Destination Cambie

We heard the first cherry blossom sighting happened in the West End last week and we’re pretty excited about that. Now that the weather is improving, we say break out of the winter cocoon and re-discover some different ’hoods.

Start with Cambie Street, now one of the hippest ones around since the Canada Line construction is almost complete. In addition to most of the old faves (Park Theatre, Shop Cocoon, One Tooth Fashion, Woofgang, Thai Away Home, Tokyo John, and Capers to name a few), there is now a host of new small, locally-owned boutiques calling this village home.

eio! is a great new children’s store, taking centre stage in the much improved Cambie Village, brought to us by the same savvy folks who started www.beautymark.ca. This store is filled with tons of great essentials and gift ideas for babies and toddlers. We’ve fallen for the new “pre-bike” by Wishbone Design Studio out of New Zealand. This trendy and practical bike is made from sustainably managed wood products, and because it starts as a tricycle and then has two different size adjustments as a run bike, it can be used from ages one to five years old. No need to buy a new bike for each age or stage! 

Next door is Walrus, a new contemporary lifestyle boutique, featuring avant-garde home design products from Vancouver, New York and Europe.  Big things, small things, always a pleasant surprise—has been emblazoned on the front window which seems to aptly define this intriguing new boutique. 

For the dinner party, we like picking up a few delicacies from Mount Pleasant Cheese. The store specializes in Canadian artisanal cheeses, and you can taste before buying (old style). They have a wide selection to appeal not only to the most sophisticated cheese lovers, but also to the discerning tastes of kids.

For your next date night, try Pied-à-Terre, a wonderful new French neighbourhood bistro. The cozy ambiance (it only seats 30 people) and great French food are everything you would expect from a village bistro. They have tagged it “your home away from home”, and once you spend an evening there, we can see how you might want to make it your dining out home.

Good to know: Many of these stores are not open on Mondays.

So ‘camb’ on over to Cambie and try something new—it’s worth the trip.

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