Jumping Juniper!

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Looking for a libation in Vancouver? Skip the booze cruise and take a tour of Chinatown, which is fast becoming a cocktail mecca. Opening just last month, Juniper Kitchen & Bar is where you’ll find bartender Martin Corriveau mixing up small-batch gin martinis and other excellent elixirs.

Oh, this pic is making me pine for a Juniper! The restaurant’s signature cocktail, made with Aviation gin, Juniper berries and Fentimans tonic, is scrumptious. But you also can’t go wrong with the Garden Gin Smash, seen here with the green garnish, the Rad-Ish (local to BC Ampersand gin, radish, dehydrated lemon, pink peppercorn, Lemon tonic) or the Mr. Bava on the bottom (Mr. Bava Bourbon, S.O.V. Amaretto, Cocchi Americano, Aromatic bitters, Ricard).Juniper’s Scotsman ice machine is its secret weapon. Thought to be the only one in BC, the pebble-sized ice cubes melt more slowly, and distribute liquid more evenly in a cocktail. But that’s just one size and shape in the bartending team’s ice arsenal. They pride themselves on their 18 different types of cubes.Important to note: Kitchen isn’t in Juniper Kitchen & Bar’s name for decoration. As seen here in the Wood Platter with pickled local apples, rabbit terrine from the Fraser Valley and local Pepper Jack Jill (a feminized Monterey Jack) the restaurant features Cascadian-inspired fare. I consider myself an Intermediate Foodie, but I hadn’t heard of Cascadian Cuisine. According to the World Food Travel Association, it’s “a bio-region that includes northwestern California, Oregon, Washington, southwestern British Columbia, Idaho and western Montana.” Apparently Vancouver wasn’t digging the ol’ Northwest Cuisine designation, because YVR is in the southwest part of the province.On this particular evening in Vancouver, we made a few more stops on the tour, but when it was time to reduce the blood alcohol level, we came right back to Juniper for dinner. If you go, start with the beets and burrata. Sublime!

Taxidermy: the Mamie Taylor’s edition

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What do you do when you’re starting a hipster cocktail bar on the shady side of Main Street (that’s East, for my non-YVR-knowing friends, and I’m not referring to a tree-lined boulevard) and you want to do something different from the rest of faux-fur embracing Vancouver? You put out a call for taxidermy on Facebook, et voila: decor by donation.

The beards behind the bar loved the Mamie Taylor cocktail so much, they named their restaurant after it. Opening in 2013, it helped start the tsunami of Chinatown’s uber-hipness. Soon this city will have no grunge left.As it’s open late, if you’re too bleary-eyed to read their extensive cocktail list including drinks like Ducati Thief, ZZ Top and Dingaling Sling, the bartender will assess you and create the perfect concoction. Apparently I appeared jetset enough to qualify for the Aviation.Ham Grenades are the go-to if you need a little something to nibble on. The most delectable tater tots I’ve ever sunk my teeth into.

One thing to know going in: embrace any Hipster Surly attitude here as part of the charm. Accompanied as it is by infallible libations, the taxidermy adorning any spare space is all the charm you’ll need.

Room 701 at Opus

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When you plan to ring in the New Year in high-heeled style, you need the right room to rest your toes after the countdown. Suite 701 at Opus Hotel in Vancouver, with prosecco proferred upon check-in, fit the bill. Not only was the boutique hotel one of the hippest destinations in the city when it opened in 2002, it’s still keeping up with the Forbeses, achieving the mag’s coveted four-star rating from 2013-2015 — the only boutique hotel to do so in YVR. The rooms are each decorated for an imaginary muse. Taking it up a notch from the average imaginary friend, Opus’s hypothetical pals include a rockstar, a doctor, an actress and a food critic. The foxglove blue walls of 701 were inspired by Susan, a fashion exec from Toronto. I am happy to report that Susan prefers a padded headboard. However, she didn’t leave behind the Rebecca Minkoff bag and Cole Haan heels — those are mine.

The generously proportioned bathroom not only came with a walk-in shower and separate soaker tub…it also came with goodies I haven’t tried before. Verdict: yes.The Yaletown location means you’re walking distance from everything: the seawall, fabulous shopping, a kazillion coffee shops, restaurants and nightclubs.The proliferation of late-night partying in Yaletown at the aforementioned clubs means this view, while not that scenic, was especially soothing. If you’re a princess and the pea type of sleeper like myself, request a courtyard room. If I could change just one thing about Room 701, I would send the desk chair back to Office Max. I feel like Susan would want a different option to perch on while she perused the in-room iPad, waiting for her Keurig coffee to brew.Overall, a lovely stay, and a lovely way to ring in 2016. Happy New Year everyone!

H Project Opens at Holt’s

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At H Project, walking the walk means carrying the clutch

Alexandra Weston, Director of Brand Strategy at Holt Renfrew, brandishes her FEED bag given to her by Lauren Bush, who runs the charitable foundation of the same name. Pay $40 to buy one of the cotton bags, handmade by Indian artisans, and you’ll feed 25 schoolchildren in India.That’s the point of H Project, the new boutique at Holt Renfrew in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. Satisfy your need for retail therapy and you’ll be fulfilling the real needs of struggling folks around the world. Buy a WeWood timepiece at an affordable price point of $120 and a tree will be planted. A portion of your purchase of Proof sunglasses, made from sustainable wood, will go toward sight-giving surgeries to people in India.Many designers sell items with proceeds going to charitable causes, but rarely do they come together under one roof. Some, like Cornelia Guest and her cruelty-free handbags, were already selling their socially and eco conscious items elsewhere. Others, like Canadian designer Jenny Bird and her Guardian Tusk jewelry collection (proceeds go to the World Wildlife Fund) developed lines exclusively for H Project. In all, Alexandra has gathered thirty brands of apparel, accessories, home décor items and beauty products for the boutique, elevating fashion from style statement to ethics edict. In the midst of all this global artisan accomplishment, a local artist from the Alberta Printmakers’ Society strutted her silkscreen stuff.Limited edition bags, handmade in Calgary, free with purchase at H Project. Take a stand and self-indulge. It could help change the world.

“Naturally” Blonde

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There is only one person I trust to keep me naturally blonde: Kevin Shiu, at Headspace in Vancouver. My roots have been known to turn orange during highlighting. Other stylists have tried to semantic their way out of it by saying my hair has a tendency to “pull warm.” But disaster never happens with Kevin, and as a result I am fully dependent on his prowess with my tresses.Action shot! No matter what city I live in, a trip to the hairdresser’s means a trip to YVR!Oh, and did I mention the multi-talented Kevin Shiu is also a world renowned DJ? Apparently Tiesto and I have the same taste in music – he’s also a KS fan. Catch one of Kevin’s sets on Frisky Radio.