efore heading to Vancouver for the first time (Spring, 2002), I read Douglas Coupland's City of Glass. An alphabetized photo and blurb-based alt-travel book, it captured the city's tone without getting painstakingly specific. Furthermore, it instilled in me an inextricable glass/Vancouver association. Thus, whenever I hear "glass" I get Van-intrigued. On Hornby across from the Vancouver Art Gallery, the new Glass City Café - an apropos title if ever there was one - aims to cultivate a peacefully cool atmosphere.

Management calls the fare "fast casual" and that seems to fit. Open from dawn until dusk, the daytime menu falls into contemporary light-bite territory while nighttime gets more substantial. Starting with breakfast wraps and other early selections, expanding to soups, sandwiches (from inventive to old favourites (i.e. chicken club)), and salads, and ending the day with weightier entrees (i.e. lamb on rice), Glass City has a café leaning. Seasonal and made daily, expect a universal freshness. Everything from salad dressing to soup is made in-house and heartily filled.

The playful space employs clean lines and splashes of colour (red walls, brown ceiling). Including the affixed patio, it seats about 50 in a malleable environment. Patrons can look out at the nearby gallery or into the kitchen via a large glass wall (appositeness abounds). Also, the deli-style order, grab, and sit dogma should keep the mood lighthearted. -S.T.