Caffe Artigiano ~ Vancouver Coffee Shops part 12

Yet another coffee shop, this time in Kerrisdale and right next door to Faubourg, the wonderful French bakery-cafe that creates the best croissants in the city.

Caffe Artigiano is a local chain of ten coffee shops through Metro Vancouver and four, opening soon, in Calgary of all places. They are anchored by their own roasting facility in Burnaby.

I used to be an almost-regular to their store in North Burnaby and was always impressed by their artistry, as well as the sweetness of the roast.







The coffee here is good and it certainly has that sweet aroma I recall from several years ago. There was an distinctive hint of chocolate to my espresso, and they readily make a proper cappuccino and macchiato.





Compared to the place next door, Caffe Artigiano is a more relaxed and quieter space, which is often welcome in a coffee shop. Background music was subdued and there weren't any screens that I noticed; another plus to be sure.





For pastries it is perhaps impossible to beat Faubourg, but for coffee... we might have to come again to Caffe Artigiano.

Photos by Jim Murray. 
Copyright 2014.

Canada Day and World Cup futbol

It's Canada Day and what better way to start the day than with another World Cup game at nine in the morning.





Many of my comrades would choose to go to a coffee shop or pub along Commercial Drive but I chose to walk to my club: the Langara Golf Club. And why not? It's only a fifteen minute walk from home with great views and excellent sandwiches, and it's proudly owned by the citizens of Vancouver. On a serious negative side, beer and wine cannot be served until after eleven, given our strange liquor laws. If I had known that at eight in the morning...




The golfers were certainly out on this fine holiday morning and there was no sign of coyotes on the fairway today.

The futbol crowd had not yet materialized and I had a relatively easy time picking out a table. Well, in truth, the crowd never did materialize.

In the end los Albicelestes were the better team, though the Swiss, oddly perhaps, kept the game scoreless through the regulation ninety. Finally, and only moments before the end of extra time, and the dreaded shootout, Di Maria scored after a beautiful set up by Messi. One picture says it all.




But two or three say it much better.

And so it goes. One game closer to the final victory and another smile from Lionel.

Happy Canada Day!

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014. 
Game photos from La Nacion, Buenos Aires.