Italian for Deli
La Quercia (Italian for “oak tree”) owners Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme’s latest project, La Ghianda (“the acorn”)—a northern Italian-style deli/café—is steps away from their restaurant at 2083 Alma Street. Open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, the deli offers espresso, strudel, croissants, soup, salad, butcher-paper-wrapped sandwiches—such as prosciutto and artichokes or mortadella and Taleggio cheese ($10)—and more. After 6 p.m., there’s a daily take-away meal like porchetta and roast potatoes ($12). Shop for stocks, ragí», house-made bread, olive oil, risotto, and pasta.

What the Dickens?
With live music by Dal Richards and a 19th-century English theme, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s (900 West Georgia Street) annual Dickens Luncheon happens December 14, with a cost of $60 per adult. The hotel’s Griffins restaurant also has a festive lunch buffet daily (except Sundays and Christmas) in December for $42 per adult; call 604-684-3131 to reserve. In Burnaby, Hart House Restaurant (6664 Deer Lake Avenue) is offering a $35-per-person Dickens Luncheon Buffet. It starts Monday (December 6) and runs weekdays until December 23; reserve at 604-298-4278.

Q4 Times Two
A new sibling for the Corsi family’s Quattro restaurants, Q4 al Centro (780 Richards Street) is set to open next Thursday (December 9) in L’Hermitage Hotel. The menu will be similar to that of Kitsilano’s Q4 Restaurant (2611 West 4th Avenue), where pastas and Italian mains run $17.95 to $36.95 at dinner. Q4 al Centro will be open for dinner daily and for lunch Monday to Friday. See www.q4restaurant.com/.

Pizza on the Take and Bake
Kits newbie Rustico Gourmet U-Bake Pizza (3335 West 4th Avenue) is looking to score a take-and-bake niche in local pizzadom. Its signature thin-crust pizzas include the tasty Tesoro (chorizo, crimini mushrooms, Parmesan), Bellissima (roast chicken, olives, onion, tomato), and Amore (prosciutto, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomato, olives, spinach), priced at $16 and $20 for 12- and 16-inchers. Or you can always get creative and design your own.

Foodie Education Funding
The B.C. chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international organization of professional women working in food and wine, is accepting applications for 2011 scholarships. These can be used in culinary programs at the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver and the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, plus wine programs at PICA and those offered through Mission Hill winery. The scholarships are open to women of all ages, and the deadline is February 28, 2011. For info, see lesdames.ca/.

New Food Connection
Check out sharedharvest.ca/, a free online trading site where farmers, fishers, producers, bakers, and the like can post goods for sale, trade, or donation. When we visited, we found naturally raised Scottish Highland beef at $3.25 a pound; free, slightly blemished butternut squashes; fingerling potatoes—20 pounds for $30; 500 pounds of basil; a notice for a fruit and veg pocket market; and more, all in Metro Vancouver.