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On Sunday March 7, 2010, from 5pm to 10pm, OPUS Bar (350 Davie Street) and Elixir Bistro in Yaletown are celebrating the Oscars in style.

Feel like a celebrity as you walk the Red Carpet, wave to adoring paparazzi and step into the ultimate viewing party! Dress to impress and experience all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood while sipping Oscartini’s, nibbling feature Oscar O-bite platters for $25 and mingling with Vancouver’s glamorous while watching the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

3 course Oscar Dinner available in Elixir Bistro for $30 with optional wine pairings for $20. Also, don’t miss your chance to win a Bed & Breakfast package for two at OPUS Hotel Vancouver, for the person with the most correct Oscar ballot predictions. RSVP to Jessica Dunn JDunn@opushotel.com.

If you are fortunate enough to make it through the LiveCity Yaletown’s lineups, check out Samsung’s OR@S Pavilion, where Olympic fans can become a snowboard designer for a day. Visitors are invited to create their own unique snowboard design using the graphic assets of Samsung’s CORBY phone. Visitors can have fun and design their own exclusive look of the 2010 Winter Games and then email their snowboard creation which becomes a souvenir of their experience at the Games. Visitors are also entered daily into a contest to win a free snowboard, Samsung is giving away a snowboard for each day of the Games.
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The OR@S is free to the general public and will be open daily 11am to 11pm from February 12 to 28, 2010.

George Ultra Lounge is the Godfather of Vancouver’s cocktail culture. Modeled in the London style, George pioneered the cocktail kitchen concept in Canada when it opened in 2005. Today, with award-winning Shaun Layton behind the bar, George continues to pour proper classic and market-fresh cocktails, complimented by a dinner and late night menu through 2 a.m

George Ultra Lounge (1137 Hamilton Street) is taking a page from the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and holding their own “Mixlympics”, a competition featuring ten bartenders (6 international, 4 local) competing head-to-head in a black box style event. Sponsored by Martin Miller’s Gin & Arc’teryx, these masters of mixology will be vying for the top prize – $500 cash provided by Martin Miller’s Gin, but there will be medals too. Gold, silver and bronze, just like the athletes competing in Vancouver and Whistler. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 12:00 pm but it might be best to get in line a little bit earlier.
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The international contestants are:

• Joe Stokoe – Bar Manager for all three All Star Lanes, London, UK
• Abdul Kpekawa – Bartender, All Star Lanes, London, UK
• David Grieg – Bartender, All Star Lanes, London, UK
• Ola Carlson – Bartender, Box 101, Stockholm, Sweden
• Nicolos de Soto, Bartender, Experimental Cocktail Club & Curio Parlour, Paris, France
• Charles Tan – Bartender, China Club, Paris, France.

Representing Canada will be:

• Mark Brand – Owner, Boneta and The Diamond, Vancouver
• David Wolwidnyk – Bar Manager, West, Vancouver
• Jay Jones – Owner, The Pourhouse, Vancouver
• Darryl Macdonald – Bartender, Port, Toronto

I had the opportunity to check out Bombay Brow Bar (1056 Mainland Street), a new concept boutique specializing in shaping your brows but with Yaletown service style. Newly opened by sisters Ravy and Amy Minhas, Bombay Brow Bar brings in a Bollywood experience, with a Yaletown twist!
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So what are some Indian stereotypes that the sisters would like to bust? According to Amy, more often than not, Bollywood style services have been associated with tacky, overdone decor, clutter, and loud music. However, when I entered Bombay Brow Bar, I was very pleased with the classy decor. Magenta walls, with patterned wallpaper from the UK. The decor of this cozy boutique fits right in with Society Dining Lounge and Blo Blow Dry Bar. Four plush chairs for clients to sit in, a gold framed mirror, a plush window seat with cushions….true to the vision of the Minhas sisters, the furniture makes you feel right at home. The “Bombay Loft” as Amy calls it!

