Saturday, January 10, 2009

Things I'm lovin' right now

A few things on my radar right now:

1) Dine Out Vancouver is coming up. YAHOO! This annual event is truly stellar. There are around 180 restaurants involved this year. Here's how it works: In January and February, Vancouver restaurants used to have difficulty getting people in the door (after Christmas, the purse-strings were tied pretty tight). So, a few marketing and tourism types got together to brainstorm a way to keep the food scene afloat until Valentine's Day. The result? A multi-week extravaganza of bargain-priced table d'hotes that brought foodies out in droves. Some of the city's top tables started offering 3-course meals for $15, $25 or $35. It was a win-win for everyone. Restaurants were packed every night for 2 weeks, and food lovers got the opportunity to sample dozens of restaurants at prices that wouldn't break the bank.

Last year was my first Dine Out experience. I had been working at Manhattan Restaurant the previous fall, so I had an insider's look at how the event was set up and its effect on the local food community. I only managed to make it out to one restaurant, Rain City Grill, but it was absolutely delicious and I couldn't wait until this year. I'm working on reservations right now, but I've left it a little late, so who knows where I'll end up eating. I'll keep you posted!

2) Three great musicians that I'm digging: Jon Holden, DJ Reset and Sweet Electra.




All great electronica, Jon Holden and DJ Reset fall under the modern house category, while Sweet Electra is a little more dance. Fun, catchy tracks that are on my iPod right now:
- from Jon Holden, I'm loving Shadows
- from DJ Reset, Crush has become my new favorite sunrise song
- from Sweet Electra, Firefly totally makes me groove

I actually heard Sweet Electra for the first time last year on the Chillcast, one of my favorite podcasts, hosted by the lovely Anji Bee. For anyone who is in to down tempo world, ambient or great vocals, you should definitely check this podcast out. Anji often gives away free songs featured on her podcasts, and always has links to every single song she plays - talk about dedication.

3) Guilty book pleasure of the moment: The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I read the first two in the series last fall; they are completely addictive but also completely fluffy, making them very satisfying if you like feeling of reading many many pages in a short amount of time. I'm currently on book 3 of the series, Eclipse. The saga is moving along quite nicely and at this rate, I anticipate I will reach the height of vampiric lust in the next couple of days. I love teen fiction.

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