Winter is coming.
No seriously, it's getting cold. The days are so short now, even with the time change. The time change used to always mess me up. I’d be at work and I'd end up calling staff wondering why they were late.
Breakfast time at Mon Petit Choux. It’s been awhile since the last time I was here for a coffee and tangy lemon tart, click here for that visit.

Latte ($3.50; soy add .50 cents)

Ugh. I have a monstrous headache right now. I thought a hot bowl of phở might help me. I’m at Pho Tin Tin today. Pho Tintin is brought to you by the folks of Tin Tin Market. Which is the Asian grocery store located next door. I pick up a box of Trung Nguyen coffee at the market before I head over to Pho Tintin. (I can’t decide if it’s Pho Tintin or Pho Tin Tin. Please enlighten me if you know.)

Tin Tin Roll ($4.95)

After a detour to Ashcroft for produce I am back to the regular scheduled programming...Do you see what I mean about procrastinating?

2 Chefs Affair is a casual breakfast-lunch eatery located on Commercial Street just across from the Nanaimo public library. I am still working on a project that was due days ago. However, I have secured an extension. Thanks god.
I hit up 2 Chefs Affair as soon as they open, in order to get working straight away.

Oh my goodness. I am so behind in my work. I have an assignment due in a few days. I hope I make the deadline. This is making me a little sweaty and stressed.
But I gotta eat right? So I take a break and go for something quick.

Why hello there, sushi...

I just finished running, coughing and wheezing around Vancouver. As my legs recover, I’ll tell you about a new restaurant in Nanaimo. It’s called 899 Kitchen. They opened a few weeks ago during the Marine Festival weekend. This Chinese restaurant is located in the old Wesley Street Café location, just in front of Bistro Taiyo in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter.

I place my order and pay here. There is a touch screen terminal which allows me to peruse the small menu, make my choices and pay via cards. It will spit out a receipt, and I go sit down.

**UPDATE 2014: Sadly Danforth Deli is now closed. Nooooo!!....Why!??**

I am still in Nanaimo on special assignment. Since I’m here on Vancouver Island for several weeks, it makes more sense to rent a place rather than to hotel it. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against daily housekeeping services and fresh linens at my disposal, but hotel-living gets old really fast. And there are no major hotels here in Nanaimo to which I am a card-carrying loyalty member. So there’s that.

It’s the annual Nanaimo Marine Festival and Championship Bathtub Races today and this weekend. The Bathtub Days street fair looks like it is in full swing downtown on Commercial Street. I gave it a looksy.

I’m here in Nanaimo on special assignment. I love referring to it as “special assignment” as it makes my work sound way more Fox Mulder-ish. I know I’ll have my nose to the grindstone for most of my time on Vancouver Island, but I hope to share out some eateries while I’m here.

I never came here to L.A. Chicken when I lived in Richmond. I lived just off of Number 3 Road, yet Number 5 Road just seemed so... far away. Lazy, right?
Sometimes when I think back to those days, I have to give myself a big ol’ eyeroll.

I wasn’t planning on blogging about L.A. Chicken, but I have been a patron of this place more times in the past 12 months than I care to admit. I mentioned over a year ago that my work conferences all moved from their traditional downtown Coal Harbour locales to various major Richmond hotels.

**Some of you have been getting the 403 error lately. Thank you to those that let me know something was awry. The error was only happening from certain locations, so I didn't realize any errors were occurring. Thank you for your patience. I hope www.lvoe.ca is accessible to all now.**

Happy fourth of July to my American friends.
It's hot.