Bâtard Boulangerie et Café

Bâtard has several definitions:

1. It's a hybrid of different cultures and styles
2. It's also an oval loaf based on the baguette
3. A story by Jack London, and after spending three months in Yukon ourselves one winter...
4. And, it's unique individual of questionable parentage

In Vancouver however, Bâtard is a great boulangerie and café in Fraserhood.

Bâtard is a family business created by Chris Brown of Rise Artisan Bakery (he's the former owner on Ecco il Pane) and Bruno and Sally Born (and daughter Elsie Born) of Finest at Sea on Arbutus. Whatever the lineage, Bâtard is a fantastic bakery and more.

The building is over 100 years old and and some of the exterior features are original. On the inside, things have been opened up with the bakery and epicierie on one side, the café on the other. There are local products as well as some interesting European items too.

The pastries are excellent, with the croissants being the best in Vancouver.





















The sandwiches are wonderful, mainly because of the bread, but the ingredients are fresh and made-in-house, like the roasted chicken that went into this Chicken Club.

Coffee, as one might expect, is highly sufficient. There are better coffee shops in Vancouver, but this place is special because of the excellence of its bakery.

Bâtard is located on Fraser Street between East 23rd and 24th Avenue.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

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Snow in our neighbourhood ~ turning to slush

It happens almost every winter on the southwest coast of Canada and while the rest of the country takes it for granted, here in Metro Vancouver, snow is a big deal. Even if is only ten centimetres at most.













Many of us, especially those working in the public sector, devoted employees all, hope for a snow day, and a paid day off. Sadly, it seldom happens.




Instead we get a day, perhaps two, of winter weather. Sidewalks are sometimes cleaned, as per municipal bylaws throughout the region, but usually not.

Kids build semi-snow structures and snow people, and the city slows down ever so slightly.












In a day or two or three, the rains will return, and winter will be washed away completely. Until next time. And some of us, like our lawyer-friend, BT Mendelbaum (disbarred), will spend the entire winter watching, waiting and praying for the next potential snow day.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

The first big snow of the season ~ in Vancouver's Van Dusen Garden

It's December and the first snow of the winter has arrived on the Left Coast.

People in the rest of the nation watch their news portals and wonder why in the world people in Metro Vancouver get excited about a wee bit of snow; why bridges are closed and traffic snarls to a halt. The rest of the nations seems to know how act, and drive and walk, in the snow.






And every time snow arrives on the south coast a social media debate ensues about the proper use of umbrellas in the snow. Obviously we have too much time on our hands.

There's an amazing quiet that comes to the park after a snowfall.

Walking through Van Dusen Garden is a wonderful experience after a snowfall.

Especially when it only lasts a day or two.

Photos by Jeem. 

Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.