Good Food

Amazing Coffee at Parsonage Cafe

2013-05-21T13:14:00.001-07:00

My friend Aaron and I went for a coffee during the election. Aaron suggested Parsonage Cafe which is one I tend to forget about but I know Aaron is a total foodie guy and knows his coffee. He also knows Ben Cram who runs the place.

I was dead tired and just told Ben to make me something interesting and he suggested coffee made with the Aeropress. Watch the video on how they brewed my cup of coffee.

I was impressed with the cup of coffee that I got out of this method. They weigh the coffee and water that goes into the press, it is this attention to detail that ensures a great coffee every time.

It really highlighted the fruity notes of the coffee. Ben took some time to talk with us about coffee, the Parsonage is attached to the Fernwood Coffee Company. I learned more from him in a matter of minutes than I had learned in the previous decade. I like coffees with a fruity element to them. Ben explained that this comes from how the coffee is initially dried, if it is dried with the cherry still attached and this is done in the open air leads to a much fruitier coffee. When you look at their coffee listings you can see they tell you how the beans were processed.

They have some other interesting brewing methods, but I will leave that for another time.

I also had the bagel with cream cheese and lox and it was very good and had a stellar presentation. I can recommend this cafe for the food as well as the coffee.

Here is Aaron's interview with Ben from a year ago

Chiba Sushi

2013-04-14T12:03:00.001-07:00

In the last week I have gone to Chiba Sushi and the service has been above and beyond my expectations.

The first time was with a friend from out of town, we had finished helping with an early evening event and needed to eat something and I suggested sushi. Victoria is not Vancouver with a sushi place on every block, but it is also not Winnipeg with a serious shortage of them. We have a selection of reasonable ones in the city and I thought this would be a nice change for him.

On our way back to my house from UVic we passed by Fujiya and Yoshi Sushi and both of them were already closed. I knew that Chiba Sushi was still on our way home but after two failed attempts I had little hope and I had no desire to drive all the way downtown for sushi.

We walked up to the door and saw the closed sign but as we were about to turn around and walk away one of the waitresses opened the door and said that if we were interested in take out they would be happy to serve us.

I knew it was the end of the day and odds are the best of what could be on the menu might no longer be available. We were both also done after a very long day. With both of those things in mind, I said to the waitress "Give us $40 worth of rolls, let the chefs decide." I have done this in Vancouver before and generally been pleased with the results, others do this as well in the lower mainland. Sounds like few people do this in Victoria because they were both surprised and excited. Where we were seated waiting for the order meant I could sort of see into the kitchen and when the order was relayed I could see one of the chefs stop, look up, and then walk to the curtain and see who was ordering like this.

Anyway we got our order, I did not even ask what anything was so I can not tell you specifically what we had. We had a couple of their standard rolls and three special rolls, looking at the prices, I think they cut us a deal. We should have ordered more because my oldest son, who has been a sushi fanatic since age six, had not left the house for his night shift yet and devoured anything we let get his hands on.

Sheila and I went back on Friday night for some take away, I was done after a long work day so I once again just asked for them to decide, though I did say we wanted to two yam tempura rolls and nothing with shrimp. They remembered me for the previous order and clearly it had made a serious impression on them because seemed very happy to have me order in the same way again. They were a bit slow in getting it done and without me commenting on it they gave us a coupon for the next time we come in.

This time I remembered to check what is was we had - the three rolls they chose were the Canada Roll, Rock & Roll and the Sushi Pizza.

The Canada Roll and the Rock & Roll were both good versions of fancy rolls. Well executed, clearly good knife skills and enough special mayonnaise on top to make them great but not drown them as some do.

The one that was very different was the Sushi Pizza. I had head of this idea before and always steered away from it. It was not bad but I found it hard to eat. I am not sure I will order this again but I can see how the concept might work better.

The base of the Sushi Pizza is a formed disk of rice that has been fried in tempura to give it a crust on the bottom. This base could be an interesting way to serve the toppings but I think the toppings need to fairly sparse. I think it would work better as an alternate way to deliver sashimi than dressing up like one of the special rolls.

One of the reasons I have not tended to go to Chiba Sushi is because the location is one that does not appeal to me. I know that the form of a building on the outside is no measure of how good or bad a restaurant is, it still does seem to have an impact on my decision.

We will be be going back here a lot more often and I suspect we will be ordered delivery from them as well.

