Caffeine Perfection

Café Myriade is definitely my favourite cafe in Montreal. The coffee here is amazing, both in taste and in the many (even...myriade?) ways it can be served by award-winning baristas. You can get a regular ol' drip coffee, or a good-sized latte with artistic foam decorations on top. You can also get wild and crazy with decanter-like siphon pot contraptions (as pictured in an article on the cafe from The Gazette), order whole beans to take home, or sign yourself up for a coffee tasting. Yum! Due to its location directly across the street from Concordia University's Library Building, the place is always hoppin' with students and anyone who enjoys a good cup of coffee. Prepare for the place to be packed and take yours to go, or fight the crowds for a prime seat by the window. Whatever you choose, it's a little slice of heaven.

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Coffee • All Neighborhoods

Moose Munch

Tis' the season to start thinking about buying gifts for the family, and Harry & David in Medford, Oregon is a landmark of delectable goodies you won't want to miss. They're famous for their fresh fruit and nuts, candies and cakes, wines from around the world, and gift baskets for every occasion and budget. It's a great place to shop for a picnic, and sample as you buy. You'll also find the napkins, wine glasses, plates and basket. Whatever you choose, be sure to include the Moose Munch--you'll need lots of it it's so good--and pick up a stuffed moose on the way out. He's hungry.

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Shopping • All Neighborhoods

Take a Hot Pepper Bath

As locations go, it doesn't get more unpromising than this: Lucky Strike is wedged between a sketchy dive bar and a discount tobacco joint on a particularly unpretty stretch of Felony Flats. But people wait in long lines for one of the 5 tiny tables here and that's because it's one of the few Sichuan restaurants in Portland at all and probably the only one worth eating at. The menu is small and focused on the big crazy flavors of the province. If you've never had Sichuan prickly peppercorns, all I can say is: take it slow. For a visual as well as tastebud jolt, order the Hot Pepper Bath Chicken which comes with more red peppers than I think I've ever seen on one plate. You'll never forget the unique flavors of the Pickled Yard Beans or the Twice Cooked Pork. The Jiao-Zi dumplings will taste like homey comfort food no matter where you grew up. Waits can be long--both before and after you sit down--so arrive with patience in your heart. The reward for your wait is arriving--covered in red peppers.

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Restaurants • All Neighborhoods

Late-Night Caffeine

Dublin has a painful lack of casual coffee places that stay open late--Busyfeet is the answer to the problem with a late closing time and outdoor seating. Their coffee is great, and their cakes are even better. They also do great lunches and light dinners, the interior is warm and inviting--pretty much perfect. I sometimes spend longer than is generally considered polite sitting there with a book and a coffee. Situated on trendy South William Street, sit outside and spot a hipster or two.

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Coffee • All Neighborhoods

Mangia This

Cucina Biazzi lives up to its name of authentic Tuscan Italian. Tucked away behind the fire station on Main Street, this intimate setting includes patio seating, and a warm indoor area that overlooks the lawn, flowers and herb garden. They specialize in a fixed menu that begins with a tasty antipasto, then continues with a choice of homemade pasta dishes, followed by the main course of beef, chicken or fish, and then with a crisp salad. At this point you're catching your breath, but if you still have room, then you must try one of their exquisite desserts. Come very hungry. And give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the Italian music, a bottle of Oregon wine, the wait staff, and the other guests.

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Restaurants • All Neighborhoods

Drag Yourself Here

If you like drag queens, and I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't, you simply cannot miss the show at Darcelle XV Showplace. These ladies are consummate professionals who have been rocking the tuck for over 37 years. The stage is almost too small to hold the powerhouse performances. Particularly when Marcy Kraft does her Bette Midler routine. If you have time, you should make a night of it. Dinner reservations get you a meat and potatoes (or pasta for the veggies) meal while the queens mingle and give you a hard time. It's like a dirty version of Chuck E. Cheese. But the show more than tops anything those mangy animatronics puppets could do. Darcelle herself hosts, telling bawdy jokes and flashing her Barbie doll crotch in between acts. Stick around for the after-party featuring beefcake dancers who definitely don't do anything to hide their manhood.

