Spot treats, free eats, and cured meats.
by Trish Kelly
Eat In
If your shopping list takes you to Yaletown or Kits this month, make sure you duck into one of the handful of cafés carrying certified organic Spot teas, made by local ladies Alisa Kami and Laura Game. Need to recharge your holiday season giddy-up? Grab a cup of Go, their black Assam tea with enough caffeine to get you back out there, or Flirt, an organic green sencha tea finished with a touch of mango. If you’re already vibrating more than your BlackBerry, you might consider the mellowing effects of True, a caffeine-free rooibos tea. You’ll find Spot at the darling Coo Coo Coffee on Davie across from Choices
Market or on the Westside at Café Hermosa, 4 W. Seventh Ave. spottea.com
Check Out
It’s entertaining season, and busy dinner party hosts know how invaluable a stop at Urban Fare can be. Super good news for hosts and hostesses (and for those of us who just enjoy free snacks), Urban Fare is again putting on its threeday sampling extravaganza, the Gourmet Food Show. More than 20 vendors, including local favourites Rocky Mountain Flatbreads and Lesley Stowe Fine Foods, will be on hand with sampling stations peppered throughout the store. This year you have a choice of two Urban Fare locations: the still-shiny Coal Harbour store at the foot of Bute Street, and the newly minted Shangri-La location at Alberni and Thurlow. The event runs at both supermarkets Nov. 22 in the evening and Nov. 23 from noon to 5 pm. urbanfare.com
Eat Out
You can bet chef Robert Belcham won’t be starting his shopping early this year. Not only does he have the wellreceived Fuel restaurant to take care of, he’s also opening a second restaurant the first week of this month. Called Campagnolo, the eatery is situated on the last frontier of Vancouver’s condo-fication: lower Main Street. The new space promises affordable, casual Italian dining with a commitment to local and sustainable ingredients. Robert and chef de cuisine Alvin Pillay have created a simple and authentic menu of salumi (cured meats), pizza, pasta, risotto, and seasonally inspired main courses, with a wine list focused entirely on Italian and B.C. selections. Nestled among several major traffic arteries, Campagnolo may not become your neighbourhood haunt, but we’re anticipating another culinary victory for Robert. 1022 Main St., campagnolorestaurant.ca
FRESH Greens by Trish Kelly
Trish Kelly lives and eats in East Vancouver. She loves a steaming cup of Envy, discovering paradise in a grocery store, and finding new ways to say gentrification.” Each month she donates her contributor fee to a local food-based non-profit. This month’s recipient is Fresh Choice Kitchens (communitykitchens.ca), a community program that creates opportunities for people to cook together.
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