Did you hear? Yaletown has a new kid on the block and they do only brows.

They may be plucky, but when it comes to eyebrows, let the experts do them. The Bombay Brow Bar in Yaletown combines a traditional Indian hair removal method with a hefty dose of Bollywood beauty.

Threading is an ancient Indian skill that removes unwanted hair all the way to the roots using a cotton thread. The person performing the threading achieves amazing precision and control, making this the best way of shaping your eyebrows.

Located on Mainland Street just across from Glowbal Restaurant, the Bombay Brow Bar is open daily from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

If one could say there was a theme for the ‘Spotlight Designer’ showcase at OPUS bar on January 21st, they’d have to say fabulously dressed people at a fabulous event.

Mavi, the renowned denim brand from Turkey, gave a sneak peek into its spring/summer ‘SS10′ collection for 2010 – twelve different looks for ladies and four for gentlemen.

The collection showcases key trends in the industry including denim on denim look, the Serena low rise super skinny jeans (also known as “jeggings”), balloon Capri, Patti boyfriend jeans, denim jackets & vest, short shorts, as well as several tie-dyed, distressed or ripped jeans paired off with studded plaid shirts.

The OPUS bar, in a surprising turn of generosity, also offered guests a taste of a sparkling wine all the way from down under. Pink, is a sparkling blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Southeastern Australia with a strawberry aroma and fruit flavors of sweet berry and lime.

Aside from the sneak peek, upcoming singer and songwriter Téa gave an exclusive performance for the guests of this invite-only event. Mavi’s SS10 collection hits the stores now.

If a good steak is the most sought-after food item known to man, then Glowbal in Yaletown definitely hit the nail on the head when they re-opened the doors to the the legendary restaurant on Thursday, January 14th.

As usual, the good people of the Glowbal Collection (owners of such fine restaurants as Coast, Sanafir, Trattoria, Society and Italian Kitchen,) know how to throw a party – this time re-launching Glowbal Grill Steaks & Satay with a new interior design, a steaked-up menu (including Australian Wagyu Beef) and, of course, Vancouver’s beautiful people.

When the restaurant opened eight years ago, Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar almost immediately became the gold standard in Yaletown’s dining scene. It established itself as one of the premier dining establishments found in one of Vancouver’s trendiest districts. For the January 14th relaunch Glowbal has raised the bar even higher.

With a much more refined interior and re-invented menu, guests are in for truly magnificent dining. The new “Meat Cellar” displays fine cuts of beef that can be butchered upon order.

The grand opening gala event had hundreds lined up out the door, hoping to sneak a peek while Vancouver’s finest mingled inside. Those who were invited to attend all agreed, the restaurant that invented Yaletown dining  has now reinvented the steak house.

To see more photos and to catch the original release, read more, after the jump. (more…)

Chorizo Corn Dogs – that’s all I have to say. There might be hundreds of reasons to visit ‘on the Edge Pub’ which is located on the corner of Columbia Street and Cordova Street, but mine has to be the heavenly finger food distributed on their launch night, Tuesday, December 15th.

Owner George Winkler, has struggled for years with trying to make the location respectable. The former venue that occupied 303 Columbia Street was less than desirable, especially given it’s proximity to Crackville, general scum of the earth and the Insite Safe Injection place that plagues the area. The interior ain’t too shabby. It’s good to look at, the service is decent and well, they have heaven-sent chorizo corn dogs.

The current GM, Andrew Ralph has done good in the two weeks that the venue has been opened. They have DJs coming in on Fridays and Saturdays and with a live music license, the venue is sure to be a hit.

They’re not resolved on being Vancouver’s newest live music venue, though. Ralph says they’re amenable to getting feedback from regulars to shape what ‘on the Edge Pub’ will become – it’s not pretentious, it’s definitely comfortable so if the beer drinkers come, they’ll expand their beer list. If the wine drinkers or students of mixology follow, they’ll soup up the respective drink menus. Either way, ‘on the Edge Pub’ is win-win for everyone.

Follow them on Twitter, HERE.

From December 11th to January 3rd, 4:30PM to 9PM, 1.4 million lights brighten up the VanDusen Botanical Gardens for their annual Festival of Lights.

There’s lots to see and enjoy and it’s for all ages. Don’t miss the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake, the Gingerbread Walk, visits by Santa and more. While there’s plenty of vendors to get hot chocolate and other food stuffs, I won’t dissuade you from bringing your own flask.

Catch the original release, after the jump. (more…)

It’s Thursday night and there’s a myriad of event options in the city. Lots of friends, old and new, are vying for your attention so where do you go?

You catch wind that the world’s worst director is in town. It’s Uwe Boll the German independent film director, producer and screenwriter and he’s putting on a special screening of his newest film, DARFUR.

DARFUR is a cinematic account of the recent genocidal massacres that are occurring in that part of the world. The Sudanese Janjaweed, with the blessing of Sudan’s President Omer Al-Bashir, are raping, pillaging, looting, murdering and decapitating their way through the country’s landscape.

Imagine a baby, young, defenseless and beautiful. Now imagine this child being smashed against a wall and stomped on and then seeing a couple bullets course through its head. Yeah, I’m pretty much still traumatized from seeing the account on screen and it’s been a week. This type of stuff goes on regularly in the Sudan, I’ve been told.

