Let the athletes have their protein shakes, and we’ll have their performance-enhancing cocktails and chow.

Just for the games, Yew has debuted a host of new drinks and dishes. Our pick of plates is the Olympic Burger ($40), which lives up to its name by holding one pound of Kobe and Alberta beef, chanterelle mushrooms, double smoked bacon and Agassiz Farm House cheddar between its buns.

Meant for sharing among six friends, just a sliver left us stuffed. But if you manage to finish it on your own, you deserve gold.

Yew restaurant and bar, 791 West Georgia St., Vancouver, 604-692-4939, www.fourseasons.com/vancouver

When it’s too chilly to shop, we say, let’s eat!

dinner
Victoria, B.C. Chef Derek Dammann’s DNA in Old Montreal only sounds like molecular gastronomy. Instead, honest and innovative Italian fare (perhaps influenced by cooking with Jamie Oliver at London's Fifteen) is served in an open room with retro-eighties blown glass. Go for the BBQ octopus with chickpeas and watercress ($13) and the porchetta with radish and mustard leaves ($10) and order lots of little things to share. 355 Rue Marguerite D'Youvile, Montreal, 514-287-3362, www.dnarestaurant.com

cocktails
Montreal's Opus Hotel has a prime St Laurent location and the gorgeous restaurant Koko (pictured) that opens into a big tented courtyard—once again destined to be a hot summer cocktailing spot. Opus Hotel, 10 Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, 514-843-6000, www.opushotel.com

lunch
At L’Express, the steak melts in your mouth, the chicken and mustard sauce is sublime and the grilled salmon comes simply prepared with a sprinkling of grey sea salt. Some things are best because they never change. L’Express, 3927 Rue St. Denis, Montreal, 514-845-5333.

plane picnic
With 13 locations, Le Pain D'Oré is no secret, but it's simply the best place to pick up a "Parisian" ham and cheese baguette to ease the pain of your Tango flight home. Le Pain D'Oré, 3611 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal, 514-982-2520.

The ever-charming Daniel Boulud has cast his culinary spell on the Vancouver dining scene and we couldn't be more pleased. Herewith, our Top 5 picks from his new, casual outpost DB Bistro:

1. The intimate, low-slung ceiling (at least eight inches thick and de riguer in Boulud's restaurants internationally), which ensures the conversation never overtakes the dinner.

2. The floor-to-ceiling glass "private" room—voyeur dining at its best (Madonna would approve). 

3. Boulud's signature starter, the Alsatian-style, wafer thin Tarte Flambé with crème fraîche, carmelized onions and smokey bacon. Do as we did and pair it with a glass of crisp Alsatian white and channel Belle du Jour.

4. The sexy zebra-tiled washrooms located in a shared corridor between Lumière and DB Bistro that are destined to spark some interesting rendez-vous among Vancouver's upwardly mobile set.

5. Boulud himself, the Lyon-bred culinary wonder whose gracious demeanor and obvious love of the job is the most refreshing pairing we've had all year.

2551 W. Broadway, Vancouver, 604-739-7115, www.dbbistro.ca

Sometimes we’re glad when a company messes with a good thing. Here’s 10 things we loved about the newest Cactus Club:

1. The massive glass cube that houses the restaurant (and facilitates people watching).
2. The male to female ratio (we’re guessing 5 to 1). Is this Calgary or what?
3. Bottles of Champers being popped all around on a Thursday at 2 p.m. Ditto.
4. Black-and-white Marimekko upholstered club chairs.
5. Bathrooms with individual monitors playing Fashion TV.
6. Mirrors that say “You are beautiful.”
7. Three Basquiats downstairs and a Warhol up.
8. Rob Feenie’s lunch menu, including a delicious rocket salad with panko chicken.
9. A trio of whimsically wrapped white chandeliers upstairs.
10. Three words: Proximity to Holts.

Cactus Club Café, 588 Burrard St., Vancouver, 604-682-0933, www.cactusclubcafe.com

Named for his son Sebastien, chef Francois Godbout opened Seb’s Market Café after nearly a decade in the catering biz.

