Yaletown Blog

Yaletown’s Best Spots for a Sunny Day Lunch Break

Posted by adrianeden on June 17th, 2011 | No Comments

It’s summer in Yaletown and you have an hour or so for lunch before you have to be back at your desk. Luckily, the neighbourhood’s unique combination of diversity, density and geography means that, in addition to the ubiquitous restaurants, there are a bunch of cool places within walking distance where you can satisfy your appetite. Here’s a list of five great ways to spend your lunch break on a sunny Yaletown afternoon.

On the Patio
This one’s obvious. Whether you’re at a table on the Mainland St. bricks and immersed in the lively Yaletown buzz, relaxing by a fireplace on The Keg’s third-floor rooftop, or gazing across the water from Provence Marinaside or the Yaletown Hurricane Grill, Yaletown patios are some of the best in the city. Be aware though, friends + patio + sunny afternoon = potential trouble. Your explanation of why you shouldn’t have to go back to work may sound reasonable to your friends at the table, but it’s going to be much less convincing to the person on the office end of the phone.

Waterfront Parks
It’s a rare treasure for a dense urban centre to have so much waterfront public park space. Yaletown is bounded on two sides by False Creek, so no matter where you work, you’re probably within a quick walk of David Lam Park, George Wainborn Park, or Coopers Park. Pick up some snacks from the Urban Fare, find a spot in the grass, enjoy the scenery, and soak in some sun while the joggers and cyclists cruise by.

Urban Settings
The parks on the waterfront are great if you’re looking for open spaces, but some of us are urban dwellers to the core. No problems. The Roundhouse, Emery Barnes Park at Richards and Davie, or Yaletown Park (the one with the lumps and sculpted head) have you covered. There’ll be more than a few places to grab some food on the walk over and then you can claim some bench space and recharge your batteries with a people watching session.

Your Friend’s Place
Yaletowners tend to take their careers seriously. This isn’t a bad thing, but it can take a bite out of your social life. Or maybe your friends have kids and have trouble finding time to hang out. The key to connecting with busy friends? Everyone has to eat. So bring food to them. They’ll appreciate it. Besides, it’s Yaletown, so chances are they’re close by and have a great view from their condo.

Granville Island
We’re leaving Yaletown here, so this might be cheating, but jump on the AquaBus from the Davie St. dock and in a few minutes you’ll have crossed False Creek and be stepping onto Granville Island, where options abound straight off the dock. Burger and a pint of draft on the Arts Club Theatre patio? Tapas and harbour views from the Sandbar? Sitting on the waterfront with a sandwich from the Granville Island Market? Take your pick.

And that’s one slice of why Yaletown is such a cool neighbourhood. It’s a relatively small space, but there sure is a lot to do. Hopefully we’ve given you a few ideas that inspire you to break up your routine. Or maybe we made a glaring error by missing one of your favourite spots. Either way, let us know. And thanks for reading.

We are seeking a writer for the Yaletown Blog

Posted by adrianeden on June 2nd, 2011 | No Comments

Well it has been quite a long time since the last Blog post from us. Our team has been extremely busy with projects and that is a good thing, because we are now going to hire a writer for the Yaletown Blog part time. If you or anyone you know is a good writer with lots of character and can work quickly without any supervision, please contact us and submit your resume. We are looking for someone who can commit to 3 blog posts per week at around 600 words in length. Writing on current events, announcements, parties, and everything that pertains to Yaletown culture. So spread the word, cause we are hiring. There will be much more to come from Yaletown Blog in the very near future. Thanks for your patience.

Potential candidates must have the following:

- A cell phone so we can reach you at weird hours of the day
- An understanding of content creation from an SEO standpoint, where to link to, and when to link externally
- A laptop to work wirelessly and come to occasional meetings
- Good references, a resume, and cover letter for why you want to write for the Yaletown Blog
- A good attitude and a sense of humor

Mens guide to staying healthy, lean, strong, and increasing sex drive

Posted by adrianeden on February 26th, 2011 | No Comments

Mens guide to staying healthy Recently I have stepped back into my old habits of eating extremely clean and drinking plenty of water. There are many reasons for this, the main one being I want to live a long and healthy/happy life. I want to be there for my family and my girlfriend and I want to continue to look amazing every time I take my shirt off.