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Nightlife • All Neighborhoods

Brain Candy

Concordia University is one of only two English-language universities in Montreal (the other being snooty McGill). In addition to boasting the largest international student population in Canada, Concordia also has a very active student union, which represents students on-campus in addition to throwing the usual parties student groups are typically known for. Because of these reasons and more, it is perhaps inevitable that Concordia has become known as a hotbed for political discussion, dissent, and social activism of all sorts. From various QPIRGS (Quebec-based public interest research groups) to student advocacy groups to the free lunch provider The People's Potato, there are plenty of reasons to study--or simply hang out--at Concordia. Check out their Loyola campus in NDG for a more traditional, green university space, or revel in the downtown Sir George Williams campus's open design and integration into the city core.

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Schools • All Neighborhoods

Dreaming in Velvet

If you have even a passing interest in velvet paintings (and why wouldn't you?) then you HAVE to visit the Velveteria. There are 350 paintings on display, all from the personal collection of the owners, Carl and Caren. They've collected over 2,000 of these surreal works of art for the past 10 years and have chosen the best for maximum sensory onslaught. The lobby only slightly prepares you for what’s behind the curtain once you’ve paid the small fee. Organized by genre, it's difficult to decide where to start. Cowboys? Hula girls? '80s celebrities? Elvis? Naked ladies? Best to just pick a wall and slowly make your way around the room. You'll probably want to buy everything. Unfortunately, none of the paintings are for sale. But Carl and Caren can sell you a t-shirts or postcard emblazoned with your favorite image. They can probably also give you some tips on where you can go to start turning your own house into a Velveteria.

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Art Galleries • All Neighborhoods

Spill the Beans

Right across the street from the University of Southern Oregon is the best coffee shop in town. The Beanery caters to students, professors, and the returning visitor like me. One of their best choices is The Beanery, a mocha concoction that is smooth and rich and delicious. Ask for the Mexican chocolate and you'll be coming back for refills. The shop is a great place for reading, writing, people watching and eavesdropping for catchy dialogue for your next play. If you stay long enough you may see some actors stop by on their way to their next performance. But whatever you do, take some coffee home. Also, their tea selection will take you around the world.

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Coffee • All Neighborhoods

Mostlandian Panwiches

Entering into the domain of Junior Ambassadors actually takes you over the border into the nation of Mostlandia, a place best described by its ambassadors: "It is nowhere, and now here." Mostlandian propaganda is your first inkling that things are a little different here and your next clue is the ice cream menu which includes flavors like Smoked Salmon (my personal favorite, don't knock it til you tried it), Asparagus and Maple Strip Tease, a tried and true maple-bacon combo. Most people come for the ice cream, but don't forget the panwiches, sandwiches with yummy fillings between two pancakes.

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Restaurants • All Neighborhoods

Super Secret Fried Chicken

There's the kind of dive where you want to take your picture in front of the sign, and then there's Lamar's. It's like the rabbit hole Alice drove right by. Planted transparently on an urban street at the edge of downtown, you'd drive right by it a million times and never know (I don't think they want you to find it). At night, a leaning fluorescent sign struggles to call attention to what looks like an abandoned hotel. There's no parking, no crowds outside and no clue they're even open. You get the feeling there's a secret knock walking in to an almost afterhours-feeling, empty, dark dining area. Walk past, down a dark hall and turn into a tiny space bookended by a small bar and Motown's favorite lost jukebox, littered with mismatched seating. If the velvet wallpaper doesn't get you, call your friends near and order your favorite liquor drink. You will spend the rest of your life trying to describe the "generous" pour to others. Go ahead and order the half fried chicken dinner "to-go" when you get there, as it takes an hour or more to get, and easily is the best you've ever had.

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Nightlife • All Neighborhoods