Today is the first day of Dine Out Vancouver 2009, the annual restaurant promotion that's become a Vancouver tradition: 180+ restaurants around Vancouver are participating, offering three-course "set menus" of $18, $28 or $38 designed to allow diners to "taste drive" new cuisine or visit old favourites at (supposedly) discounted prices.

I have such mixed feelings about Dine Out. I love that friends use it as an excuse to get together over good food; I love that Vancouverites in general use it as an excuse to get out to new (at least to them) restaurants, visiting different neighbourhoods and bringing money to local businesses.

But, personally, I think the idea that Dine Out saves money--or is in any way a good deal, finance-wise--is nothing but marketing hype. I consistently spend less at all the Dine Out restaurants I patronize just ordering what I want than I do with the "set menu". (Because I don't eat three courses? Maybe.)

What do you think?

Dine Out Vancouver 2009 kicks off this Wednesday, January 14, and one of my favourite restaurants is participating again this year: Ashiana Tandoori.

Even though Ashiana's been highly touted in reviews, it continues to be one of those "best kept secrets" kind of restaurants. Last year during Dine Out, I ran into two friends there who live in Yaletown and were trying Ashiana for the first time; neither had ever heard of the place. (One indisputably good thing about Dine Out is that it does publicize lesser-known local restaurants.) They both loved it, I'm happy to say.

What's not to love? The butter chicken is the best I've had, the food is traditional and authentic, the vegetarian dishes are delicious (try the eggplant)...I have never had a dish there that I didn't deeply enjoy.

(My one personal complaint is that they put peas in places I'd rather not have them, like the rice. It's a hold-over from a few childhood years spent in England; after that, I prefer my peas small and occasional, not ubiquitous. But that's just me. My partner loves the peas.)

The upside of Ashiana's out-of-the-way location (on Kingsway and Knight) and lack of a major rep is that the restaurant is never crowded and never has wait times. If you can hop in a car and go, it can be faster than walking somewhere and waiting 15 minutes (or more).

If you're looking for a new East Indian place to try for Dine Out, try Ashiana. I can't recommend it enough.

(And if you do try it, don't forget to come back and add your own opinions to the review!)

_{Photo by Dana Lynch}

• Lions Club Christmas Tree Recycling
  Recycle your Christmas tree (for the cost of a donation) into reusable mulch at one of the Lions Club Tree Chipping events happening Saturday, January 10 - Sunday, January 11.
  
  Locations:
  
  • Kerrisdale Community Ice Rink parking lot (East Boulevard north of 41st Avenue)
    
  • Kits Beach parking lot (Cornwall and Arbutus Street)
    
  • Sunset Beach upper parking lot (Pacific Boulevard and Broughton Street)
    
  • Trout Lake Community Centre (Victoria Drive and 15th Avenue)

• Burn the Floor
  Burn’s 20-person dance troupe are award-winners who combine a rock-and-roll style arena show with Broadway theatricality. Features artists from around the world and a blend of Rumba, Cha-Cha, Samba, Salsa, Waltz, Tango, Quickstep, Swing and Jive. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Saturday, January 10 - Sunday, January 11.

• WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution
  It's the last weekend to see WACK!, the first comprehensive, international exhibit exploring the dynamic of art and feminism from 1965 to 1980, at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Funny and surprising and well worth it. Ends Sunday, January 11.

Last year's Pemberton Music Festival near Whistler drew over 40,000 music lovers, powerhouse acts like Jay Z and Coldplay and was hailed by Rolling Stone as the "next Glastonbury"; it also (according to the Vancouver Sun) "generated about $35 million in economic spin-offs and fueled the busiest weekend of Whistler's summer season."

So it sucks that this year's much anticipated return of the festival has been canceled. The Vancouver Sun reported that the organizers fell too far behind due to a lengthy permit process with the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC). The ALC is concerned about the environmental impact on the soil (used for agriculture); last year, over 20,000 festival goers camped at the site.

On the one hand, it's good that the ALC is protecting the environment so assiduously. On the other...boy, is our region just taking one economic beating after another this year! I'm sure that $35 million "spin-off" will be sorely missed, especially given the already gloomy prospects for tourism.

But maybe I'm just being winter-grouchy about this news. What do you think?