Remembering Doug & The Slugs

 

When I was first here in East Vancouver in the late 70s and early 80s, the go-to local band was Doug & The Slugs, and they helped me have some great times.  Though I was more a devotee of the punk and thrash scene at Smiling Buddha, I always enjoyed the Slugs.

I knew Doug Bennett had died in 2004 and I didn’t think much more about the band except for the odd occasion when I heard “Making It Work” or “Too Bad” on the radio.  I had not kept up with the fact that they had regrouped in 2009 and had a new lead singer.  So, it was a really pleasant surprise for me to find this poster on a pole on Commercial Drive yesterday.

 

All the good memories came flooding back in a wave of nostalgia. Good times.

Image: Curved Bench

Grandview 1st March 1920

“Vancouver Sun”. 19200301, p.7

Changes on The Drive #103

Yesterday was the most beautiful sunny day, but the wind was keen.  Still, it was good to be out and most folks on the Drive seemed to be enjoying the light.

The big marijuana store run by Pain Management Co at 2137 Commercial seems to be closed.

 

Kishimoto at 2054 Commercial makes it to the Daily Hive list of best sushi places in Vancouver, with high praise for chef Akira Kishimoto.  It is the only one of our many sushi restaurants to make it to the list.

Prado at 1938 Commercial gets a mention in chef Brett Turner’s culinary tour of Vancouver.

As suggested last month, the Starbucks at 1752 is now closed.

 

The Babylon Tea Co. at 1740 Commercial has been closed now for seven months but, just like the old cafe at 2277, all the store’s specialised equipment and fixtures are still in place. That just seems odd.

At 1622 Commercial, the margaritas at La Mezcaleria make it to Daily Hive’s Best of Vancouver list.

The Ugly Dumpling, 1590 Commercial, began hosting “midnight feasts” last month and the event carries on into March:

Image: Scout https://scoutmagazine.ca/2020/02/04/ugly-dumpling-to-host-midnight-diner-feasts/

“Japanese guest chef Nanako Uehara will be cooking classic dishes from the popular Netflix series, Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, as we screen episodes at the restaurant. Nanako is visiting us from her family’s restaurant in Nagano, Japan. The event will be held each Monday nights from 10pm to 12am, February 24 through March 23, with regular service ending early. Each week will feature dishes from different episodes, and diners can expect things like ‘Tonjiru’ (pork, miso & vegetable soup), ‘Tan-Ramen’, and Ham Katsu, and New Year’s soba.”

Sounds like fun.

The recently opened Bar Corso, 1566 Commercial, gets a good little review in Daily Hive‘s Five New Restaurants To Try.

I have only just realised that the Pizza Castle place at 1110 Commercial is actually the Pizza Castle and Indian Curry place and it is entirely vegan.  How did I miss that?

 

The Five Elements Cafe at 1046 is no more. It has been closed for a couple of months for “renovations”.  However, it is now revealed that the same owners will be re-opening as The Lunch Lady, with a menu based on a famous Vietnamese food stall.  The project gets a detailed review in Scout.

Image: Scout magazine

 

I have previously reported on the closing of High Fidelity Hair Salon at 1003 Commercial.

Andy’s German Bakehouse at 935 Commercial has closed, and the innards have been stripped.  Andy’s — under various owners — has been a mainstay at this end of the Drive.  In fact, they just recently celebrated their 60th year of business. Shame to see it go so suddenly.

The Downlow Chicken Shack at 905 Commercial gets its regular share of applause in Scout.

To celebrate its five year anniversary, there is a fine feature in Scout Magazine on Kin Kao at 903 Commercial.

 

Vacancies on the Drive this month:  2272 Commercial (vacant 8 months), 2223 (12 months), 2137 (1 month), 1752 (1 month), 1740 (7 months), 1608 (2 months), 1303 (5 months), 1012 (5 months), 1003 (1 month), 935 (1 month).

We have had a definite uptick in vacancies this month.  A temporary blip, we can all hope.

 

Happy St. David’s Day 2020