The freshest dining spots and events in the city

HASTINGS HOTTIE
Check out East Side sweet spot Roundel Cafí‰ (2465 East Hastings Street) for wholesome, home-style diner breakfasts, tasty lunch wraps, sandwiches, burgers, homemade pies, and more. The milk-shake machine, booths, and Arborite tables have been around for the 40-plus years that the original owners (who retired last fall) were in the biz. See if you can spot the monkey heads in the patterned Arborite.

 

SPREADING THE LOVE
Eat out tonight (March 29) at restaurants participating in Dining Out for Life (for a list, see diningoutforlife.com/home.php?city=1 ) and 25 percent of your food bill goes to A Loving Spoonful, Friends for Life, and other agencies supporting people living with AIDS. Down a Stella Artois and $1 from each beer goes to DOFL; ditto 75 cents from bottles of Wolf Blass wine sold in March in restaurants and liquor stores.

 

HOP THE BRIDGE
Time to unearth all those hokey egg- and rabbit-related puns. Just know that Easter lollipops in white, milk, and dark chocolate, and hand-painted eggs, baskets, and truffle eggs aren't all that you'll find at Thomas Haas Chocolates (128–998 Harbourside Drive) in North Vancouver. On display are two stupendous metre-tall chocolate eggs, and a $5 ticket gets you a chance to win one. Funds benefit the North Shore Harvest Project.

 

CASBAH CUISINE COMING
May sees the launch of ex–Bravo Bistro chef-owner Abdel Elatouabi's Le Marrakech Moroccan Bistro in Gastown (address still to be announced). The artisan-made furnishings from Marrakech and Fez will also be sold in (also upcoming) nearby Gates of Morocco Designs.

 

WINE ON
Last call for tickets to the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, wrapping on March 31. What's left? Rush tickets for Festival Tastings (7 p.m., Thursday to Saturday), some Thursday seminars, and seats for the entertaining Up Your Glass!. Seeing Jurgen Gothe rap, plus his wine-centric Dan Savage spoof, is fall-down funny. See grapesofgothe.com/ .

 

HOME COOKING
Fans of Food Network's Take Home Chef featuring dishy Oz bloke Curtis Stone can try their luck while having him autograph his new book, Cooking With Curtis , on March 29 at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks (1740 West 2nd Avenue) between 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., or between 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Tools and Techniques (250 16th Street, West Vancouver).

 

CHEERS 101
No prizes for guessing the focus of the third annual Wine and Beer Festival at UBC this Friday (March 30). Rogers Chocolates and Nando's Flame-Grilled Chicken also offer pairing seminars. A $25 ticket ($30 at the door) gets you samples of brews and wines, both local and imported. Tickets and info at www.universityfestival.com/ .

 

PLANTING THOUGHTS
Watch Seeds in the City! The Greening of Havana, dig into tasty food, and bone up on North Vancouver's Edible Garden Project on Friday evening (March 30) at St. Andrew's United Church (1044 St. George's Avenue, North Vancouver). Tickets are $20 from Whole Foods Market (Park Royal Shopping Centre, West Vancouver) or FarmFolk/CityFolk at 604-730-0450.

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