This video potluck was part of the exhibition Grace Notes organized by Vancouver curator, writer, and art critic Stacey Ho. Grace Notes is a screening of videos curated and selected by Ho, with visuals chosen for their graceful themes. The event was held at WWTWO, an art gallery and curatorial platform at 170 Jean-Talon West. WWTWO is operated by artists Willie Brisco and Danielle St. Amour. St. Amour was recently featured in Blouin Artinfo’s list of Canada’s “Top 30 Under 30” artists.

The videos were projected on a big white wall, and the crowd was composed of diverse artists, musicians, videographers, and curious onlookers. Notable among the crowd was Neal Rockwell, a Montreal-based photographer and filmmaker, who screened the world premiere of his film about depression, “Hosts Of The Dead.” Also present was the Toronto-based experimental artist Zeesy Powers, who came to Montreal to shoot another season of Subjects, a reality TV show. Subjects has different people expressing themselves in their mother tongue during a private session in front of a camera, in order to explore the theme of words and their meaning.

The most interesting aspect of this exhibition was its participatory, conversational nature. Unlike a normal video screening, the audience of Grace Notes was not just there to watch and discuss video arts chosen by the curator; they were also there to share videos they liked and work they made themselves. The participants were glad for the opportunity to have their work seen and admired.

Jean-Marc Perin, a studio art major at Concordia University, liked the whole concept of sharing indie video works, though he is not really a big fan of video art. “Usually, the distribution is very limited, so it’s good to have a place for people to share copies of [their work],” Perin said.

Grace Notes is the first video potluck that Stacey Ho has ever organized. When asked how she came up with this idea, she said, “I have a lot of friends here, and I wanted them to come to see what I’ve been doing. And I was just trying to think of the nicest way that we could all hang out together and just do some art thing. […] I wanted the way the program was presented to be more open to the participation of the people who came to see it. I thought that when the exhibition closed, it would be nice to do something warm; have people bring food, and have people watch what they want.”

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In the old days, coffee was simply a commodity. Today, in liberal cities across North America,  coffee is evolving from a cheap mass-produced commodity into an artisanal pleasure like wine, cheese, and microbrewed beer.

The term “third wave,” coined in 2003 by Trish R. Skeie in The Flamekeeper, the official newsletter of the Roasters Guild, contextualizes this phenomenon in the history of coffee’s place in North America. The first ‘wave’ of coffee emerged in the late nineteenth century, when coffee was first distributed on an industrial scale. The first wave lives on in your grandparents’ can of Folger’s. The second wave began when specialty coffee retailers like Second Cup and Starbucks started setting up shop in high-traffic spots to give the masses a taste of European-style coffee, and a relaxing place to hang out, work or study. Third wave coffee refers to the rise of independent coffee bars, like Chez Boris, Café Rico, and Caffè in Gamba in Montreal, that make coffee beverages out of high quality coffee beans roasted by independent local companies. The third wave sees coffee as an artisanal beverage, from preparation to final presentation, with the attendant careful sourcing, roasting, and brewing. Enthusiasts of third wave coffee also believe in paying every worker, from farmers to baristas, fair wages. This latest wave is a movement toward wine-like appreciation, and a shift away from giant coffee chains.

While some people think that this new trend is snobbish bullshit, third wave fans are growing in number. Most ostensibly go for the coffee quality, but others like to support local businesses, to experience a non-Starbucks ambience, or to simply just enjoy a unique beverage.

Guillaume Kittel, owner and founder of Kittel, an independent coffee roasting company in Montreal, believes it all comes down to flavour: “Coffee is all about opinion. What tastes good, what tastes bad, it’s an opinion. I like the third wave movement, the way we think, but then, it’s just an opinion.

Kittel, who roasts the coffee beans at his workshop, finds the exchange of opinion touching, because coffee roasting is a personal art form to him. “It’s like doing an art work and receiving the feedback from people. If the people love it, it means they love your work,” he says.

I like to frequent third wave cafes because they each have their own personality and signature. Prices at a third wave coffee outlet are comparable to Starbucks or Second Cup, and the quality of coffee is almost always higher. Rather than a chain outlet, why not check out an independent shop that offers a unique ambience, serves artsy coffee beverages and allows you to support the local entrepreneurs?

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So, what is so special about Kazu? What makes people willing to wait at the line up for 15 to 40 minutes, and why do they keep coming back?

Étienne Clément, a student of Asian cultures and languages at UQAM, is trying to get in to Kazu for the fifth time. The hype and the line up drew him here, but the line itself is also the reason why he is still wondering what Kazu is all about. After thirty minutes of waiting on a busy Sunday night, he walked away once again without getting to feed his curiosity.

However, unlike Clément, the loyal Kazu fans out there like Aaron Neifhoff, a Political Science student at McGill, whom I also met in line, have relived the Kazu experience several times: “I’ve been here many times before. The food is incredible, because it’s really authentic and I really like the character of the place,” Neifhoff said.

Dubbed the best Japanese restaurant in Montreal by many delighted customers and known for its originality, it quickly gained popularity through word of mouth and positive reviews online after opening on March 1, 2010.

When I asked Chef Kazuo, founder and owner of this restaurant, what is so special about Kazu, he simply said, “Heart food.” Curious, I also asked if he knows how popular his restaurant is on the internet and how everybody is talking about it, he replied in his thick Japanese accent, laughing, “No. I don’t know. I don’t have time to check.”

For starters, Kazu does not serve sushi. Instead, you’ll discover Japanese food you won’t find anywhere else in the city, such as their famous shrimp burger, grilled salmon head, and Kazuo’s favourites: pork neck; their salmon and tuna bowl, which is served with salad and topped with crispy rice noodles; and their homemade sake ice cream – all made with Kazuo’s meticulous delicacy.

I asked Kazuo why he doesn’t serve sushi, to which he replied, “I need an ocean, but there is no ocean.”

Illuminated with Japanese lanterns, the first things you will notice at Kazu are the menus, which are handwritten with markers on white sheets of paper. They are posted on the walls where patrons can easily read them. The place itself is tiny and low-key. Everybody sits elbow-to-elbow with one another at the bar or at small tables. The friendly waitstaff wear jaunty kerchiefs. Demonstrating his commitment to his tiny but remarkable restaurant, Kazuo is often at the bar cooking with his sous chefs, greeting both new and regular customers.

A must-order dish at Kazu is the Japanese version of bibimbap, a Korean dish. Served with rice, fried egg, and salad, the tender, juicy marinated beef rib will definitely make you want to order a second round. As for dessert, the homemade wasabi ice cream, which came from Kazuo’s imagination when he was thinking about a spicy ice cream, is a must-try. It is made for food adventurers.

Although the wait may be long, the service is undeniably fast. The average price for a dish ranges from $10 to $25, but with $20, you can still enjoy a full meal followed by dessert. The menu may be a bit pricey for students on a budget, but Kazu must be on the “try list” of every would-be McGill foodie.

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