Banana Leaf on Broadway

2013-04-03T16:01:00.001-07:00

Recently we were in Vancouver for a weekend which meant we had a chance to try a number of restaurants. One of the things that bugs me about Victoria is the lack of much diversity in our restaurants. There are numerous cuisines I like that we either do not have on the lower island or the one example is not a very good one. One cuisine I learned to love when I lived in London in the early '90s was Malaysian food and in Vancouver I had my first chance to try it again in 20 years by going to the Banana Leaf on Broadway.

What I really mean by Malaysian cuisine is the food eaten by the Malays and not the ethnic Chinese or other minorities in the country. Many people will wonder how Malay cuisine differs from Thai or other south Asian countries, it is significantly different because Malay's are overwhelming Muslim Islamic dietary laws apply. That said, the food is influenced by China, India, Thailand and elsewhere. Malay food is worth trying if you have not had it before and in Vancouver anyone of the five locations of the Banana Leaf is a good place to start.

In London there was an upscale Malaysian restaurant in Soho close to my office. Many any evening after work from Elan Computing ended up at Rasa Sayang and over two years I had a chance to try most of the menu items they offered. It is there that I learned to love Nasi Goreng and Satay.

I ordered chicken satay with gado gado rice at the Banana Leaf and it was all that I hoped it to be. The satay I had had the proper peanut sauce which was deep, rich, and nicely spicy. In the west we really do not use the peanut often enough in savory foods.

Sheila and I shared an order of roti canai. I know the Malay roti is supposed to be the same as the Indian, but when I have had it it has always been thinner and lighter. Something subtly different has to be going on but I have no idea what it is.

I saw the Nasi Lemak on the menu but I could not order it as well though it should not be too hard to make at home because Nasi Lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk.

Sheila will have to be in Vancouver every six months as a course examiner and the hotel we will stay at is right beside the Banana Leaf which means we will be back.

Smitty's in Sidney - it feels like they are not interested in trying

2013-03-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

Well I made a mistake the other day in Sidney and ate at the local Smitty's. I had driven someone to the ferry and stopped in Sidney to buy a couple of things I needed. By the end of that I needed to eat something for lunch and I really just wanted a quick burger. I wanted to avoid eating at Macdonald's and decided on the Smitty's because it was on the way to the highway.

I had no idea that Smitty's was so expensive. Their prices are comparable or higher than what I would spend at White Spot. I should have walked out when I saw the prices but I was hungry and in a rush.

All I had for lunch was the burger with yam fries and gravy and I was on the hook for $17.89. This meal was the complete opposite of what I had at the Boleskine Bistro.

The starting point was the burger at $12.99. For this I would expect a decent quality burger which is not what I got. The burger was much too salty and I like my salt. It was verging on the inedible. The bacon was burned, I could see that before I even took a bite. Clearly no one in the kitchen was tasting the food as it was being prepared or cared if they put out improperly prepared food.

The yam fries were cold and I expect frozen ones they brought and deep fried. If you can not be bothered to do your own fries from scratch, do not offer them on the menu. In one hour a kitchen staff member can make all the fries needed for a day in place the size Smitty's, that is a labour cost of only $12-$14 to make dramatically better fries than the frozen crap way too many places offer.

The gravy was steaming hot but much too thick. There was an odd graininess to it, I am can only assume they did not make it in their kitchen but used a powder. I fail to understand why any restaurant would bother making gravy from powder when it is so easy and cost effective to make it fresh everyday. As to what sort of gravy it was meant to be, that was not clear to me at all, the menu did not say what sort of gravy it was supposed to be.

Smitty's is trying not to be a fast food place but is making the food as if they were one but charging prices that are unreasonable. I know they are a chain, but that is not excuse for bad food. White Spot is a chain and can consistently do a good burger.

I have no plans to ever go back to this Smitty's and I suspect I will avoid all the restaurants in the chain.

Chocolate Arts Cafe

2013-03-31T16:10:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Sheila was in Vancouver for work and I joined for the weekend. Sheila had Saturday morning off and I took her to areas around False Creek that are not Granville Island. We stumbled in Chocolate Arts by accident.

I grew up in the Lower Mainland, lived in Kits and East Van as an adult and was in the city at least several times a month until about five years ago - I did not know the city well and knew of many interesting places. On this day I was looking for this wholesale jade store that was on W 1st at Pine. It was unfortunately no longer there, neither was Lesley Stowe fine foods on W 3rd at Burrard. Still there were many interesting places to investigate such Crystalworks - Sheila bought a nice pendant there.

