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Yuko Maki Japanese Restaurant

I used to be a Sushi Station regular, and I’ve tried out just about every sushi restaurant on Lonsdale, but for months now I’ve been going out of my way to venture out to Yuko Maki at Pemberton and Marine Drive for both eat-in and take-out… until now.

Yuko Maki Japanese Restaurant has come to North Vancouver’s City centre.

Now, I eat a lot of sushi. First of all, it’s a Vancouver phenomenon, but secondly, it’s a very healthy alternative to fast food if you order carefully. And lastly, it’s quick and affordable as far as take-out goes.

Yuko Maki’s new Lonsdale Avenue location is fantastic. It’s clean and has plenty of booths (I like booths; always have… they’ve got that old-school diner feel… a little privacy and comfort), it’s fairly spacious and has larger tables at the back that can accommodate larger parties with semi-privacy.

The food is really good and their combos and bento boxes can’t be beat for value.

This evening we went and my husband ordered their Sushi Special – 24 pieces of sushi plus Miso Soup for just $5.95. The special is a great deal because you can just choose any 3 rolls/cones/maki from a big list. The choices include more than the standard California, Tuna and BC rolls; your selections can include Dynamite Roll, Asparagus Roll, Salmon Tempura Roll, Negitoro Maki, Spicy Shrimp Cone and many others.

I’ve had a hankering recently for some teriyaki, so I ordered their “Box 2″ – Chicken Teriyaki, Salad, Ride, Tempura, California Roll and an orange wedge, but I substituted the California Roll for a Yam Roll. My son LOVES the yam roll, so I got that for him. The boxes are extremely generous for the prices. This Chicken Teriyaki box was just $5.95 as well. They also offer some higher end boxes like BBQ Eel box or Salmon Teriyaki box, which are both just $8.50.

The service is decent and I have to say, the Lonsdale location is much neater looking… maybe cleaner? Maybe just newer, than the Pemberton location. I wouldn’t hesitate to return. The only complaint I have about Yuko Maki food is the sashimi. Don’t get me wrong… it’s excellent value and excellent quality, but maybe even too much value. The pieces of sashimi are so big it’s a little like biting into the side of a raw fish, but if you’re into big sashimi, that could be a plus for you.

Yuko Maki’s menu is extensive; I have no doubts you’ll find something everyone in your family or group will enjoy. They also offer an assortment of party trays ranging from 40 to 68 pieces and $15.80 to $55.00.

Location:
Yuko Maki Japanese Restaurant is located at 1540 Lonsdale Avenue, between 15th and 16th on the East side of the street, just a couple of doors uphill from Shopper’s Drug Mart.

Hours of Operation:
They’re open Monday to Saturday from 11:30am to 9:30pm and on Sundays & Holidays from noon to 9pm. If you give 2 hours advance notice on a take-out order you’ll save 5% and if you give a day’s notice you’ll save 10%.

Order for take-out by calling 604-960-0717.

Check out Dinehere.ca reviews

V-Nam Vietnamese Restaurant

I’ve never been particularly adventuresome when it comes to cuisine I haven’t already tried. I know, I know… how will I ever know if I’ll like it if I don’t try it, right? Well, some of my co-workers turned me on to Vietnamese cuisine, opting to visit Pho 99 on Marine Drive fairly regularly for lunch as of late. While I have yet to try the ever-so-well-known Pho (mainly because I’m just not big on soup), I have come to enjoy the vermicelli bowls and so when my husband suggested we try the new Vietnamese place on 3rd Street, I obliged.

V-Nam Vietnamese Cuisine is located at 175 E. 3rd Street, at the corner of 3rd Street and St. Georges Avenue, on the ground floor of an apartment high rise. Because it’s a block off Lonsdale, it has less walking traffic than other spots, so I wanted to draw a little attention to it, as it is one of only two Vietnamese restaurants in North Vancouver.

We arrived at about 1pm on a Sunday afternoon and there were a few tables in use, but we certainly didn’t have to wait. The restaurant is not flashy; in fact, it’s pretty plain. The appeal of V-Nam is the food.

We started with, or rather tried to start with, the prawn salad rolls and a couple of iced coffees. Unfortunately they arrived right with our entire order, but perhaps we weren’t very clear when ordering. For my main course

I had – you guessed it – the Pork Vermicelli Bowl with Pork Rolls and my husband had the Spicy Beef Pho. He considers himself a food expert, having spent many years in the restaurant industry and he only had good things to say about his meal. The spouts and basil were very fresh, the sauces very flavourful and the Pho was piping hot. It’s impressive when he actually likes food somewhere, so this is a very good sign for V-Nam. My meal was very tasty and the pork was particularly tender.

