Posts Tagged Kantine Urban Cafeteria
The Resurrection of Urban Shore
Posted by Michelle Evans in News & Events on September 20th, 2009
I do apologize for the hiatus. Mostly I was sulking at the prospect of moving away from this beautiful place I call home. See, I had my apartment on the market this summer in hopes of finding myself with a larger home – we’re expecting our 2nd child now. Instead I ended up coming to the realization that I wouldn’t find what I want in this area just yet and would prefer to live more modestly in the place I love rather than move, especially if it meant leaving the Shore.
So I’m back to stay, and so is Urban Shore.
Now that the excuses are out of the way… I got out this afternoon to enjoy the neigborhood and dig up some info for you. A few new places have cropped up over the summer and a few places have shut down. Add in a some changes of ownership a little new construction and the City of North Vancouver’s urban hub is taking on a fresh look. Here are a few tidbits:
The North Vancouver City Library celebrated it’s 1st anniversary today. In the last year it has circulated more than 1 million items and now offers free WiFi throughout the entire Civic Plaza (.PDF) during library hours. Connect to the wireless network ‘PLAZAIR’; no password is required.
Bella Candela Grill on Esplanade has shut down but plans to re-open as a take-out/delivery place. I’m curious to see what will crop up there; I’ll keep you posted.
I got a message in August from Paul Mon-Kau of The District Social House that he has sold Kantine Urban Cafeteria. So far it doesn’t look like much has changed. The menu is a little different but still very affordable. Branding is the same but the website doesn’t seem current. There was a nice buzz there this afternoon, which was nice to see. I’m a big fan of the Esplanade Plaza, but it seems to lack in foot traffic a little.
I’ve always been a HUGE fan of the New Apple Farm Market at 20th and Lonsdale for produce and specialty/asian and organic foods, and I’ll dedicate an entire post to it at some point, but I just noticed a brand new produce store across the street from Starbucks at 13th & Lonsdale: Anna’s Fresh Produce at 1342 Lonsdale Avenue carries only produce. Their selection isn’t super extensive but their prices are awesome… just about everything was under $1.00/lb – coloured peppers were all $.79/lb and pineapples were 2/$3.50 for the ones I just spent $4.00 each on at another grocery store. Definitely going there for produce next time.
Thanks to all my readers for your support. I am back and excited about the future of Urban Shore. I hope you are too.
Don’t forget to check out Urban Shore on Flickr and now you can follow Urban Shore on Twitter @urbanshoreca.
Kantine Urban Cafeteria
Posted by Michelle Evans in Coffee Shops, Restaurants on March 29th, 2009
Now that the weather is springlike, I finally got out on a photo walk this afternoon and made my way all over the Lower Lonsdale area, down to the Pier, in to The Quay, up through the plaza by the John Braithwaite centre and back home by way of the little playground between 1st and 2nd just West of Chesterfield.
On my travels I got a chance to stop by the new Kantine Urban Cafeteria – the newest great concept in urban dining taking the place of the old Angelina’s Cafe that didn’t seem able to make a go of it. The location – 210-150 West Esplanade (upstairs from Shopper’s Drug Mart) – doesn’t lend itself well to walking traffic, but this concept (and super funky branding!) just might be cool enough to really catch on with the local office community.
According to Martini Boys, the man behind the new Kantine restaurant is Paul Mon-Kau, who also brought North Vancouver The District Social House on Lower Lonsdale. While I didn’t get a chance to eat there this time around, what I really fell in love with was the simplicity of the space. The interior is lovely and clean looking with funky orange chalk boards highlighting their daily specials. I also seem to have a soft spot for that plaza where Kantine is located.
Kantine Urban Cafeteria offers an assortment of soups, stews, paninis, salads and pastries and caters mainly to the local lunch crowd; that’s not to say, however, that you shouldn’t make your way there for lunch on a sunny weekend or a quick dinner after work. Definitely cheap-eats pricing here – I mean, the listed specials were a Breakfast Burrito with a Coffee for $3.25 or a Panini, Chips & a Pop for $7. That’s a great deal right there, and that’s just the start: They promise “10 Meals under $10 ready in under 10 minutes”.
As a bit of a techie and, well… a marketer, what I really like about what Mon-Kau is doing is the fact that not only is the branding beautiful and modern, but Kantine Urban Cafeteria has its own blog AND you can even place your order at Kantine online! It’s only natural they’d also offer free WiFi. Now if they started accepting orders via Twitter that would really be on the edge.
As I said, I didn’t get a chance to eat there yet, but here are a couple of reviews of Kantine from Foodpages.ca. I’m going to bet the food is good; I’ve only heard great things about The District, so Mon-Kau’s team obviously knows what they’re doing.
Kantine is open 7 days a week and also offers catering. Next time you swing by Esplanade Plaza, stop in and enjoy a quick bite that doesn’t break the bank.
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By N2H 