halloween. Even better if you are already downtown when you decide to dress up - just pop in and buy yourself something! They have wigs, feather boas, masks, all sorts of props, and of course fabric! I also bought some very nice long gold movie-star style gloves there once for 1/4 of what any other store would have charged me. Love it!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Halloween Store

Fabricland

Rated this place:

1678 SE Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5P 2R6

Fabric store, Tote bag: It's got a huge selection of fabrics, reasonable prices and, because it's out of the way, it's not as picked over as the downtown fabric stores. Also big selection of buttons, ribbon, etc and some housewares (curtain rods). Tip: Pay the membership fee if you are a regular craftster/sewer so that you get the good prices!

Lots of local retailers are selling or giving away fabric bags to encourage us to stop using plastic. Some of them are great and some suck. My favorite bag so far is the one from fabricland. It's a good size, bright red and 1.99. It says 'sew on the go' and has a snap closure that keeps it folded up. Partial proceeds also go to charity (I can't remember which one.)

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• fabric store
• Tote Bag

Tandoori King Restaurant

Rated this place:

8017 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC, V5X 3X5

Indian food (delivery): Huge menu and every single item we've ordered has been delicious! 14 different specialties listed for the vegetarians out there. Also, looks like they have an outdoor patio and one day I think I might actually go there in person!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Indian Food (Delivery)

1st and Fir Railway Garden

Rated this place:

W 1st Ave and Fir St, Vancouver, BC

Train tracks: Often railroad tracks can be scary, in littered ditches with homeless campouts, etc; but, the section of railway down where Fir Street ends is just beautiful. The space around it is being used as a community garden and it looks very well cared for. Nice work!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Train Tracks

Kaboodles Toy Store

Rated this place:

1496 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3Y5

Toy store: Located in the Kids Market on Granville Island, this toy store has it all. Great selection of quality toys that are interesting and make memorable gifts.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Toy store

Valley Bakery

Rated this place:

4058 Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V5C 2H9

Wedding cakes: 1. They use real butter cream (as in realy dairy not yucky tasting fake stuff). 2. Their staff are very friendly, skilled and helpful. 3. I brought in a photo of the cake I wanted and they made it perfectly AND it was delicious.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Wedding Cakes

Burrard Station

Rated this place:

On Burrard at Dunsmuir Street beside the Bentall towers and Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver, BC

Sky-train landscape: 1. It's pretty 2. It's stroller-friendly 3. It's not scary

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• sky-train landscape

Commodore Lanes & Billiards

Rated this place:

838 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1K3

Quick beer: Granville Street can be a bit crazy and annoying if you are an old cranky lady like me which makes this place perfect to stop in for a beer. You can buy a beer (and chips or licorice rope) and then sit in the lounge area and watch the bowlers or just enjoy the decor (art deco-ish). It's underground and easily overlooked - the perfect hideout right smack in the middle of busy nightclubs and bars. Also a non-scary place to shoot pool if you're not very good at it. AND they have dome hockey!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Quick Beer

Save-On-Meat

Rated this place:

43 Hastings Street W, Vancouver, BC, V6B 1G4

Neon sign: It's a big pink pig. In fact, Vancouverites often call this store 'The Pink Pig' instead of Save-On-Meat. I've never actually been inside but it's basically a butcher shop, although rumour has it there is also a cafe where you can get a cheap breakfast.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Neon Sign

Rio Friendly Meats

Rated this place:

2477 Hastings Street East, Vancouver, BC, V5K 1Y8

Store name: Two of my favorite combos: disgusting AND funny! If I'm eating meat I don't want to think about how friendly the original animal was. If all butcher shops had names like this I would definitely be a vegetarian. Why not just call it 'Cute and Cuddly' Meats? Their tagline on superpages when I looked up their address was "Where all the friends meat" Is that a spelling error? The plot thickens...

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Store Name

Uncle Fatih's Pizza

Rated this place:

1685 Broadway East, Vancouver, V5N 1V9

Late night snack: On your way home from a late night out? This pizza place is across the street from Broadway skytrain station. Be prepared for a line up once the bars are closed...

