By Manveet Virk, Modern Mix Vancouver writer

Are you set to hang on to winter for one last blast Vancouver? Illuminate Yaletown is just around the corner with fourteen artists putting in their hearts and souls to give us awesome interactive light shows that will make the streets glow from blocks away.  Part of the popular City and Slope Event, Illuminate Yaletown is for those who want to stay within city limits and witness Yaletown making a remarkable transformation. If you still need convincing, check out the images from last year’s Flickr 2011 Illuminate Yaletown Photo Contest. All I can say is… eat your heart out LiteBright!

I went to Glowbal Grill in early January when they had a promotion for 25% off breakfast and brunch.  I requested sitting outside because I love the enclosed patio at Glowbal and the heat lamps were a perfect contrast to a sunny winter day.  Our meal started off with complimentary strawberry smoothies in shotglasses and warm sugar donuts served in round dim sum baskets.

Since our complimentary starters were sweet, we decided to go with more savoury dishes for brunch.  I’m a huge fan of benedicts and at glowbal you can get your choice of the “Glowbal Benedict” ($12.95), Smoked Salmon ($12.95), Dungeness Crab ($16.95) and Lobster ($16.95).  I got the  classic Glowbal Benedict which is made with pancetta and drenched in a rich, creamy, buttery hollandaise sauce.  The poached eggs were done perfectly, a bright buttercup-yellow yolk coming out from bright white egg-white.  The pancetta (salt cured italian bacon) was extremely salty – had to drink about 3 glasses of water after my meal and probably maxed out my sodium intake for the day.  The diced potatoes were fluffy with a crispy exterior and the salad was necessary to balance out the saltiness of the pancetta.

Off the menu as a special order we were told about there was a Breakfast Poutine ($12).  French fries, cheese curds, sliced sausage and bacon topped with two poached eggs and a hearty gravy.  Sounds like a hangover breakfast to me!  It actually kind of reminded me of the midnight poutine one would get at Fritz on Granville (minus the eggs).  I would recommend sharing the breakfast poutine with someone because it’s such a heavy breakfast…you wouldn’t normally eat a massive plate of fries and poutine to yourself, so perhaps this would be a good dish to share.

Overall, the Glowbal Collection of restaurants has a great reputation for being a higher-end but affordable restaurant.  It’s location in the heart of Yaletown makes it a convenient meet-up spot and after brunch you can spend the rest of your morning browsing through cute boutiques in the area. They are also a regular annual participant in Dine Out Vancouver (for dinner only), this year, with a $38 3-course set menu.

As I have previously written on Modern Mix Vancouver, Hidden Restaurant  is located on the second floor inside the Westin Grand Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. Every time I have gone there for a meal, I have been impressed by their extensive menu pairing and excellent service – going there for brunch was no different!

Our meal started off with complementary breakfast pastries – a raspberry crown, a maple syrup plait and a cinnamon swirl.  (By the way, my pasty names could be totally off, I found this image off Google and matched ‘em up).

I noticed that many of the breakfast and brunch menu items have a slight flavour twist to them.  For example, the Buttermilk and Lemon Waffle ($16) were made with lavender butter, which is a unique butter pairing, or the Mexicana Benedict ($16) which was topped with a chili-lime hollandaise.  I ended up ordering the Frenchie’s Breakfast Poutine ($15) which consists of two poached eggs served over roasted potato hash, little qualicum cheesery curds and topped with hollandaise.  I liked how the hearty serving of fresh cut potatoes was the focus of this meal – often in breakfast dishes, hash-browns are off to the side.

My friend ordered the Sausage Split ($19), which is a breakfast spin off from a banana split, consisting of three poached eggs on hash browns stuffed between a roasted toulouse sausage and finished with a sweet pepper relish.

We also ordered coffee, and our server was thoughtful enough to put our last complementary refill in a disposable cup so we could keep the coffee with us while walking around downtown.  Not too many places would offer to do that – I think other breakfast restaurants have a lesson to learn from this!

Lastly, if you are a local resident of Vancouver, you get 25% off your bill for breakfast & brunch at Hidden Vancouver!

Went to Sunset Burgers on Friday night, a retro-themed diner on Nelson and Seymour in downtown Vancouver.  Bright colours and neon highlights decorate the interior of this burger joint.

With “all burgers made fresh with Kobe Beef” their “original sunset burgers” starts at $5.49 and you can get a number of toppings for free – fried onions, grilled mushrooms, and a variety of sauces. You can also upgrade to delux toppings like avocado, guacamole and a variety of cheeses for approximately $1 extra.

What makes this burger joint unique and true to its Vancouver location, is the option to “Yaletown” your burger – replace your burger bun with a lettuce wrap instead. I “yaletowned” my Sunset Burger and really enjoyed it. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and because the burger was wrapped in foil, it was easy to eat without getting your fingers messy.  If I come back here again, I’d for sure “Yaletown” my burger again.