With an appetizer, two iced coffees and two meals, our bill was under $35. V-Nam is fully licensed and a parking lot is available via the alley off St. Georges Avenue. Here are a few additional V-Nam Vietnamese Restaurant reviews. According to the sign on their door, V-Nam Restaurant is open from 11am every day except Mondays; you can reach them by phone at 604-985-5477.

The North Vancouver City Library

The all new North Vancouver City Library opened its doors on September 20, 2008 at 120 West 14th Street, just adjacent to the fountain plaza, 80’s Restaurant and the old NV City Library location.

The facility is beautiful and a state-of-the-art green building that incorporates 120 solar panels on its roof that not only meet its own power needs, but add power back into the Lonsdale Energy Corporation’s plant for use in the surrounding areas.

This library isn’t your grandma’s library… it comes complete with a digi kids area – a computer lab for wee ones, meeting rooms, study rooms, a terrace and a full media room with listening and viewing stations for DVDs, CDs and games. It also offers free WiFi during opening hours; you can also use the library’s printers wirelessly from your PC laptop. Nice touch.

One of the coolest features for teens is “The Room”:

Be sure to check out the graffiti art. Just for teens, this special room was designed with feedback from the library’s Teen Council and includes game gear, study tables and a 52-inch flat-screen TV.

Now THAT’s a library. Incidentally, the North Vancouver City Library has a “Teen Department” blog.

We showed up this morning just in time to catch the Storytime & Craft for kids 4-8yrs, one of several children’s programs offered by the North Vancouver City Library. Most of the kids were younger than 4 and the staff was very accommodating.

Last but certainly not least, North Van’s own Braza has opened the Braza Library Café right on the main floor and you can, indeed, bring your coffee into the library and make an outing of it. No more need to go to Indigo to drink a Starbucks and enjoy a read.

I think I’ll make a weekly visit to the library a part of my regular routine. The North Vancouver City Library is open 7 days a week.

De Dutch Pannekoek House

So I’m always on the lookout for restaurants that are open for breakfast at a real early breakfast hour. In my household we’re all up at 5am, so waiting any longer than about 8am for breakfast is crazy. With a 2 year old who eats lunch at 11am, our hours are vastly different than the majority of the population.

This morning, however, I decided to have a nice early breakfast at De Dutch Pannekoek house on 3rd Street. It’s in a crazy strange location down near the Chevron at the 5 way (at Marine Drive, where Marine and 3rd Meet Keith Rd and Bewicke), and it looks like a dive, but if you’re a North Van local you know this place is always packed for breakfast. Plus, it’s only about 3 blocks from Lonsdale, so easily within walking distance.

A little word about De Dutch Pannekoek House from their own website:

De Dutch Pannekoek House specializes in breakfast, brunch and lunch, offering our customers a unique blend of European ethnicity in our menu items.

Luckily for us it’s not packed at 8am; that’s precisely what makes it a good time to go with a toddler. So we had our choice of tables and selected one in the farthest corner from the door, right beside the fireplace – that was a nice touch on such a rainy November morning.

I really liked that the servers seemed to understand the challenges of dining with a toddler (that, or they were anxious to get us fed and back out the door); we were offered drinks as we were being seated and brought crayons and a colouring sheet immediately thereafter.

One of the servers was back to take our order long before I’d had a chance to really look at the menu, but didn’t seem at all bothered when I asked for more time. I ended up ordering the Turkey Bacon & Egg breakfast, which came with two eggs, two slices of toast, hash browns, 5 strips of turkey bacon and a garden salad.

I’m not entirely sure what I think of having received a garden salad with my breakfast. I’m not really a big fan of salad at such an early hour of the morning, but then I don’t love it most of the time anyway. I was going to request tomato slices instead, but completely forgot to do so. I didn’t end up eating it, though I tried it and it was fine… I couldn’t rave about it.

The food was fine and there was lots of it. Some people seem rave about it, but I thought it was just good. Perhaps I ordered the wrong thing and really should have gone with one of their signature Pannekoeken:

pan_ne_koek (pãn-ne-kõõk), n. genuine Dutch pancake, tasting similar to the traditional North American pancake and is slightly thicker than a crepe. It has a circumference of 37″, a diameter of 12″ and if you cut it into square inch pieces you will enjoy 113 bites. Simply delightful any way you like, but the customary way is to roll it up and cut off bite-size pieces.