Delish Eggs Benny (choose your own sauce) on homemade biscuits, phenomenal French toast and killer coffee are served to loyal crowds seven days a week.

We love the friendly service, the bustling atmosphere and the quirky décor while the front-of-house market tempted us with fresh bread, organic oils and vinegars, kitchen gadgets and mouth-watering homemade pies.

If you encounter a queue, just order a coffee at the bar and people-watch until your table is ready.

To be fair, we hear the lunch and dinner menus are equally to die for but at Vitamin V, breakfast just happens to be the most important meal of the day.

Just don’t expect us to be there when it opens at 6:30.

Seb’s Market Café, 592 E. Broadway, 604-298-4403, www.hotstuffcatering.com

In a city so food fanatic even venerable French chef Daniel Boulud is nervous to open his DB Bistro here this summer, sometimes it makes sense to sit down and take stock. Here, our current fave places to eat, drink and be merry.

10. When we need food fast (but not fast food) we head to Red Burrito (now with 4 locations) for trios of soft-shelled chicken or prawn tacos doused in fresh lime for just over a fiver.

9. 100-mile-dieters take note: Aurora Bistro is the locavore hotspot with all-B.C. wine card and dinners sourced from the local larder.

8. A long table down the centre of the sleek, concrete bunker called Salt Tasting Room is where hipsters commune over plates of cheese and charcuterie (hung in the new subterranean Salt Cellar).

7. Nu is where we pretend we’re on the bough of a yacht, and cuddle up at sunset with ahi tuna sashimi, spot prawn cocktails and B.C. bubbly on the deck cantilevered over the ocean.

6. On our way to the Orpheum Theatre, we stop at Uva Wine Bar for light Italian fare like Bresola salads and cheese plates while watching downtown culture vultures parade past.

5. With private rooms, an intimate patio, banquettes and bustling bar, Yaletown’s Goldfish Pacific Kitchen is where singles mingle over cocktails and duck spring rolls without running into their exes.

4. When we do business at lunch, we hit Jules to make sure we leave the impression we understand good vibes, good French food and good value.

3. The newly revamped Yew at the Four Seasons Hotel may give you an out-of-Vancouver experience, especially when you see the amount of wine being consumed before 3 p.m. on a Tuesday.

2. On an otherwise barren strip of Cambie Street, neighbourhood gem Pied-a-Terre popped up serving all-day French bistro fare like hangar steaks, peasant salads and quiche.

1. While the food at Boneta qualifies as fine dining, there has also been fine dancing on those very same tables. An international, well-dressed crowd that likes to stay late, this is the Vancouver of the future.

For Top 10 Toronto Restaurants, click here www.vitamint.ca

For Top 10 Montreal Restaurants, click here www.vitaminm.ca

Tater tots again?

Okay, we admit they’re good, but when mom’s away on business, you want to make sure the kids aren’t surviving on KD alone.

The brand new Vancouver delivery service Meals for Mums sneaks chickpeas into its chocolate “chick” cookies and pureed cauliflower into their organic vegetable “mac the cheese.”

And the lamb shepherd’s pie? That’s for when mom’s not away on business.

www.mealsformums.com

Our up-to-the-minute itinerary for a grand night out in New York, guaranteed. It’s vitamin v tested!

primp
Warren Tricomi salon
The extra dollars are worth it just to survey the floor show of flying scissors, tongs and brushes at work on styling the fashionistas and society somebodies who frequent this far from ordinary full service salon. Feel like the princess you are perched on a silk draped chair with Moroccan pillows while your reflection looks back at you from an elaborate gilt framed 18th century inspired mirror. Is that really me?
www.warrentricomi.com

eat
Cookshop
In Chelsea, an unpretentious, fun-filled dining room aglow with the flame of the rotisserie and wood oven on view from the glassed-in kitchen. An enticing, comforting menu with generous portions and a wine list well-priced and well-chosen. Service is friendly and informed and better yet, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump away from the party-central Meatpacking district.
www.cookshopny.com