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Late Night Snack

Dream Apparel

Rated this place:

311 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, V6B 1E5

Clothing store: Local designers, really cool clothes and, by the way, a great place to buy unique gifts - accessories, jewelry, etc.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Clothing store

Lion's Den

Rated this place:

651 East 15th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5T 2R6

Breakfast joint: Picture a stuffed lion hanging on the wall, a table-top style pacman machine used as a table, mix and matched dishes and menu items (breakfast, Jamaican food, sushi, apple pie). Their coffee isn't the best but this is still my favorite place to go for brunch. Expect Ken, the owner, to know if you are a new customer and introduce himself. He will also enter your name in his calendar on the date of your first visit... They also have jazz bands play sometimes...

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• breakfast joint

The Artisan Bake Shoppe Ltd

Rated this place:

127 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, BC, V7M 2E7

Buns: Picture cheese buns that are quite dense and have striped of cheese running through them. Certified organic, with only 6 ingredients - but these guys are so good I would eat them even if they were unhealthy! They come in a bag of 4 and are also available at various markets around town.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Buns

The Eatery

Rated this place:

3431 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6R2B4

Sake cocktail, Sushi roll: 1) Cheeky name (The Sake2me) 2) Tasty! Cranberry and some other stuff I can't remember. Mmmmm. 3) Served in an ice-cold stainless steel martini glass

It's called the Captain Crunch and it's a california roll that is dipped in tempura batter and then deep fried. If Elvis had a favorite sushi roll, this would be it. Oh and did I mention that they drizzle mayo over it? I want to go there and have some right now.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• sushi roll
• sake cocktail

Stanley Park

Rated this place:

Georgia Street, west end, Vancouver, BC, BC V6J 5L1

Playground: It looks like a gigantic castle! It's right outside the Petting Zoo and Miniature Railway area and it makes me wish I was 7 years old again but I still play on it anyways!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Playground

The Reef

Rated this place:

1018 Commerical Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L3W9

Artichoke dip: It's called JAH dip and it is jalapeno - artichoke (not sure what the H stands for). Served with tortilla chips, it may be the best dip I've ever had. I order it every single time I go to the Reef.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Artichoke Dip

Santa Barbara Market

Rated this place:

1322 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L3X6

Independent grocery store: The prices are great and I always find something there to inspire my cooking. Great place to get produce and they have a large selection of pasta too. I bought some super cute little mini bowtie noodles there and made them for my daughter when she was 10 months old. Well-stocked deli counter (cold cuts, cheeses) but be prepared to take a number because it's always busy!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Independent Grocery Store

Fratelli Bakery

Rated this place:

1795 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC

Brownie: I've never had anything that wasn't delicious at this Commercial Drive bakery; however, I distinctly remember thinking 'this is the best brownie I've ever had in my whole life' when I was eating it. It's not fancy, it sticks to the basic brownie style, and it does this absolutely perfectly.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• brownie

The Flower Factory

Rated this place:

3604 Main Street, Vancouver, BC, V5V 3N5

Florist: I chose to get the flowers for my wedding here because it was the only florist shop that I talked to that wasn't snooty and made a sincere effort to help me stay within our budget. The flowers were so beautiful and I would recommend them to everyone.

Bonerattle Music

Rated this place:

2012 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A9

Music shop: Their mission statement is 'to promote local music' and 'to make music affordable and easy enough for anyone to play and enjoy'. They play local bands in their store, they carry cool stuff and have a good selection of the 'staples' (i.e. strings, picks, etc).

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Music Shop

Oppenheimer Park

Rated this place:

400 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A1G6

Cultural festival: There's nothing more surreal than seeing sumo wrestling in a park in the downtown eastside! This area of town gets a lot of attention for it's drug use, homelessness, prostitution, etc. Yet it's a part of Vancouver with a lot of history and actually a pretty interesting place to wander around! According to their website, the Powell Street Festival is 'an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts, culture and heritage'.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Cultural Festival

The Butler Did It Catering

Rated this place:

340 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 1C8

Catering company: Reasonably priced, super-friendly, delicious and flexible with their menus. I would definitely use this company again.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Catering Company

10th Avenue Bikeway

Rated this place:

10th Avenue from Victoria Dr to Trafalgar Street, Vancouver, BC

Bike route: It's pretty flat, doesn't have a lot of lights or traffic and yet runs right from East Van to Kitsilano. I find that even if I have to go out of my way a bit, it's still faster to use this route...

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Bike Route

Waazubee Cafe

Rated this place:

1622 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC

Coffee: They bring it to you on a tray with a little metal pitcher of milk and a glass of water. It just tastes better that way!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• coffee