UN reports state that the killing has decreased but that’s only because there is no longer an abundance of people to kill or villages to burn.

“How did this happen?”, I’m thinking to myself. The event started off innocuously. Food catered by Axum Restaurant on Clark and Hastings, a couple headlocks were exchanged with Boll who is known for laying the smackdown on his critics. Toshio Rahman, Senator Mobina Jaffer’s aide on human rights issues, and Don Wright from Amnesty International all gathered for photos.

Boll introduces the film to the attendees – “the movie is a realistic depiction of what’s gone on there,” the African actors are played by Sudanese refugees who were displaced due to the same genocide and in their viewing of the movie none said the depiction was inaccurate. Boll continues to say that documentaries are can’t show the reality but his film can. In conclusion, before the film started rolling, Boll warned the crowd – he said that the second part of the film is really violent but you should sit through it because the people of Darfur have to live through it.

With this film, I hope he can change the world. The accounts of Boll’s abilities (or lack thereof) have been greatly exaggerated.

There will be an additional screening of the film at Silver City in Richmond on February 11th, 2009. Other Canadian screenings will occur on the 4th, 8th and 14th of February.

So, what can you do to make change? With the Canadian Government not currently engaged on the topic, you can rally your local ministers. China supplies the Sudanese government with weapons and money in exchange for access to Sudanese Oil. There’s also 1-800-GENOCIDE or you can check out their website, HERE.

Ritual Sundays are a recent fun addition to Glowbal Restaurant’s weekly programming.

On Sunday nights, Afterglow (the lounge adjacent Glowbal) comes alive. General Manger, Anthony Pratt, comes out of retirementto mix drinks and entertain while Executive Chef Erik Heck serves up fresh oysters and Dayton Turner spins the wheels.

“It’s the day where everybody who works their ass of all week, comes to have some fun, have some drinks, stay up way too late and kill their legs by dancing all night. I’ve had people tell me that it’s the best night they’ve had in Vancouver in their lives and I’d have to agree with them. I would never miss it.” – Dayton Vancouver, Resident Ritual Sundays DJ

The last Ritual Sundays that Glowbal will host is this Sunday. After that, they’re closed for renovations until after the second week of January. Dennis Pak, General Manager of Society has volunteered to keep the event going over the holidays at the Glowbal Group’s newest restaurant located just over a block away.

Find out more about Glowbal Restaurant Group and all their restaurants on their website, HERE.

On Tuesday, December 1st, the folks at Lugaro cracked a few bottles of Veuve and kept the champagne flowing throughout the evening with great cause to celebrate.

The lively and upbeat event marked the opening of Lugaro’s new Park Royal Store featuring Canada’s largest Rolex Boutique and the Canadian debut of Chopard. For those that were there, a chance to see it first hand and to catch the buzz. For those that didn’t, they have locations in West Vancouver, Burnaby, Nanaimo and Victoria. You can catch them online, HERE.

On Thursday, November 26th,  Birks hosted the “Night of New Beginnings,” a fundraiser for Covenant House, sponsored by TD Waterhouse.

Not to disparage the Charity, but given that it’s Thursday night – the night where bankers and finance folks come out to let loose,  the event was surprisingly lame.

To top that off, the itinerary was recognizably b-class… with the items up for auction, be it silent or live, it was just lacking that certain “oomph.”

Now, that’s not to say that a couple more lively souls weren’t out scooping up as much as they could, but you could see some people just going through the motions, bidding on the silent auction, cringing and hoping that they don’t get caught holding the bag.

Surprisingly they raised over 85k. Good for Covenant House, too bad for Birks for hosting a lacklustre event. Note to event organizer: maybe ‘night of new beginnings’ means time to get a new job.

As for my personal quest for new bling, I hear Lugaro is debuting their Rolex Boutique this week and Montecristo is hosting Scotches and Watches.

Alright, that’s a lie, but judging from the crowd, if you weren’t prepped beforehand, you’d certainly wonder what the heck the commotion was.

On Monday, November 23rd, hundreds packed the third floor of the Hyatt to honour Mr. Brown of Canaccord Capital with the T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s Award.

Attendees included Frank Giustra, Police Chief Jim Chu, Premier Gordon Campbell and even Ontario Premier Mike Harris.

The T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s Award is the Fraser Institute’s highest award. It is given to individuals who exemplify the institute’s libertarian values. Mr. Brown is now among a rare few who have received the award; Mr. Harley Hotchkiss, former Canadian Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney, Hong Kong’s former deputy leader Anson Chan, Alberta’s former Premier Ralph Klein and Conrad Black (citation needed) are the ones whom we’ve previously seen associated with the award.

From a former Fraser Institute invite:

This award, named for the Fraser Institute’s founder, is presented annually to celebrate the establishment of The Fraser Institute in 1974. T. Patrick Boyle is currently Vice Chairman of the Fraser Institute. Each year, this prestigious award is presented to a person who best exemplifies the mission and philosophy of the Fraser Institute.

To find out more about the Fraser Institute, check out their website, HERE.