Vancouver, Vancouver, Vancouver: food, politics, and geek-friendly events in October

I woke up in Vancouver yesterday and sent out a note on Facebook asking friends for recommendations on food, politics, and nerdy fun. My friend Chris Blattman would call this a “Bleg.”

I did something similar for my visit to Montreal this summer, but I wrote that after the fact. This time, I thought I’d try posting it before I actually do much and see what else people add to the list. I’ll keep updating this post as recommendations come in.

So far the categories are: beer, coffee, food, and events. (Lots of links are currently missing, but they will be there soon!)

Beer

• Number one recommendation with a bullet is the Alibi Room. Recommended by Kate Koliha, Phillip Djwa, and Boris Mann.
• Kat suggests “go to Bitter and have my favourite beer, Crannog’s Back Hand of God.” (And get a doughnut or three from Lucky’s)
• Kate adds Irish Heather and the The Whip.

Coffee

• Gene is where I started my espresso route this trip. Thanks to Kim Elliot for the introduction.
• Today I checked out Kafka on the recommendation of Julie Jenkins and I was not let down. Great spot.
• Boris says “Make sure to also stop in at Revolver Coffee - best coffee north of San Fran.” Serious endorsement.
• Trevor of Clevers Media suggests a trip to 49th Parallel, which is next on my list.

Food

My own list starts out with the Irish Heather for their “Long Table Series” or their “Pit for your supper” night.

• From there, Brad leads with Sushiyama “for delicious tuna sashimi the size of a steak,” and Kishimoto is given two thumbs up by Kim & Reilly.
• Boris Mann, the “Mann about town,” throws down with Fat Dragon BBQ and Nine Dishes
• Trevor throws in Save On Meats
• Budgie Burrito gets a nod from Brad, as does Cafe Montmartre
• Trish says, The Acorn

Places & events

First, a few events this week:

• Judy Rebick recommended a few events over lunch last week, starting with the premiere screening of Occupy Love, Velcro Ripper’s new film, at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Screening Thursday, Saturday, and next week.
• There’s also an opening-night after party for Occupy Love that comes highly recommended.
• Spreading the Maple Spring: Lessons from Quebec’s Student Strike (and Victory Party) was suggested by the whole rabble.ca crew, Judy, Kim, and Derrick.
• My colleagues here in The Tyee’s newsroom suggested the “Can We De-Friend Oil?” talk by Andrew Nikiforuk on Wednesday.

For later in the month:

• John Maxwell kicks things off with a trio of recommendations, starting with MiniTOC Vancouver on October 19th and 20th
• Followed by Open Education 2012 at UBC, Oct 16-18
• And, finally, Wandering Art Metropole
• Reilly from OpenMedia.ca suggests the DemocracyLOUD! A Fundraiser for Media Democracy Days 2012 event on October 11th
• The ever-geeky Brad reminds me to check out the Vancouver Hack Space

Have recommendations to add to the list? Find me on Facebook, leave a quick comment, or shoot me a note on Twitter or good ol’ e-mail.