Book 'Em Daddy-O
Plan now and do Dad proud this Father's Day (June 21). Go big with a steak dinner at Morton's (750 West Cordova Street), a pig-out Elvis Platter at Memphis Blues Barbeque House (various locations), or hit the Hamilton Street Grill (1009 Hamilton Street), where steaks are $12 all month. Pair with a matchy-matchy cookbook—Memphis Blues Barbeque House: Bringing Southern BBQ Home (Whitecap, $29.95), Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse (Clarkson Potter, $40), or Lobel's Meat Bible: All You Need to Know About Meat and Poultry (Chronicle, $52)—and you're done.

Spring Roll Showdown
Roll into Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant (1132 East Hastings Street) and sign up for the restaurant's monthly spring roll–eating contest. Ten contestants will be chosen for the showdown this Sunday (June 21) at 1 p.m.; the person who eats the most in three minutes (with free beer to wash it down) will advance to the finals in August to chew for the $300 prize. The record to date is nine rolls in three minutes.

Coming To Kits Beach
Here's the lowdown on all the construction at the former Malone's restaurant site at 2210 Cornwall Street. The Joeys folks are behind Local Public Eatery, a gastro pub slated to open in late summer or early fall. Ex–Diva at the Met chef and Bocuse D'Or representative Chris Mills will be overseeing the menu of casual pub fare like burgers, fish tacos, and salads.

Italian Hideaway
With Tapastree's Mike Jeffs in the kitchen, month-old Nook (781 Denman Street) is already a busy spot. The intimate, stylish red room serves antipasto, pasta, and thin-crust pizza (mains $13 to $15) with Italian wines. Bar seats give a view of the chef working next to the flaming pizza oven. Nook is open from 5 p.m. every day except Sunday; lunch will start up shortly.

Persian Infusion
Kebabs take centre stage at Darchin Restaurant (1710 Davie Street), a new Persian place in the West End. Traditional saffron basmati rice accompanies all of the kebabs, which range from steak to chicken to ground lamb. Mains run $11.95 to $25.95. Darchin is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Charitable Chocolate
Kudos to the staff at Mink A Chocolate Café (863 West Hastings Street) for donating all of their tips to local charities. May's take went to a summer camp called Zajac Ranch for Children; the Canucks Autism Network is June's recipient. Drop a few extra coins the next time you pop in for a specialty coffee or chocolate treat.

Flicks And Sips
At long last, a permanent liquor licence has been nailed to the wall at the Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour Street), meaning that filmgoers can knock back a pre- or post-movie beer or glass of wine (except at screenings open to those under 19). The theatre polled some of the city's inveterate tipplers on their fave boozy film, and The Thin Man beat out Sideways and Harvey.