The Pannekoek is our signature dish that draws loyal customers to our restaurant and entices new customers every day. Served in over 50 combinations of both sweet and savoury mouthwatering ingredients, Pannekoeken are guaranteed to de light and satisfy every type of craving!

These Pannekoeken range from about $12-$16 and come with just about anything on them. Their list of Pannekoeken options included items such as the Rio Grande, which includes onion and green peppers inside with melted cheddar on top (Served with salsa & sour cream), or The Canadian, topped with bacon, tomato, 2 eggs and a jug of genuine Maple Syrup. Next time maybe…

They also serve Eggs Benny, Dutch Scrambles, Omelettes and French Toast. I was a little curious about their breakfast “snack” which is basically a bowl of hashbrowns with hollandaise sauce on it for $5.50. Interesting.

Breakfast prices range from about $9.50 to $16 and the serving sizes are big. There’s a fair bit of parking for the size of the restaurant, and while I didn’t confirm it, the De Dutch website claims free WiFi at all their restaurants. De Dutch also serves only fresh squeezed orange juice, which is a nice touch.

Moodyvilles All Day Breakfast

Moodyvilles is an absolute gem right in the heart of the Lower Lonsdale community. I’m not entirely sure how long it’s been there, but it’s entirely possible it’s been around since the area was actually called Moodyville. Absolutely one of the last of its kind on the North Shore, Moodyvilles All Day Breakfast is an old-school diner-style restaurant or, dare I say “greasy spoon”… though we all know these are where the best deals are found. Bacon and eggs, home-fried potatoes and pancakes – just as you’d expect to find them in a small town, but square in the centre of town.

Moodyilles serves up soups and salads, sandwiches and burgers, but it is most known for its breakfast service. Serving great breakfasts like two eggs, hash browns and toast for just $4.99, or a selection of omelettes or even blueberry or banana pancakes for just a little more all day is what fills the tables here. I didn’t find a single menu item over $10 and the portions are generous. In fact, I have heard from several people that Moodyvilles may have the best blueberry pancakes anywhere – but definitely the best pancakes in North Vancouver.

The ambiance is what you would expect, complete with stacked plastic water cups and self-serve coffee. You order at the counter, pay and take a number to your table (if, of course, you can find one. It get’s very busy on weekends, but apparently 8:30am is a little early for most, though not for us.) Then within just a few minutes the servers will bring your food and cutlery.

Overall, the service, the food and the prices are great – but in case you don’t believe me, here are some more reviews of Moodyvilles. I am reminded that I should go more often… maybe I’ll start making it a weekly tradition.

Moodyvilles All Day Breakfast is located at 101 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, on the North West corner of Lonsdale Avenue at 1st Street. According to NSlocal.com they are open 8am – 4:30pm daily.

Favourite Gifts: Showcasing local artists and designers

Today I discovered a great gift shop at Lonsdale Quay Market called Favourite. Favourite Unique Gifts & Accessories is located on the 2nd floor of the market, down toward the Tantra Lounge on the southern tip. It is a super funky little store that offers a whole array of gift items from jewellery, art, accessories, clothing, baby stuff, home decor etc. They even had some lacy Brazillian style panties on display. Talk about variety!

The unique thread that ties this assortment of unique and trendy gift items together is the fact that they are all the works of local up-and-coming or established artists and designers.

favourite is a showcase for the latest urban trends, bringing together up-and-coming and established local artists and designers under one roof, and providing our customers with one- or few-of-a-kind gift and accessory items.

The items in this store are beautiful. Really good quality from the looks of things and super funky. It’s not the place to find your plain old boring stuff for just anyone, but it’s filled with unique gifts that would suit a wide array of recipients. Favourite even has an entire e-store where you can order gift items online.

The only thing I found at all disappointing was the lack of information about the actual designers or artists. The online store doesn’t seem to provide this information at all and there wasn’t much in store that told the stories either. But overall I would recommend this store as one of Lonsdale Quay’s gems. You should check it out next time you’re there.

Memphis Blues BBQ House

For all you carnivores out there, the Memphis Blues BBQ House at 1629 Lonsdale Avenue – between 16th and 17th on the West side of the street – serves up a feast you won’t soon forget. Offering “award-winning authentic southern barbeque” in a casual environment, Memphis Blues is the perfect place for a quick bite for a hungry man’s man or an evening out for the whole family.

