LaurenMote.com

by Lauren Mote Although meeting friends to catch-up is a great reason to have a cheap and cheerful lunch, I am always excited to: try places I haven’t tried before, and eat food I wouldn’t normally eat before an afternoon of “meetings” …if you know what I mean… but today especially, I was summoned by [...]

by Lauren Mote Historically, I cannot stand Dine Around (Victoria), or “Dine Out” as Vancouver would have it (Winterlicious and Summerlicious as Toronto would publish). For me, as I am in the restaurant industry, I look at this “cheap eats festivals” with a dual personality – 2 weeks of low-ball pre fixe menus gets me [...]

by Jessica Grajczyk “I was hungry, but apparently I’m not a man,” he said, as he sheepishly poked at one of the five pancakes stacked on his massive plate. To be fair, he had polished off the three over medium eggs and four strips of bacon like a champ.  When his breakfast fit for a [...]

by Lauren Mote I will be the first one to admit that breakfast and brunch are my favourite parts of dining out, and naturally this is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am a brilliant morning/early afternoon cook (I like to see how others pull it off); perhaps my previous guests can attest to [...]

by Jessica Grajczyk I discovered the Roundel Café one weekend by accident after an impromptu trip to London Drugs on East Hastings near Nanaimo.  I honestly couldn’t have told you a good reason to go down there until that day.  The long strip between Commercial Drive and Playland always evoked visions of dollar stores and [...]

by Ed Dugas, Industry Blender During an economic downturn, things have a tendency to stop happening. Auto salesmen, when not pacing and sighing, spend hours over-grooming their stalled vehicle inventory.  Homes sit vacant while For Sale signs half-hang from single unsnapped chains, blowing and squeaking in the breeze.  But if there’s one necessity which keeps [...]

by Jessica Grajczyk Blondy’s Coffee: I never thought there would be such thing as too many bento boxes, but you kind of lose inspiration to look for new places to have lunch around your office building and thus often resort to the same old.  Today I decided to wander to a different area to see [...]

by Lauren Mote For those that are unfamiliar, The Wallflower took the place of Main St’s Aurora Bistro, and now serving morning fare in Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood. There was always something about the interior at Aurora Bistro that made me feel uncomfortable – whether it was just a simplistic, cold room; or that the it [...]

by Lauren Mote Japanese Noodle: It’s not everyday you can have a satisfying and flavourful lunch for under $10 a person, let alone being treated by Chef David Hawksworth to this vary cheap and cheerful afternoon. I suspect the Japanese Noodle (located on the north-west corner of Yukon and Broadway) is the place to be [...]

by Lauren Mote & Jessica Grajczyk An interesting thought crossed Poivre Media’s breakfast writer Jessica and I the other day. I had mentioned that in the interest of doing yet another riveting review of a brunch spot, and a Christmas brainstorming session for two writers, we decided doing a conversational review would be an interesting [...]