Help me enjoy my visit to Vancouver and source good local eats.

Goldies +1 Yum pizza, thin crust, a little expensive though, so if that's an issue, just cross the street and go to the other 2 places on the other side of the block. From this woman's perspective: No areas in Vancouver are, well, stabby or rapey. Even Downtown East Side, ie. Hastings. From my experience, this can be difficult for some Americans to comprehend/believe, but it's true. Areas that seem sketchy will leave you unscathed 99.99% of the time. Filled with desperate people, yes, but they won't generally approach you. They're in their own worlds' for the most part. Bless them. I've genuinely never feared for my safety while out and about, no matter the time. Vancouver convention to LIbrary Square is perfectly walkable. 30mins tops Any cab that you see will be fine, but most prevalent are Yellow and Black cab. invite me to any par-tays if poss. hehe. seriously.

Granville Island beer? Are you joking?

I used to work at W Georgia and Bute... Glad to see another bill bisset fan! I think 30 minutes is easy peasy. I worked for a Japanese trade organization once, and had the delightful opportunity to be taken out for dinner (with my Japanese coworkers) by my own provincial government. They took us to https://maps.google.com/maps?q=coast+restaurant+alberni&hl=en&ll=49.285052,-123.123136&spn=0.004521,0.008583&sll=49.285038,-123.123136&sspn=0.004549,0.008583&hq=coast+restaurant+alberni&t=m&z=17 which had wonderful seafood (very important for a Japanese palate). Coast is easy walking distance from your hotel. For breakfast, I know it sounds dumb (and I'm not sure if you "really need to try them") but the Fairmont has a great buffet, as does the Marriott Pinnacle. The Hotel Vancouver also serves a good breakfast (I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it's on the corner). https://plus.google.com/115999801600846852940/about?hl=en is pretty good.

I wouldn't walk around East Hastings at night alone. A couple of my friends have had their things stolen at night. Granted, they were being really careless. Otherwise, Vancouver is really safe. Nothing to worry about. As for seafood, anything in Granville Island is really good. I really liked the Sandman. Bridges is also good. If you're looking for downtown seafood, I would go to a Japanese restaurant. KokuRyu's suggestion is excellent! Yellow cab is probably your best bet but if you're downtown, it's way faster to just go outside and hail a cab down. Usually, when you call, the line is busy.

1.You would probably not want to walk through the Downtown Eastside at night, especially Hastings St east of about Abbot St (and the alleys nearby). Not really dangerous per se, but overflowing with sad, desperate people on the street. Granville St on Friday and Saturday nights is a nightlife fight/puke zone. Other than that, the whole downtown peninsula is quite safe. The diverse yet dense area of Gastown and Chinatown and the aforementioned Downtown Eastside is (to me, by far) the most visually, architecturally, and historically interesting part of Vancouver -- give it a try during the day, if you can. 2. Not really. 3. Yelp is good for this kind of thing. Good 'crafty' BC breweries: Phillips, Okanagan Spring, Granville Island, Driftwood, Stanley Park, Central City (Red Racer); you can get these at most liquor stores. Look for a "cold beer and wine" off-sales store to buy cold beer. 4. No concerns! Do it, it's great! Bring rain gear, though -- weather's been spotty. My favourite part is the far side of the seawall from Third Beach to Siwash Rock. 5. You can easily walk to the library from the convention center. 6. Personally, I eat a ton of sushi, like all the time. There are some nice food carts downtown. There are tons of restaurants of all types, from quick food to world-class fine dining. I kind of don't know where to begin. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/vancouver/171_inddin.html http://www.zagat.com/vancouver 7. #TAXI is what I usually do, but if you're downtown, just hail them. 8. I've heard Cafe Medina is well-liked for their brunch, but there are many -- try Yelp again, or the above guides. On my commutes I have spotted a http://yolks.ca/ that I've been wanting to try. For a quick bagel or muffin there are coffee shops everywhere; some of the nicer ones will offer grilled breakfast sandwiches (high-end McMuffins, basically).

Ack, I closed my browser before hitting post answer. Much of what I was going to write has been covered. I'll second what others have said about downtown Vancouver being safely walkable at night but it's best to avoid the DTES. I particularly like how PercussivePaul phrased it. Your walk from the convention centre to the library? Totally doable. Have fun--I'm jealous you're getting to see bill bissett. Pizza rec: http://www.goldiespizza.com/. Restaurant rec: http://www.goldiespizza.com/. They have excellent, locally-caught seafood and delicious tasting menus. You can spend a lot or not: they've got 4-course regional tasting menu for $52, a 5-course 100-Mile tasting menu for $72, and an early-bird 3-course tasting menu for $30. For the last one you have to be willing to sit down to dinner at 5:30 or 5:45, which I will happily do because it's an incredible bargain for the quality of the food and the service. My SO and I have done that tasting menu many times and have never been disappointed. I've never noticed a difference in how we were treated when we did the early bird as opposed to the all-out 5-course menu either.

I would absolutely +1 cafe medina though they are a bit in the far end of downtown from where you are. Also, Cardero's is worth going to for seafood, especially if you want a view of the water.

Medina is great but the line ups on the weekend are not worth it. Go during the week if you can. And if you like lavender, try their lavender latte. Awesome bakery: http://www.lastcrumb.ca/ not in the downtown core, but pretty easy to get to by bus. It's at Main and 15th. Main Street is also a cool area to check out, there are some neat shops and if you like books, you have to check out Pulp Fiction near Broadway on Main. I'll second Raincity Grill, their regional and 100 mile menus are fantastic.

I'll just weigh in on the food questions, since it looks like your other questions have been covered pretty well. In my opinion, http://bluewatercafe.net/ is absolutely the best seafood restaurant in the city. It's about a 15-20 minute walk from where you'll be, and it also has a sushi menu. Though if you want mussels in particular, you really should go to http://www.chambar.com/, which also has an amazing Belgian beer menu. As for pizza, try http://www.sciue.ca/. It's very close to where you are (go to the one on Pender @ Howe). I'm not sure how late it's open or how ordering goes for multiple pizzas (I just go for lunch), but the pizza is truly great. They are also open for breakfast, and have very tasty desserts. I have to say, I had a really poor service experience at Raincity Grill a couple of years ago, and haven't been back since. Cardero's is great for the view, but their food is just okay. Coast is pretty good (I've been quite recently) but it really doesn't compare at all to Blue Water. If you are in Stanley Park, you could also try the http://www.fishhousestanleypark.com/ (go for lunch, not dinner). Have a fun trip!