Italian food has a special place in many people’s hearts. Their flavorful cuisine and culture are admired by people who love to eat. There are many restaurants that serve Italian food not all of them have deep roots that connect and inspire their cooking. Savio Volpe is an Italian restaurant that is located at 615 Kingsway and they showcase Italian food culture with their mouth-watering items on the menu. Restaurant style is inspired by the osteria concept. A long time ago, probably around the 14^th century, an osteria was a place known for serving wine and simple, yet delicious food. It’s a down-home style of local eatery that usually has a small menu with local specialties like pasta, grilled meat or fish and a spectacular selection of wine to share in a table with friends, family or stranger.

Savio Volpe is rooted in their Italian traditions of simplicity and freshness. Their menu shows their skills in making delicious, fresh, handmade pastas. They also use a wood fire grill to cook their food, which makes all the difference in the way the food tastes. With a few options in the menu to pick from, they also have a “Let us cook for you” option, which is $79 per person. If I was looking to eat some delicious, authentic Italian food, I would let the experts decide what to eat here. Savio Volpe embraces the Italian food culture of sharing a table with friends, family and strangers. Drinking wine, sharing platters of food and enjoying people’s company is the Italian style.

I think that this restaurant does a great job of trying to recreate the atmosphere of an osteria and you should consider checking out Savio Volpe if you’re curious about the Italian food culture and the restaurants culinary skills. It would be a great opportunity to experience Italian cuisine without having to leave the country.

Food has a special way of connecting people to land, culture and history. Experiencing different cuisines is a way for people to connect with places that they’ve never been before and also reconnect with places that they’ve been before. Vancouver has different restaurants where people can try authentic cuisines and feel like they’re in a different place and time. One of the restaurants that make people feel like they’re in Europe without actually travelling there, is Simpatico. It’s located in Kitsilano at 2222 West 4^th Avenue. It’s been around for over fifty years, serving people with authentic and traditional Greco-Roman cuisine.

The family-owned business has a long and fascinating history of specializing in serving delicious, homemade Greek and Italian dishes. They are well-known for their whole wheat crust pizza, but they have so many amazing dishes in their menu. The restaurants design has changed over the years, but they have always preserved their cozy and elegant atmosphere. The food is incredible, and their portions are very generous. They make it hard to resist the temptation of going back for more. It’s pretty clear that they have a commitment to making the best authentic Greek and Italian dishes for people to devour.

When you think about how long this restaurant has been around for, it makes you wonder what their secret is. There are a few things that play a part in this. Their food is the main thing, if it wasn’t that good, it wouldn’t have stood the test of time. Even after the pandemic, while other local businesses were suffering, they showed a resiliency that many restaurants didn’t have. The support of the people that have experienced their food is another reason why the restaurant is here to stay. Simpatico is a spot that has to be on your list of places to check out. It’s a chance to experience a different culture and cuisine through a delicious meal.

Vancouver has restaurants that have been around for many years, serving people in their respective neighborhoods. They’ve been a part of the landscape for so long that people who live here, have created memories at these restaurants. Restaurants like Sophie’s Cosmic Café become a part of culture because of their food and presence. Sophie’s Cosmic Café is located at 2095 W 4^th Avenue. They’ve been around since 1988 and if people have their way, they’ll be here to stay for a long time. Sophie’s Cosmic Café has that classic old school diner look and feel to it. The interior and exterior are exactly how you’d imagine a diner from the 80’s to look like. They’re known to serve some of the best comfort food that the city has.

On a Sunday morning, when you’re waking up later than usual, Sophie’s Cosmic Café is the spot to get a satisfying meal to start the day. They’ve got a reputation for serving delicious comfort food like pancakes, omlettes, burgers and milkshakes. They’ve got several versions of these dishes to fit your preference. When I think of a classic diner/café, the first thing that comes to mind is the milkshakes and Sophie’s Cosmic Café has got a wide variety of them that are delicious, satisfying and well-priced. They’ve also got their own hot sauce, that they sell at the place.

The portions that they serve are more than generous and their friendly service makes it hard not to go back for more food and drinks. One of the best parts about eating at Sophie’s is the art showcased on the wall. Instead of ordering their food and eating at home, I would consider eating at the café because of the atmosphere they have. They’ve got walls filled with art work from national and international artists and their décor has a nostalgic feel to it.

Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, the day you got promoted or just a special occasion, there’s no better way to celebrate than by enjoying a meal at a fancy restaurant. Vancouver has a few fine dining restaurants that serve high quality food and drinks. Typically, when you think of eating at a fancy restaurant, you think about the price of the food, the portions, the taste and the atmosphere. If you’re going to spend time and money at a new place, you want it to be worth it. One of Vancouver’s best fine-dining restaurants is St. Lawrence and it’s located at 269 Powell Street. The restaurant’s cuisine is inspired by the food cultures of France and Quebec.

