As we awaited the arrival of the first dish, the conversation turned to what our friend Jackie termed “icons” – personal heroes, those outstanding individuals worthy of emulation. She brought up Mozart and Lincoln as examples – Mozart for his brilliance; Lincoln for his unwavering character. My wife suggested Oprah,… Read more ⇢

Happy Chinese New Year! Fondy and I will be celebrating with our friend Jackie by going to our favorite Chinese restaurant – Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant. Unless, of course, they’ve already canceled our reservation. It’s very possible given that, a couple of hours ago, a woman phoned and immediately started… Read more ⇢

I am a creature of habit. Every second day I wake up at exactly 6:30 a.m. and run the treadmill for thirty minutes. Every night, I read for an hour before going to sleep. I drive the same route to work each morning, always check my email the second I… Read more ⇢

I almost run into him as I turn the corner and, as I’m about to initiate small talk, my mind draws a complete blank. What’s his name again? I scramble to come up with an appropriate cover, but he beats me to it with: “Hey, buddy.” Hey, buddy? Buddy? That’s… Read more ⇢

Well, Happy Valentines Day. And, coincidentally, Happy Ferris Wheel Day. While I won’t be riding any Ferris wheels today (or any other day for that matter), I will be celebrating Valentines with dinner at one of Vancouver’s finest French restaurants: Le Crocodile. Fondy loves their skate wing with beurre noisette… Read more ⇢

The term “comfort food” evokes memories of the meals my parents used to prepare for my sister and I when we were growing up. Dishes like eggplant parmesan, fetinni (pan-fried paper-thin pieces of chicken breast coated with breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley), and pasta orechietti come to mind. Meatloaf, fish ‘n… Read more ⇢

Among the titles I added to my ever-expanding library of books-I-may-never-get-around-to-reading this past weekend was The Terror, a supernatural re-imagining of the ill-fated 1840’s Franklin expedition. I enjoyed Dan Simmons’ first foray into horror, The Song of Kali, and so decided to check this one out. Interestingly enough, while I… Read more ⇢

My pug Bubba has impeccable timing. Every morning, at exactly 6:30 a.m., he wakes me up, barking to get at my attention or, failing that, jumping up on his hind legs to bat at my face. He’s like a furry little alarm clock with no snooze button. I try to… Read more ⇢

Our household watches a lot of Food Network, partly because we like the programming and partly because it’s the channel we always leave on for the dogs when we go out (Bubba in particular seems to enjoy that Alton Brown). One of the shows we catch on occasion is Restaurant… Read more ⇢