Vancouver's best-kept restaurant secrets

Directly from the Sun Peaks Resort Press Release:

Sun Peaks, BC (November 23, 2009) – Globe Café and Tapas Bar opened it s doors in Kookaburra Lodge at Sun Peaks Resort this week, to fresh snow on the deck and a truly international flavour inside.

This is Globe’s second location following its success at Big White Ski Resort, and is again inspired by the owners’ travels and love of fabulous tastes from around the world. Paul from Ireland, Jude from England and Executive Chef Ross from Canada have developed an ambience, a menu and a style which is both casually upmarket but warm and welcoming with no fuss, no rush and no rules.

Whether you want to start your day with a rich smooth Italian Latte and an English Sausage Sandwich with HP, or relax after a day on the slopes with a beer or glass of BC wine and some great tasting international Tapas dishes, this new restaurant offers you something to delight your taste buds at any time of day. Originating in Spain, but influenced by their travels, Tapas Globe style is all about great fresh cooked food with flavours that wow, drinks that tantalize the taste buds and flowing conversation … all shared with friends, old and new. Truly globally inspired food, drinks and conversation.

The international influence continues through the fabulous black and white artwork on the walls by photographer Jesse Kalisher highlighting international locations around the world, most of which have been visited by one member of the Globe team or another! On the subject of the team, the Globe theme carries right through it with Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, Germany and France all represented.

So if you are looking for something different at Sun Peaks this season and relish the opportunity to share great  food, good wine, awesome cocktails and fun times with friends, family and even the kids, then go check out Globe at Kookaburra Lodge. Open daily from 8am til late. All menus available at www.globetapas.com or for reservations call 250-434-2380.

Directly from the Listel Hotel Press Release:

Fallen Princesses @ Vancouver’s “most art-full hotel”
The Listel Hotel exhibits the work of Vancouver photographer Dina Goldstein

ROBSON STREET: “Cynical realism” seems to best describe Dina Goldstein’s series - Fallen Princesses - opening this week at The Listel Hotel. The exhibit looks at familiar fairy tales stripped of their “happily ever after” endings –

Snow White in a domestic nightmare surrounded by unkempt children and a lout of a prince
Rapunzel dealing with the aftermath of chemotherapy in a stark hospital room.
An overweight Red Riding Hood on her way to her grandma’s, carting fast food in her basket.

The project was inspired by Goldstein’s observation of three-year-old girl. As a new mother she has been able to get a close up look at the phenomenon of young girls fascinated with Disney princesses and their desire to emulate them. The stories almost always have a sad beginning, with an overbearing female villain, and the end is predictably a happy one. The Prince usually saves the day and makes the victimized young beauty into a Princess.

Goldstein’s Fallen Princesses however takes a cool, but humorous look at these fairy tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict: “happily ever after” is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.

As a young girl growing up abroad, Goldstein was not exposed to fairy tales. “These new discoveries lead to my fascination with the origins of fairy tales. I explored the original Brothers Grimm stories and found that they had very dark and sometimes gruesome aspects, many of which were changed by Disney. I began to imagine Disney’s perfect princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues.”

The collection of photos was recently exhibited at Buschlen Mowatt Gallery and her work continues to be a controversial and exciting topic currently being published in numerous art publications across Europe, Asia and North America.  At The Listel Hotel until January 2010.

The Hotel/Gallery. The Listel Hotel has long been known as Vancouver’s “most art-full hotel” and “a cultural tourist’s dream” and for its strong ties and creative partnerships with some of the city’s most dynamic cultural organizations such as the Buschlen Mowatt Gallery. In 2008 the Hotel created a new gallery space - Buschlen Mowatt @ The Listel Hotel - where the works of painter Bernard Cathelin, photographer Pieter Hugo and sculptors John Henry and Betty Gold have all been recently exhibited.

“We are thrilled to have Dina’s work on display,” states hotel General Manager, Jim Mockford. “It somehow manages to be both provocative and entertaining and it is being really well received by guests and locals. We’re lucky to have such talented artists in our city.”