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Noir Lash Lounge, Vancouver’s first and only exclusive boutique lash extension service, opened its first location in Yaletown in March 2009. Within six months, Noir has appeared in numerous media including The Globe and Mail and the 2009 Juno Awards. “It’s no wonder the city’s turned from lash virgins to full-blown lash addicts!” And now, congratulations once again, as Noir is opening its second location in South Granville – conveniently located next door to Pure Nail Bar and around the corner from Blo Blow Dry Bar. What a great addition to the neighbourhood!
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Doors open February 11th, 2010. Call 604-738-LASH (5274) to book your appointment.

The Glowbal Collection (restaurant group) will be extending its hours during the Olympics:
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Glowbal Grill Steaks and Satay: Sun to Sat – Open 9:30am to 2:00am
COAST Restaurant: Sun to Sat – Open 10:00am to 2:00am
Sanafir Restaurant and Lounge: Sun to Sat – Open 11:00am to 2:00am
Italian Kitchen: Sun to Sat – Open 10:00am to 2:00am
Trattoria Italian Kitchen: Sun to Sat – Open 11:00am to 2:00pm
SOCIETY Restaurant and Lounge: Sun to Sat – Open 9:30am to 2:00am
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Also, throughout the month of February THE GLOWBAL COLLECTION is launching a Central Reservations Hotline to accommodate bookings in all THE GLOWBAL COLLECTION Restaurants. This will be a great option for those last minute lunch and dinner reservations. Call Central Reservations at 604-629-3424.

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Bombay princesses and stylish mavens, your brow search is over. At Bombay, we’re not a spa. We have a major brow obsession – it`s all we do.
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Bombay Brow Bar (1056 Mainland Street) is opening its flagship location in Yaletown on February 5th. Brow Sculptresses are trained to give you the ultimate brow experience. Sit back and relax in Bombay’s trendy Indian environment. Your “Sculptress” will consult on the shape, define your brow, treat you to an Indian brow massage with a soothing rosewater gel, and finish with a complimentary make-up touch-up. For 23 dollars, pick a shaping technique and leave with perfectly sculpted brows in 20 minutes. By walk in or appointment. 604-683-BROWS (2769).
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No pain, no hassle. Just serious brow perfection.

The newly rebranded “Glowbal Grill – Steaks & Satay” (1079 Mainland Street) is offering 50% off lunch entrees for the rest of January:

Executive Chef Erik Heck has created new menu favourites. With addition of ‘steak’ to our moniker, the focus is on prime cuts of beef. Our new restaurant features a ‘Meat Cellar’ – essentially a glass-walled meat cooler, displaying aged cuts of beef: ribeyes, striploins and tenderloins. When steaks are selected they will be pulled down and butchered to order.

The new menus are a ‘globally inspired’ combination of regional and exotic ingredients. Although steaks take centre stage, seafood, a variety of sizzling satays, and glowbal’s famous spaghetti and Kobe meatballs remain menu staples

On Thursday, December 3, from 5pm to 9pm, shop at Boudoir (1230 Hamilton Street) before the all-access Yaletown Shopathon. Enjoy 20% OFF, complimentary cocktails & gift wrapping all night long! First 10 pps to arrive will also receive a $25 gift certificate towards clothing. Beat the public and get first dibs on all the fancy, beautiful clothing at Boudoir. As you know, they only carry limited sizing of each style. RSVP at rsvp@myboudoir.ca.

Earlier this month, the Glowbal Group’s newest initiative “Society” (1257 Hamilton Street) opened in Yaletown. With the tagline of “Opposites Attract. The Unexpected Reigns”, Society most definitely has unique, unexpected menu offerings!! Described as a “union of opposites”, the menu offers comfort food – but with a twist.

So for example, classic tomato soup accompanied by mini grilled cheese sandwiches (hmm, following the “tapas” trend?), Mac & Cheese balls (think crabcake style), apple pie with vanilla ice cream and a Nutella milkshake (spiked with Baileys). As for prices, Society’s express lunch menu is a pretty good deal. Less than $10 for sandwich-y types of food. Also, several of their menu items contain cotton candy as an ingredient, including on their drinks menu, the “Candy Collins” which is probably the most creative drink I’ve ever had. It came with a generous fluff of cotton candy on top, and I was advised by the bartender that I could either eat it plain, or melt it into my gin to sweeten as desired.