drink
Buddha Bar
You must check out the scene and stunning interior at the new $10 million,15,000 square foot bar recently opened in the Meatpacking District. Sister to the Parisian original, but lacking that certain je ne sais quoi’ that comes naturally to les Français.
www.buddhabarnyc.com

dance
Tenjune
Across the street from Budda Bar, with its first guests gracing the doors just last month, NYC’s latest in club cool has already garnered US Weekly reports that Lindsay Lohan and P Diddy have done sets on the deck –but don’t let that put you off. The sexy purple room with scattered zebra print tables heats up to an intimate house party vibe with top tunes that will seduce you on to the dance floor well into tomorrow.
www.tenjunenyc.com

sleep
Dream Hotel
Sweet dreams are made of nights at Vikram Chartwell’s whimsical, fantastical Dream Hotel ideally located in Midtown Manhattan. Rooms are blue-lit with plush robes, 300-count Egyptian sheets, Molton Brown amenities and huge plasma TV screens. From the hotel lobby a spherical fish tank runs through two floors to the basement, home to the The Deepak Chopra Yoga Centre & Spa. Classes are complimentary to Dream guests—but despite the best of intentions, this vv gal’s Lululemon gear never saw the light of day.
www.dreamny.com

1. Its secretive, Blood Alley entrance in Gastown. Look up for the salt shaker.

2. The gorgeous, clean, modern design—with a picture window looking onto a whitewashed flophouse.

3. GM Chris Stearns’ new faux-hawk. Did he get it for his recent stage in the kitchen at Charlie Trotter?

4. Brilliant and unusual wine selects, like the amazing Italian Feudi di San Gregorio white ($60/bottle).

5. The beautiful concrete bathroom walls. Really.

6. Sean Heather’s (The Irish Heather) prize meat slicer.

7. The modern take on the ploughman’s lunch that constitutes the menu. $15 gets you three meats or cheeses from a rotating list, with Terra bread and crackers. So simple, so smart.

8. The tiny plates of “condiments” that come with roasted Spanish macona almonds, organic Similkameen apricots and French cornichons.

9. The fact that the 50-seat room was standing room only even before the opening was announced.

10. That this list could be a least twice as long.

Read more and view the blog at www.salttastingroom.com

Trying to cover all of New York in one vacation is like running in the city's infamous marathon: ultra-painful. That's why we head straight to Nolita (North of Little Italy), for some of the best shopping, eating and people watching in the city.

shop

MoMa Design Store, 81 Spring St., 646-613-1367,
www.momastore.org
Everything from the best-designed champagne glasses to the coolest flower vase you've seen. Lots of things for under $10, and much less crowded than at the Museum of Modern Art itself.

INA, 21 Prince St., 212-334-9048
Our all-time favourite vintage shop filled with designer treasures like Balenciaga bags, Gucci heels and TSE cashmere sweaters all in excellent condition and at decent prices. Ask for other locations for your haute couture fix and men's finds.

Rebecca Taylor, 260 Mott St., 212-966-0406,
www.rebeccataylor.com
Feel like Alison Wonderland in this dreamy boutique from the New Zealand designer. Nab one of Taylor's signature blazers, essential for fall.

Calypso, 280 Mott St., 212-966-8566,
www.calypso-celle.com
Score the perfect tailored peasant blouse in teal, lavender or chocolate to pair with this season's dark denim. Sweet salesgirls help you sift through racks of bright scarves, skirts and tops in silky fabrics.

Sigerson Morrison, 28 Prince St., 212-219-3893,
www.sigersonmorrison.com
The sexiest ultra-tall boots around and sleek flats in vibrant colours that demand to be noticed. If you only buy one pair of shoes in New York, buy them here.

eat

Café Habana, 229 Elizabeth St.,212-625-2001
For a mid-shopping snack duck into Café Habana's take-out annex for their famous grilled corn on a stick, doused with lime, chilies and cheese.

Café Gitane, 242 Mott St. 212-334-9552
Rest your weary feat and meet your beau for a glass of house wine at this Parisian café frequented by locals and artsy types.

For more NYC information, pick-up a copy of Time Out New York, by far the best guidebook for shopping, eating and accommodations. Visit www.timeoutny.com