St. Lawrence is a small restaurant, but it’s operated by a team of culinary experts. The food served here is simple and at the same time, sophisticated and very flavorful. Because of the limited seating, it would be a wise idea to book a table in advance. Once, you try a dish that is incredibly delicious, you start wondering about the process that goes into making the dish, maybe you even try to make the dish yourself, but for some reason it doesn’t taste the same as the first time you tried the dish. These are the types of dishes you can expect at St. Lawrence.

In 2022, St. Lawrence was awarded One Star by the Michelin Guide. They’ve also been recognized as the Best New Restaurant and included in the top three list of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. If you’re looking to impress someone who loves food or celebrate a special event, St. Lawrence might be the spot to do it. They’ve also got a cookbook that you can purchase, in case you were think of making an amazing meal for yourself or for your loved ones. It’s called Where the River Narrows and it’s got 125 recipes for you to check out if you love the French and Quebec cuisine.

There’s an upcoming exhibition at an art gallery in North Vancouver that expresses cultural identity of Black artists over the years. The exhibition, “As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic” will be featured at The Polygon Gallery. These photographs that are going to be showcased have important concepts that are identified. Dr. Kenneth Montague founded The Wedge Collection in Toronto back in 1997. The purpose of Montague’s artistic endeavors is to collect and exhibit art that explore Black identity. The Wedge Collection is Canada’s largest privately owned collection that is committed to support and appreciate Black artists.

The title of the exhibition was inspired by a phrase that Dr. Kenneth Montague’s father used to say. “Lifting as we rise.” Meaning, even with personal success, it’s important to consider how to help the community that we belong to. After all, there is a sense of empowerment that comes from helping others when you can help yourself.  The photographs from this exhibition are collected from Black Artists from different places and times. The photographs are taken by Black Artists and the subjects of the photographs are from the same community. The subjects are aware of the camera but the expressions that are captured by the photographers are candid.

The photographs from this exhibition are collected from over two decades. It shows the different elements and influences that inspire the Black community. There are several elements and characteristics in the photographs that explore Black culture with regards to community and identity. I think that the style of clothing in the subjects is the most noticeable aspect from these photographs. It helps with understanding how time and places, influence the identity and community of the artists. Dr. Kenneth Montague’s commitment to supporting and inspiring Black Artists make him an important figure in this space. His personal success has only inspired him to give people from his community the opportunity to express themselves and also motivate others to do the same.

Enjoying a nice warm coffee or tea with a delicious snack is a part of the day that most people look forward to. It’s the time where we take our focus off work or school to unwind and enjoy a book or conversation. Vancouver’s got plenty of bakeries and cafes that help people to do that but there’s only a few spots that consider every detail behind their food and drinks. One of the best bakeries in Vancouver, “To Live For” is located at 1508 Nanaimo Street and they live up to their name. Some of the most delicious bites to eat and addictive beverages are served here.

They’ve got a small space with an aesthetically pleasing design where they serve delicious items. They’re open every day of the week from 7AM to 5PM. Which is plenty of time to stop by and find out why their stuff tastes so good. The founder, Erin Ireland started baking as a way to give her friends gifts. The reviews she got for her banana bread was incredible and she couldn’t ignore the potential business opportunity. She opened “To Die For Fine Foods” and used her passion for baking to learn more about the craft.

Her research made her realize that most bakeries use products that promote animal cruelty and it made her uncomfortable with the idea of being live these other bakeries. She spent a lot of time researching and experimenting with using vegan products for baking and she found a way to do it. Not just that, she made it taste better than before. This prompted the idea to change the name of the place to, “To Live For Bakery”. She took the idea and ran with it. She came up with innovative ways to bake the most unbelievable vegan goods. Even if you’re not a vegan, you have to be at least a little curious about how it tastes.

When it’s so cold outside, many people find it comforting to stay indoors and sip on a hot drink. The best comforting beverage to consume when you must deal with the crappy weather, is a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate. Luckily, people living in Vancouver have many options to satisfy their hot chocolate cravings. The annual Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival is back and it’s going to end on February 14th. It’s not too late to participate in the festivities. Some of Vancouver’s best bakeries, cafes and dessert spots are participating in the hot chocolate festival. This is the perfect opportunity to visit your favorite spots and to explore a new spot with some friends or family.

This is the 13^th year of this amazing festival and this year, a new project is being launched to help make the festival more accessible to disadvantaged children. The project is called, “The Marshmallow Dreams Project.” In this project, coupons are distributed through charitable organizations like shelters, church groups and other organizations that are dedicated to helping low-income families. A coupon can be redeemed for free hot chocolate drinks for children that are accompanied by a guardian.

