Setting a new standard for café quality in New Westminster, Quantum Deli and Bistro brings a little slice of Yaletown to our Downtown area (cat-sized dogs not included).

Lately I’ve been thinking about how my surroundings inspire my food choices. Reading my way through the Canada Reads books inspired a date with bacon ice cream, a rise in my comfort food intake, and delight in a layered chocolate torte! But what about where we live? What effect does our city have on our food choices?

Will, Briana, and I found ourselves with some toddler free time this past weekend, and after mistakenly planning to hit up Perogy Night (it’s this coming Friday, people!) we ended up at The Orange Room. This simple place has been described as “the closest thing New Westminster has to hip” and has also played host to one of our tweet-ups, prompting Haiku Empress and guest poster Marcy Koopmans to refer to our gathering at the Orange Room as the  ”least awkward meet up of mostly total strangers that I’ve ever been to.”
Last May, Briana …

One of the long-held New Westminster traditions that I had never personally participated in is the perogy dinners offered by the Holy Eucharist Cathedral of the Ukrainian Catholic church (separate archbishop system, same Pope, not Orthodox). Last Friday night we decided to change all that so we loaded up the minivan and took our hungry selves over to 5th Street and 4th Ave for an Apostolic good meal. Perogy night is always a Friday, once a month. The next dinner is October 30.
The set up is classic church basement. Folding …

I came into Urth for a coffee, and to scope out the free wifi, but ended up staying to chat for over an hour with owner Bryan Schwartz and a handful of well-caffeinated regulars who joined our conversation at the bar.
Urth isn’t just a place to get coffee. It’s a place that invites lingering to chat, and a place to meet new friends. I’ve found New West to be friendlier than most places, but it’s still unusual to go into a place and strike up a conversation with strangers. But …

Good food. Cheap prices. Cheery service. Free wifi. Booze.
It may look humble, with its homemade signage and rather drab, dated decor, but Los Generales at 334 Sixth St.delivers a surprisingly warm, satisfying, authentic Mexican culinary experience. It is well worth a visit.
If your experience of Mexican cooking has so far been limited to chain restaurant fajitas, quesadillas and tacos, you may be surprised at the wholesome simplicity of the food. Cast Taco Bell expectations aside, and you’ll soon appreciate the homey fare Los Generales has to offer.
The tortilla chips with homemade …

This is a guest post by Asifa, a confessed foodie, writing about one of her favourite restaurants in New Westminster. You can find Asifa on Twitter @asifa604.
Hello fellow New Westminster residents. As my first contribution to this blog, which is a great source of activities and city secrets for the New Royal City, I will be posting about my favorite thing: food.
Food is a journey to other cultures, passions and stories. I love a good story. They say, every life is a best seller; you just have to know how to …

Some time ago, I guest posted about our challenges in finding a good Chinese take-out place in New West. Some mentioned Hon’s while others recommended the Dragon. Having eaten at both, I found a new contender.
The Lucky King Seafood Restaurant on 832 12th St. in New West is great. They have only been managing the place for two months and I’m sure the work being done on 12th doesn’t help with attracting foot traffic.
I’ve already read one letter in our local paper regarding their most excellent (sorry …

Hidden among a collision repair shop, a marine outboard sales and repair place, and an ICBC claims centre is New Westminster’s only winery. When you visit Pacific Breeze Winery, you won’t find grapevines snaking over a landscape of rolling hills, but you will meet some of New Westminster’s most passionate oenophiles, and taste some truly exceptional wine.
Pacific Breeze started five years ago, and today employs about 15 people including the two original partners – Frank Gregus and Maurice Hamilton. Frank and Maurice’s passion for wine was kindled years earlier with …

A few days ago, Will and I made our way down to The Orange Room, which recently reopened under new management. It has long been a favourite haunt of ours, so we came with high expectations and a little fear that the elements that made The Orange Room so great (delicious menu, friendly service, live music, stylish atmosphere) might be missing under different management.

We came away reassured, though our experience was somewhat marred by new restauranteur growing pains (more on that later). It was exciting to have a whole new …

Image by ♥ he@rt ♥ via Flickr

This is a guest post by Mojgan Fay, who waxes rhapsodic about pie, chocolate and all things sweet. You can find her on Twitter posting as @somethinglemon. As you will see from the post below, she’s also a fan of the citrus!
This leading citrus assembly offers more than an appealing colour, odour, and flavour. It is a staple of summertime picnics and intimate wintertime gatherings. The cool brightly yellow lemon filling with the soft sugary meringue goodness is a perfect compliment to your afternoon …

Previously mentioned in Tenth To The Fraser’s guide to “blunch” in the Royal City, Amelia Restaurant on 12th St. is a local greasy spoon phenomenon. Vancouver Sun reporter Shelly Fralic, who I hear is also a New Westie, shared her review yesterday in the Sun:
One of the reasons it’s been a neighbourhood fixture for decades is the All-Day Breakfast Special which, for $3.50, delivers a pile of eggs, bacon/ham or sausage, perfectly crisp home-made pan fries and toast, or, if you’re hungrier than the average bear, a $4.95 Workman’s Special, …

It was a dark day in New Westminster when the Orange Room closed. It was one of only a handful of restaurants in New West that one might classify as, well, cool. Amid the plethora of sports bars and diners, The Orange Room was a vital refuge for those among us who enjoyed tapas with a side of live music and local art.
I had given up hope that this favourite restaurant of mine might reopen, but I am happy to report that the Orange Room lives! 
The new owner is Paloma Eguiagaraya, who …

This is a guest post by Ruth Seeley of No Spin PR.

I’m more likely to go out for breakfast than for any other meal these days. Working from home, it means I can give my day a little ‘shape’ by getting up early, reading, writing, tweeting, pitching, greeting, etc. for three or four hours, then take a shower break and head out to do errands, get some fresh air, and have breakfast.
On bad days this sometimes doesn’t happen till 2 or 3PM, however, so I’ve had to invent a …

Well, the other day our guest poster, New West Gal mentioned that she was thoroughly dissatisfied with the restaurant choices here in the Endub, so I thought I would take a few minutes to relate four of my favourite restaurants. I’m not an expert, by any means, but I have lived here for a while, am a sucker for a to-go menu, and will make a point of eating local if the food is good. Everyone hears about La Spaghetteria and The Keg, but what about the hole-in-the-walls? So in …

This is a guest post by New West Gal, who is desparately seeking better local take-out options!
I’m on a quest for great Chinese food take-out in New Westminster or even neighbouring Burnaby. We have lived in New West for nearly seven years and I have yet to eat good, much less great Chinese food here. What’s up with that? B.C.’s population is made up of many cultures but taking the lead are the Chinese and yet, I cannot find any great Chinese eats.

I’ve had Hon’s on Robson and they serve what …