The Bon Vivant Blog

Amazing.
Not only does he produce the best pastries that I have had in North America – and better than many I have had in France, but he has replicated his business in North Vancouver and opened a Kitsilano branch.
He will be busy.
Saturday morning – about 11:30 (late start) – we [...]

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So – after reading a blog about churros – we hunted down the Xurreria (the Catalan spelling of churreria) on Banys Nous in the Bario Gotic (I don’t know the exact address but it is a few doors down from a milk bar called La Granja (c/ Banys [...]

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This is one of the best patisseries in Spain and can hold its own around the world. In fact, it is famous for the world’s best chocolate cake, an award that pastry chef Carles Mampel won a few years ago. Try the chocolate cake or for that matter any of [...]

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Bakeries occupy this special place in my heart – the good ones are run by people who love food, who put that love into what they do, and produce an exceptional product that just makes you happy. Flour is this kind of a place.
Sunday morning – pouring rain [...]

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Head over to Commercial drive if you need your fix of tasty vegetarian/vegan cuisine. Don’t expect a chic restaurant – this is more of a cafeteria-style affair with a dessert/bakery display case out front and a hot table with a lot of dishes that have an indian or asian bent [...]

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This is a popular totally vegan restaurant in the heart of Kensington. I remember when it first opened as a tiny storefront with a few seats which soon expanded into the building next door. I have a strange addiction to their muffins – which have a nice crusty top and [...]

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We’d all love for our cities to have a Pierre Hermé or a Thomas Haas. Well, if you look hard enough, pretty much every city has someone (probably from Europe) who has opened a bakery, and is putting their passion into pastry. Didier Julien and his family and team at [...]

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