Sunset Burger also has an alcohol license so you can order a selection of bottled beer and ciders for around $5. I was surprised that it was fairly empty  on a Friday night, I think this would be a good spot to pre-drink at before a night out on the Granville Strip.  Sunset Burger is open daily from 11am to 11pm.

My favourite Y Yoga promotion is back! Between November 15 and December 31, you can purchase a 5-class pass for $50.  You’ll have from the time you purchase the pass, until February 28 to redeem the classes (that’s over 3 months to plan your yoga days).  You can use your pass for ANY Y Yoga class, from the 45 minutes class to the 1.5 hour class.  My personal favourite is to go to the hot yoga class at the Yaletown location.  As long as you’ve been to Y Yoga at least once before, you can take advantage of this deal and you can buy as many as you want for yourself or a friend who is a member!

Modern Mix Vancouver Weekend Brunch Series – If you’re a foodie on a budget, going for brunch on the weekend is a great way to check out a restaurant without breaking the bank.

The Flying Pig (1168 Hamilton Street) in Yaletown opened in the summer, but their weekend brunch menu just started last week in September.  It’s a perfect little brunch restaurant to go to when you want a more intimate environment, and don’t feel like going to a chain-restaurant (like the nearby Milestones, Cactus Club or Earls) or anything too barlike.  It’s also nice to stay in Yaletown for weekend brunch, because the streets outside the downtown Granville restaurants are generally littered with crap in the aftermath of a Friday or Saturday club night out.

I had the Wild Mushroom, Asparagus Chevre Frittata ($10) which was served with organic greens.  The presentation of the food was good – on a wooden butcher’s board with a handle.  The salad was really fresh, with just the right amount of dressing.  I thought I tasted some bits of salt in the mix, not sure if it was supposed to be there, but I liked it.  As for the omelette, there was no asparagus in my frittata!  I also thought the mushrooms were coarsely cut and were not as thoroughly cooked as I would like – still slightly raw, but perhaps that is just a matter of personal preference. I didn’t finish the omelette.  Tomatoes were cut too big, and the entire omelette got watery, the more I picked at it.

My friend got the French Toast With Maple Blueberry Compote ($9) which was served on thick cut brioche with butter and a generous helping of syrup-y blueberries and whipped cream. She liked how the bread was toasted crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Meanwhile, my other friend got what could be considered the plainest breakfast options – a side of eggs ($5) and hashbrowns ($5). The eggs were plain, but the hashbrowns were fancier – soft, shredded potatoes with a flavourful mixture of dried herbs and cooked onion.  For drinks, the Organic Fruit Smoothie ($4), made with seasonal fruits (it was mixed berries today), is a healthy choice.  The mimosa ($5) I ordered was nothing special – just a flute of champagne topped with a dash of orange juice.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/theflyingpigvan
Twitter: @flyingpigvan

Cafe Firenze (920 Beatty Street) opened earlier this month at the edge of Yaletown at Beatty x Smithe Street. Although the name indicates a cafe, a more accurate description would actually be a small restaurant with cafe-style seating. The front of Cafe Firenze displays a freezer full of italian gelatos with 10 flavours to select from.  Adjacent to that is a display of cake slices, baked goods and other pastries.  Then there’s a cafe menu with coffee teas and lattes.  But the jewel of Cafe Firenze is its fresh made pastas and paninnis.

I was fortunate enough to meet Silvio, the Italian owner of the cafe, who welcomed me into his Cafe and ushered me behind the counter like I was a house-guest, rather than a restaurant patron. I ordered a penne with meat rosé sauce.  Silvio assures me that his pasta is authentic, Italian pasta, made with the renowned Barilla Pasta , the #1 pasta brand in Italy.  The tomatoes are also fresh cut.  The high-quality pasta and fresh vegetables are then cooked in Olio D’Oro extra virgin oil.  The rosé sauce was lighter than I expected but the slightly watery texture (likely from the tomatoes) gave the pasta dish a feeling of fresh, healthiness rather than heavy, hearty and oily.

Pasta dishes range from $10 to $15. In addition to pastas and paninnis, coming soon to Cafe Firenze will be fresh-baked pizzas.  Stay tuned…

Skoah Spa in Yaletown has moved two doors down to 1007 Hamilton Street.  The public is invited to attend an open house on Wednesday September 14 for treats and cocktails.  Drop by and learn more about Skoah’s “personal training for your skin” customized facial plans and try out skincare products at their spatique.  RSVP is required to fitskin@skoah.com.

Can’t attend?  For those of you already familiar with Skoah’s product lines, here are some upcoming offers:

• Until Friday September 9th (11:59pm), spend $70+ on online products receive a free Skoah lunch bag by using the promo code “lunchbag” at checkout. Purchase minimum is before tax and applies to products, online only.
• Until Friday September 30th, get a “back to skool” bundle for $115.  A fitskin facial, cleanser (gel or kleansing lotion) and choice of 3 different moisturizers in a reuseable Skoah lunch bag.