I want to outline a step by step guide to staying on track with your lifestyle choices and getting the most out of life, including amazing sex.

First off I want you to read this article titled: Phoenix Theory. It is very motivational and I believe can really change your life if you are ready for a change and just waiting for the motivation to do so.

Step 1:

Drink 4 to 6 liters of water per day. No juice, no soda, nothing else. Just clean pure water. Consider getting an under sink water filtration system from Amrak. I have one and it costs less then $100 a year to change the filters and you get basically endless water supply.

Step 2:

Go into your fridge, cupboards, and pantry and throw anything away that does not come directly from the earth. Meaning if it does not naturally grow on the earth, it does not belong in your body. Except for supplements which I will explain below.

Step 3:

Go to your local supplement store, I personally recommend Body Energy Club on Davie Street due to their amazing customer service and general friendliness. Pickup the following supplements, I personally use every one of these.

L-Glutamine
Whey Protein Powder (Isolate)
Multi-vitamin
Udos Oil
BCAA (Branch Chain Amino Acids)

Take the multi-vitamin (3 of them) in the morning with a tall glass of water the second you get out of bed. Then take 2 tablespoons of Udos Oil after that. Then eat breakfast, I usually eat half a cup of oatmeal, with blueberries (20 of them), add water and put it in the microwave. Once it is done cooking I add a small handful of almonds (15 or so) and a sliced banana.

Drink plenty of water.

For lunch just eat a ton of fresh vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, celery, peas, broccoli). I do not have time to cut this up every day so I buy veggie platters from Urban Fare. Eat until you feel full, not until your stomach hurts.

Drink plenty of water.

For dinner do the same thing but add a piece of fresh fish or chicken about the size of your hand, bake it in the oven and use dry seasoning, not sauces. I like to use fresh lemon juice and pepper or occasionally I will use Franks Red Hot Sauce as it is low in calories.

Drink plenty of water.

*For the first few weeks of this lifestyle change do not eat rice with any meals, wait until you drop a few pounds and then add small amounts of rice to dinner or lunch, but not both meals.

*Stop eating bread, potatoes, anything heavy.

Step 4:

Go to the gym 5 days a week (I usually go monday to friday and I go to 24/7 Fitness on Homer Street) and do a full body workout for an hour (60 minutes only, no more no less). People who spend more then an hour in the gym do not work out hard enough. You want to spend time chasing hot girls and making money, not looking in the mirror and making grunting noises to look cooler then guy beside you in the gym.

Read Bodybuilding.com to get some great full body workout routines. Remember, never do the same workout when you go into the gym. Keep your body guessing, change up the routine and you will see the best results. We are not trying to get huge and bulky here, just muscular, lean, and sexy. I personally do a set of abs between every weight set, whether that be leg raises, crunches, twists, or similar.

*Do not buy any additional supplements to the ones that I outlined above, you do not need anything else. Bodybuilding.com is a good site but they will try to get you to buy more products, ignore that area.

*Once you get home from your workout take the recommended amounts of BCAA, L-Glutamine, and Whey Protein Powder. Drink plenty of water along with it. DO NOT mix the Whey Protein Powder with milk, it is far batter for you if you take it with pure water.

Step 5:

Get plenty of sleep during the week, Monday to Friday go to bed early and get up early. Make the most of each day, build your professional success and you will build your confidence, which will help you make it into the gym and increase your sex drive. You would be surprised how every system in your life is connected.

Step 6:

Get a hair cut, some new clothes, shoes, teeth cleaning at the dentist, and weed out the friends in your life who are not supportive. Being sexy is related to how you feel and how the people around you make you feel. Confidence is a powerful thing, and you want that on your side. I buy most of my clothes at Brooklyn Clothing Co on Davie Street.