The Chocolate Bar
photo by Sean Neild of Sean's Adventures in Flavourtown

A few blocks further east on W 3rd I saw Chocolate Arts. Initially Sheila resisted going in because the two of us really do not need to eat more sweets, but I talked her into trying it out. Inside at first it just sort of looks like any other coffee place until you notice the one side is all various chocolate treats. Also near the door you can sample many of the bulk chocolates they have on offer.

We ordered coffees and a small selection of chocolates:

Salted caramel - the caramel was nicely salty and had a decent bite to it, no wimpy liquid inside.

The Pallette - a dark chocolate disk with an almond, raisin and dried cranberry. We did manage to share this one, but it was the hardest one to split between us. It looks deceptively simple, but the combination of the nut and dried fruit was a perfect balance to the chocolate.

Crispy stick - we had a raspberry milk chocolate filled one. The fruit flavour was subtle in this one. It had a nice crunch but it was by far the least exciting of the chocolates we had - though it is still one of the best chocolates we have eaten.

The splinter is a serious of different nuts dunked in dark chocolate. Once again a very simple idea but with high quality chocolate and nuts it is a stellar bite.

The last one was the framboise and it was beyond description of how good it was. I would happily eat no end of these every day.

The owner Greg Hook was talking to a couple of people trying the bulk chocolates Sheila joined them and then when the other two left she motioned for me to join them. We tried all nine different bulk chocolates. It is quite amazing how fundamentally different they can taste, as an example the Alto el Sol was incredibly fruity.

Most of their bulk chocolates are single source. They do not make their own chocolate from raw cocao nibs, it was when I started talking about trying to make chocolate from nibs myself and how it is more or less impossible to grind it properly that it because clear to Greg were food geeks. He then said to us "So you want to come and see the back?" What could we say other than yes.

We had a chance to see how the operation runs and talk about details of foodie geekiness that interests us and Greg. Much of the conversation was about the science behind food and how understanding this makes such a huge difference to how you cook. In part of the conversation we talked about the reality of what machinery is needed to be able to actually grind cacao nibs into the raw chocolate paste - the starting price of a machine that is not really good enough is around $50,000.

When we saw the running taps of milk and dark chocolate we realized our third son Stephen was going to be very jealous that he missed seeing this. Stephen is 12 and loves to work with pastry and chocolates, Greg said Stephen was welcome to a tour when he is next in Vancouver. On every level it is clear that Greg Hook has a complete passion for what he does and wants to share it with others who have a similar passion.

Greg said one of the reasons they opened a cafe was because of his own coffee addiction having an espresso machine on site saves him a lot of money each year.

When we go to Vancouver I am going to make a point of always stopping in here for coffee and chocolates.

Boleskine Bistro

2013-03-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, a nice little restaurant in our neighbourhood which is the Burnside-Gorge area. Okay, there are some other places to get food, but if you eliminate take-out and a couple of questionable Chinese smorgs the pickings get slim pretty quick.

Over the several years we have wondered about the fate of a rather dilapated old corner store across from Rudd Park on Boleskine (the part of Harriet between Burnside and where it becomes Saanich Road). About a year or so ago the building began to show sign of occupancy, that quickly became demolition. We were intrigued. Then a bit puzzled when the new building went up on the same footprint. Then it turned a bright coral color - hard to miss! We were still in the dark though, we hadn't heard what might be going into the betwixt and between spot. Finally a paper appeared in the window announcing the upcoming opening of the Boleskine Bistro. We have been looking for the opening and today as we saw an open sign - and a special offer, burger and a beer for $10. We were sold. We were walking to dinner tonight.

Max, Bernard and I set off on foot and in just a few minutes we arrived. There is some streetside parking and a lot behind the building too. As I mentioned, it is bright coral and stone on the outside. The inside is decidedly more neutral. Lots of windows let in the evening sun and coupled with the neutral wall colour, the space feels airy and roomy. The dark tones of the tables and bar provide an anchor for the space and are as comfortable for sitting as for looking. I was also impressed by how quiet the space was. Boleskine is well-travelled but I never heard any road noise while we were inside. The space has obviously been invested in with high quality tile work, fixtures and furnishing that will serve the restaurant well for many years.

The menu is small and comfortable. In a very nice way. The fare is upscale pub in style with some unique bits to make it their own. Pricing is good, an entree will run you $10-$15 and drinks are upwards of $5 with a nice mix of beer, wine and cocktails.