Some of the participating vendors are Bel Café, Bella Gelateria, 49^th Parallel Coffee + Lucky’s Doughnuts, Aperitivo Truck, Casa Mia, Doughgirls, Fife Bakery, Pie Hole and so many more! The gloomy winter days don’t have to be so gloomy anymore when you can relish a delicious cup of hot chocolate at any of the participating vendors. The motto of the festival is simple and true, “Hot Chocolate Makes You Happy!” The whole concept of the festival is to help those in need and to do it by making them happy. Initiatives like this are important because it brings people together and it reinforces the idea of helping people going through tough times and letting them know that they are not alone.

One of Canada’s biggest and best festivals is back. From January 20^th to February 5^th the Dine Out Vancouver Festival of 2023 is happening. Select restaurants that participate offer 3 course menus that have great prices, especially considering the quantity and quality. Although the weather is not the best and the idea of staying at home in a comfortable space seems like such a good idea, this opportunity comes once a year and must be taken advantage of. The chance to try the culinary excellence and variety of some of Vancouver’s best restaurants is there for the curious foodies to take. The festival encourages restaurants to participate by making fixed-price menu deals that are too hard to resist. The idea is to get people to go out with friends and family and experience different restaurants whilst also supporting the culinary establishments.

Some of the restaurants that are participating are offering the most mouth-watering dishes in their deals. A few of the restaurants from Downtown Vancouver that are participating in the festival are Cactus Club, The Keg, Notch8 Restaurant , Tap & Barrel and Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant. At these prices, it would be foolish not to go out with friends and family for a great time and delicious meal at an incredible price.

The idea behind the festival came from a collaboration of a group of food and wine lovers and Destination Vancouver in 2002. They came up with a plan to entice Vancouverites to eat out with a well-crafted and reasonably priced 3 course menu that showcases participating restaurants’ culinary excellence through their delicious food. It would be a great idea to find a participating restaurant that you are familiar with and connecting with the spirit of the festival by eating out with friends and family. After all, it saves you the trouble of doing your dishes for the night.

The infamous Canadian filmmaker who is responsible for making the most famous, groundbreaking and innovative films like Titanic, The Terminator series and Avatar series creates history yet again, with the new Avatar: The Way of Water movie taking over the theatres. James Cameron is a well-known figure in the entertainment industry for his ability to glue people to their seats throughout the movie. The new Avatar movie is the second part of a five-part series. It’s an epic science fiction and adventure series that attracts people from different demographics, which is because there was a lot of time taken to make the movie because of the very high standards from the first release back in 2009. Cameron has trusted that the time, money and effort that is placed towards the second part of the series is rewarded when the fans and casual movie-watchers take over the theatres and break the box office records.

The duration of the Avatar: The Way of Water is over 3 hours, making it one of the lengthiest films to watch. Knowing the nature of films that James Cameron releases, people are willing to spend the time and money to watch how the story unfolds and their eagerness for the next release grows. The plot of the movie is very detailed and requires attention to understand the many themes and visuals in the different scenes of the movie. Even after over a month since the movie released, some theatres are still packed out on the weekends. Since the pandemic, this is the movie to bring the most number of people to the theatres. The next movies from the Avatar series is said to be released in 2024, 2026 and 2028. Three more parts of the series to look forward to and a lot shorter wait period between each part compared to the wait period between the first and second parts.

After busy work and school schedules, people look forward to their down time. It’s important to find different ways to unwind and regroup before getting back to the hectic schedules that we all keep up with. Whether it’s binge-watching favourite tv shows or eating out or even reading a book, there’s always a way to feel reenergized. One of the ways in which people can find comfort and relaxation is by experiencing the new floating Nordic spa that’s about to come to BC. The talks of a floating Nordic spa have been going on for some time now and recently the project was approved for Ships Point in Victoria’s inner harbour.

A new company called HAVN Experiences LTD have formulated a plan to make a giant floating spa for people to experience. It will be approximately 144 feet in length and the amenities that amenities that they offer are amazing. They have hot tubs, freshwater cold pools, saunas, relaxation spots in greenery and more. The thought of being able to experience this feels like a dream. The developers are also looking to include a flex space where community events like concerts and speakers can connect to people on this floating vessel.

Apparently, the construction of this floating Nordic spa will utilize 90% of reused and recycled materials. Although this project just got approved and the construction has just started, you can’t help but visualize the result and the experience that it could create. People from around the province and country will be looking to experience this firsthand. It’s a unique concept that is bound to attract people from all over. Once the project comes to fruition, there will be so many people looking to experience this one-of-a-kind spa. It’s the perfect opportunity to relax, enjoy people’s company and even connect with the water. Spending time at this floating spa would be a really thoughtful gift for people who are feeling burnt out or need some long overdue relaxation time.