Step 7:

Keeping your sanity during this change in life is also something to take into consideration. Eating this clean after years of eating unhealthy or being a weekend warrior can be difficult. So once a week you can have a cheat day, where you eat meals that you want too and drink beer or whatever your alcohol of choice is. Just do not go overboard and eat an entire large pizza and drink a 15 pack of beer. You will feel disgusting after it. Try things in moderation and enjoy the flavors of the meal.

Step 8:

Laugh all the time, at all of the things that stress you out. Give it a try, just start laughing when you are stressed out, you will bounce back from it very quickly.

This is how I live my life every day and I hope you chose to do the same. See you at the gym!

680,000 square foot entertainment addition to BC place

Posted by adrianeden on February 22nd, 2011 | No Comments

I have been reading the proposed plans to add a 680,000 square foot casino and entertainment addition to BC place stadium. While some may think this is a bad idea, gambling brings crime, etc etc I personally think this is a great idea for the city. I know some of the concerns are that Edgewater Casino is not very profitable at the moment and some people who work their may lose their jobs. The fact of the matter is if you are good at what you do and are outgoing and passionate you can get rehired at this new proposed BC Place entertainment addition.

Vancouverobserver.com has a well written article on this topic that I think you should read over. The title lends itself to general distaste of the project, while they mentioned to me in a tweet after I voiced my opinion that is it more about the location choice then the overall project itself.

Lets look at the facts here. There is a shortage of jobs for people in Vancouver. Humans have been gambling since 40,000 BC. Gambling creates revenue to hire people with. Gambling globally is valued in the hundreds of billions. There are careers and families that can be supported with this proposed project.

I personally think it is more of a question of how it is executed versus whether it should be done or not. If you look at the blunders that PlayNow.com made when they rolled out their online gambling operations you will understand why there is a level of mistrust in our community with government monitored gambling operations. That situation does not have to play out again on the ground with similar mistakes. With proper project management this could turn into exactly what the city needs to bounce back from the huge financial burden that the Olympics caused.

We have to be open minded and look at possible solutions to make the lives of people in our community better.

A review and thoughts on Hurricane Grill Yaletown

Posted by adrianeden on February 22nd, 2011 | No Comments

hurricane grill yaletown I was browsing around Yaletown.ca today and came across a review of the Hurricane Grill that I thought was a touch out of order. I personally go to Hurricane Grill at least once a week to have Sunday breakfast or during the week I will go for dinner if I am too tired to cook at home or go shopping at Urban Fare. I remember a few years ago when there was a restaurant called The Quay in the space where Hurricane Grill currently is on Marinaside Crescent. That restaurant was always dead because it was over priced. If you look at Provence restaurant just adjacent to Hurricane Grill you will often see the same things. Obviously there business models are different, Hurricane Grill making money off of volume of sales while The Quay and Provence make money on heavily inflated pricing and using that to target a smaller demographic of the Yaletown population. Lets be honest here, the majority of the people who live in Yaletown rent apartments and lease their vehicles, so better pricing at a restaurant with similar food quality was a solid idea as far as I am concerned.

Getting back to the review, in it it stated that the service was bad and it took way to long for the girl and her family to get their food. The manager tried to apologize and comp them on their meals but instead they just walked out and made a scene. No restaurant is perfect I agree with that, however when a manager comes over to you to apologize and offer to pay for your meal he feels bad and wants to fix the situation. What I would have done in that situation was be really nice and accept the offer and smile and get to talking about life. Through the bad experience building a better relationship with the manager would ensure every time in the future that you came into the restaurant the same situation would have not happened. You will get great service anywhere if you handle the situation properly and with respect.

I will continue to go into Hurricane Grill often and receive really good service, on average, such as the case with any restaurant. I suspect there is a bit of animosity in the community with the people who own Provence after the Hurricane Grill went in as their business more then likely decreased due to being beat out on pricing. So their influence on Yaletown.ca may have played a part in the way the review was written. This is just my opinion.

Go into Hurricane Grill and experience it for yourself and leave a comment on this article and let me know what your thoughts were.