Take the Bus to The OutPost Cafe

Just recently discovered this wonderful spot for a coffee on Fraser and 25th! It's been hard to find decent coffee in Cedar Cottage aside from the Cedar Cottage Coffee House, and the "staff room" there rocks my world. What more can a mom ask for: strong caffeine, yummy candied ginger muffins and a place for my almost 2 year old to hang out and play with toys! I love the relaxed atmosphere with the high ceilings, and the stack of readables. I say no more line ups and crazy crowds at Little Nest. (Sorry, I love you Little Nest, but sometimes I need peace and quiet.)

YAY! I wish we had a place like this on Commercial Street. Come on! Someone! Anyone!

Time Alone on Kingsway

Yesterday, while Baby was napping, the rain stopped and I jumped on my bike. I love my bike! I rode up 19th and stopped at The Cedar Cottage Coffee House on Kingsway. The French lady there makes the best cookies ever. At first, it seems like paying $0.75 for a thumb sized cookie seems a bit steep, but they are so delicious! I ate mine really slow and savored every bite. These homemade sweets are so much better than those giant, plate sized cookies most coffee shops offer nowadays. Why does it seems all baked goods are on steroids anyway?

I digress. Since moving to Cedar Cottage-Kensington, I've noticed that Kingsway is really lacking in interesting shops. Shops that lure you in, that lull you along to the next block, that make you buy things, like flowers... How many Vietnamese restaurants does one neighborhood need? I counted 13!

So I've decided to find something that would make this diagonal street special. I found some gems among the tacky glass chandelier shop, the $6 haircut salon, the Vietnamese video rental shop, the thrift store, the home gym equipment shop, the prayer rooms (?), and the Dutch Pannekoek House which is never open.

• The House of Dosas- Just eat the dosas. Your mouth will be happy.
• Famous Foods- Good for finding obscure organic grain from mountains far, far, away.  Nice organic meat section, buffalo steaks anyone?
• The Cedar Cottage Coffee House- The ceramic coffee cups are really cool.  Cooooookies!!!!

That's it! So far. Doesn't seem like much...

Vancouver Illustrator Bambi Edlund did a much better job of discovering and drawing the gems of Kingsway Street.  Check it out! Le Pen Now and Again