Now, their menu is quite big for a small place, but you really do need to love meat to get the most out of it. A vegetarian could definitely go and eat a salad and a slice of corn bread, but this really isn’t the place for you. Even their nachos and poutine have pork on them. But if you love a good pigsicle, this is the place. The portions are huge; do not fret, you will not go hungry. In fact, I think anyone who orders the Full Slab o’ Ribs for $24.95 will feel incredibly uncomfortable and have a heavy bag to carry home. The full slab dinner includes, well, a full rack of ribs, french fries, cole slaw, baked beans and corn bread and is enough to feed me, my husband and my two year old and have leftovers. And none of us are light eaters.

The atmosphere is casual. Very casual. In fact, you seat yourself, order from the counter (though a server will bring your food to you), and each table comes equipped with a roll of industrial-grade paper towel. Do not go if you’re looking for a nice romantic dinner. But they are licensed, and offer live blues music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 7:30pm, plus, the North Vancouver Memphis Blues BBQ location will take a reservation if you think you may need one. It does get busy – especially on Father’s day as I found out earlier this year.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should; or, stop by for some takeout – they’re SUPER fast, like 5 minutes from the time you place your order. But if you stay and eat, definitely leave room for their Pecan Pie with Caramel Bourbon Sauce. Then come back here and tell me how you liked it.

Northmount Pharmacy: A Mom’s Must-Know

To be honest, I’d never been to Northmount Pharmacy until my son was born, but I found out a special secret about this particular North Vancouver pharmacy, located at 101-145 East 13th Street, across the street from Safeway…

They can and will make medications into concoctions that babies and toddlers will ingest without a huge fuss. They will mix prescription drugs with various compounds which will actually make them palateable to children. This is MAGICAL! The first time I had a prescription medication turned into chocolate syrup was the day I figured all my troubles as a mother were over. Aparently they can make most prescription drugs into chocolate syrup, suckers, popsicles and the like. Plus, if you have a doctor who will phone or fax in the prescription, Northmount will take it and have it prepared for you before you even arrive. Bonus!

So if you ever have to get a prescription medication for a baby or young child, give Northmount Pharmacy a call at 604-985-8241 first and do your kid a favour: See if it can be turned into something yummier than bitter chalk that sticks to your tongue like glue. These compounds are not free (actually they’re not all that cheap at all) but well worth the cost if your kid will actually swallow the pill.

Yogapod: The Local Hot Spot, Literally

Photo: Kaibara87 on Flickr

I LOVE Yogapod. I don’t get there often, but I love going. For those who don’t know, Yogapod is a local Yoga studio offering a range of classes including hot yoga, power flow (vinyasa), Anusara-inspired yoga, yin, meditation, prenatal, mom & baby and seasonal specialty yoga classes. The studio is beautiful and the instructors are super encouraging. The owners, Laurie and Todd Inouye, have done a fantastic job since the beginning it would seem.

I have not tried anything other than the hot. Well, okay, that’s not entirely true. I tried a Power Flow class one time, but I was TERRIBLE at it. No upper body strength whatsoever and it just wasn’t my style. Having said that, the Hot Yoga is a summer staple for me. Because I have a 2 year old, I have to go after he’s gone to bed at night, so the 8pm time slot is what works. Monday night is the only 8pm Hot class (which, as I said, is my favourite) so I go on Mondays throughout the summer when I don’t have band rehearsals (my usual Monday night activity).

The hot class is a 90-minute series of postures and breathing exercises done in a hot room – like 100-105 degrees Farenheit. That’s hot. For real. The first time I did it, I thought I might die, but I set my intention to stay in the room… that’s all I wanted to accomplish. After having felt the amazing sweat and realizing that I can get a total body workout some way other than the traditional gym visit I was hooked. I bought their first week for $20 deal (totally worth it given your first single drop-in class is $10 and each subsequent single drop-in class is $20) and proceeded to complete 5 classes in one week. I could literally SEE a difference in my figure in the mirror! I am not joking.

Anyway, at that point I decided I loved it and have been an on-again, off-again student since. I find the 2-hour time it takes to get there, get in and do a 90 minute class and get out is a bit much for someone such as myself who works full time and is married with a toddler i.e. has other responsibilities (mind you, I also have other recreational pursuits to take into consideration) make adding yoga as a regular part of my routine a challenge, but it’s definitely worth trying.

Here are the important details you may not know about: They offer a Saturday evening 6pm Karma class for just $5. They also offer reduced rates for students and single parents who are primary caregivers. Now that’s love. You won’t know if this is THE thing for you until you try it. Go on… try it.

Yogapod is located at 101-260 West Esplanade, across the street from Waterfront Park.

If you’re a Yogapod regular and can tell us all something about the other classes Yogapod offers, please do so in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!