cities

The vibe at busy Medina is relaxed but stylish, with a serious premium put on the quality of ingredients and the expertise with which they’re arranged. Order the skillet fricassee of shredded short-rib, applewood cheddar, arugula and two fried eggs (breakfast reinvented). Superb coffee. Veteran service. The back room offers a modicum of privacy.

The lounge at the just opened Hawksworth Restaurant in the renovated Hotel Georgia (across from the Art Gallery) is the new den of Vancouver power at repose. Low, whisper-friendly couches set in corner cloisters face fireplaces and an eight-seat bar. The wise put themselves in barman Brad Stanton’s hands.

Tiny, wine-forward award-winner best known for small plates and seamless set-piece dinners. Lunch service only recently launched, and few know it. Chef Alana Peckham's delicate touch turns out flawless staples: carpaccio di filetto ringed with truffle aioli; sauteed calf's liver lit with bacon marsala sauce; and the best duck confit in the city. Service treads gently.

From midday to late afternoon, modern looker Yew at the Four Seasons plays able host to Vancouver’s most powerful as they take in the talents of the open kitchen, sip from a stellar list of wines (of which some 300 are sold by the glass) and do business. Anchoring the space is a stunning, glassed-in private room that soars to a 40-foot ceiling, ideal for those seeking that extra measure of privacy without sacrificing a stitch of style.

The small bar at Gastown’s stylish L’Abattoir seats an always fashion-forward mix, all sampling some of the best drinks made on Earth. Sip from new novelties made with the utmost integrity and care, get classic with cask-aged Negronis and Manhattans, or invite barman Shaun Layton to craft according to your liking, à la minute. Young co-owner-chef Lee Cooper is a star in the making, and his dishes will tempt the already satisfied.

Neil Taylor’s locally minded approach to rustic Italian (a craft honed at London’s acclaimed River Café) shines at this award-winning 52-seater. Stellar wine list and service staff buttress his talents. Menus change often, but look for agnolotti pregnant with local suckling pig. Business gets done in the wine-lined private room, the perfect handshake hideaway.

Recently anointed with a Five-Star Diamond Award, the Loden Hotel’s bistro marries old-school French to refined modernism in decor and on the plate. Chef Marc- André Choquette (once chef de cuisine at Lumière) deftly knocks classic steak frites and halibut à la Grenobloise out of the proverbial park in a checker-floored room that drips with style. Wine-savvy

It stands in a class by itself in Yaletown, offering exquisite pan-Italian fare from hands-on owner-chef Pino Posteraro. A genius with sauces and a master at understatement in presentation, the omnipresent Posteraro has flanked his expansive dining room with several private spaces for tête-a-têtes large and small. His staff count their tenure in years, and discretion is a test they will never have to take.

The Glowbal Group (Coast, Italian Kitchen, Glowbal) has just unleashed Black+Blue, a new steakhouse reminiscent of Michael Carlevale’s long-defunct Toronto restaurant of the same name. It’s a soaring, two-level, whitelinen looker with cloistered booths and a transparent meat locker. The action is anchored around the sexy, well-served bar. Comfortably jammed with the noticeably wellheeled since opening night.

Calming, stand-alone Relais & Chateauxdesignated charmer.  Knowledgeable concierges armed with up-to-the-minute mental maps of the city and every desirable reservation on speed dial. Owner/operator Eleni Skalbania’s uncanny omniscience guarantees no flower wilts.  Equipped with full-service spa, award-winning eatery (appropriately dubbed “Bacchus”) and elegantly appointed rooms.

The new Shangri-La building dominates the city skyline at 61 storeys. Its namesake hotel - arguably Vancouver’s most luxurious and expertly served - occupies the first 15 floors and offers beautifully decorated accommodations (guest rooms and suites), full facilities for business travellers, an excellent spa, and MARKET, the critically acclaimed restaurant from celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

O’Douls Restaurant inside Robson’s accessible Listel Hotel hosts live jazz sets seven evenings a week from 9pm until midnight. The room is ground zero during the summer’s Vancouver International Jazz Festival, when it attracts the world’s living jazz greats for late night jam sessions.

The shops of the West 4th and Robson drags are superb for leisurely wanders, but on a rainy day, browsing the tremendous variety on offer at the massive, multi-storey Pacific Centre mall makes for an attractive (and dry) alternative. Stores of note include Apple, Club Monaco, Banana Republic, Hugo Boss, H&M, Sephora, Ermenegildo Zegna, Holt Renfrew and Harry Rosen.

The great basketball star's own place.

People often choose their dry cleaners on the basis of convenience, but there is a hierarchy of quality in terms of the way garments are treated. A well-made garment that is cared for in a careful and professional way will last longer and feel  and look better. We believe it is worth going a few extra blocks to find a dry cleaner that is better equipped to deal with top-quality garments.
We also recommend that you dry-clean your garments infrequently (usually once a season); spot-clean and press if dry-cleaning isn’t required. To better care for your clothes, hang them properly between wearings, using broad-winged hangers. Don’t wear a garment two days in a row: giving it a day off allows natural fibres to hang out properly, restoring shape.
Ask for no starch when you launder your shirts, to prolong their life. A properly made dress shirt allows for slight shrinkage over a number of launderings. Usually an extra half inch is added to the neck and sleeve length of a shirt to allow for this shrinkage.
 
If you are a Canadian dry cleaner operating in this market and feel that you should be included in this list, please contact us and give us an opportunity to test you out.

The full six-mile loop of Stanley Park’s sea wall.