For our dinner Bernard and I stuck with the special which was specifically their "Bistro Burger" - a basic burger. Bernard had the yam fries and I tried their house potato chips. For Max we had them dumb down their grilled cheese to just cheddar and pepper jack, leaving off the carmelized onion and tomato that the menu listed. He also had the basic fries. As I said, basic food, the very best kind of basic food, well done basics.

The burger was one of the best we have had in some time, I almost scorched my hand with the juices that ran out on the first bite. The patty was clearly habd formed by the cooks. The buns were fresh ones from Portofina and nicely enhanced the burger. A lightly spicey house aioli added a lovely touch and the lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle were all exactly as they should be - fresh and crisp. The house made potato chips we very tasty and which ever aioli I got for dipping was great. I cleaned out the wee bowl of it I got. Which brings us to the next thing I like. A reasonable portion of food. Not so skimpy you want to eat again at home nor so much that you think you may never eat again if you finish. Just a nice amount.

Bernard handily cleaned his plate too with an equally good opinion of the food. Even my picky little Max downed his grilled cheese with almost no prompting (small miracle there). I stole a couple fries and found them quite good too, as were the yam fries I sampled. The beer part of the meal was Piper's Pale Ale draft which was as tasty as always.

Service was good and timely. The restaurant was about 1/2 to 2/3 full during our time there, moving towards the fuller side by the time we left (about 6:45). The staff all seemed comfortable with the space and though there were some items not available yet (specifically the pavlova they have of the desert menu) just having everything go so smoothly so soon bodes well. Bernard initially got potato fries rather than yam fries but he quickly had a plate of yam fries to remedy the issue.

Although pleasantly full we did opt to try their flourless chocolate brownie for dessert. We let Max devour most of it and had to move the plate out of reach before he licked up the raspberry sauce (or I did). The brownie itself was dense and quite tasty and the acidity of the raspberry sauce balanced its richness nicely.

While I am talking about flourless brownies, I did note that the menu had vegetarian options and that gluten-free options were available. They also asked to be informed of allergies. Given that the food was obviously cooked to order and that changing things for Max was a non-issue I think this is a place where anyone with dietary restrictions will find easy accomodation.

On the not so great side, for us, was the lack of any kid options or pricing and we were't fans of the radio station as our background music. On the bright side, when we brought those issues up, they mentioned that both issues were on the to-do list and we could expect both to change. Apparently they will also be having some patio seating as we move into summer.

Overall, Bernard and I are both quite pleased with the new neighbour and will be happy to have such good food such an easy walk away. Welcome, Boleskine Bistro, we look forward to getting to know you better.

Efes Doner Kebap House

2013-03-20T16:12:00.002-07:00

I had noticed Efes Donner Kebap House had opened on Yates a couple of months ago and I had wanted to try it out because I do like Turkish cuisine. In my opinion Turkish food is the underlying origin for much of what we understand as Greek, Near Eastern and Middle Eastern food especially the döner kebap. All these areas shared a common Ottoman government for centuries and this really influenced a lot of the food.

When I lived in London in the early 1990s I had a chance to try Greek, Turkish, Cypriot Greek, Cypriot Turkish, Israeli, Persian, Syrian and Egyptian food. I found the Turks made the best food. Turkey is a country that I would really love to visit - stunning beaches, wonderful ancient sites and amazing food, but I digress.

I went here the other night with Sheila and Max and I was impressed with the food, the staff and the prices.

It is a short menu but it is done well. I had the lamb kebap on rice. The lamb was tender, nicely spiced and well cooked. The plate came with a large salad and two cups of rice - Turks and Persians cook some of the best rice I have ever eaten in my life. The salad was fresh and flavourful, there was some thought behind what they put on the plate because there were no mealy bland tomatoes and their horrid ilk.

Sheila had the falafel, she was hesitant because her experience of falafel has been that they are dry leaden balls. The guy serving our table assured her these were the best in town so she took the risk and was rewarded with moist and tender falafel on a plate with the same sort of rice and salad I had. More than enough food for her.

Max is four and even with foodie parents he often will tell you he does not like something before even knowing what it is. The waiter proactively offered to make a plate of food to order for Max. Max got a plate with plane rice - the rice Sheila and I had on our plates had two sauces with it - minced fried chicken in a mild sauce and a plainer salad. A lot of food for a four year old, but they only charged us $4 for it.

The dish made special for Max

All of this has been great so far, but their rice pudding is something else. Rice pudding says to me that stodgy English ethnic food that really was not intended for human beings to eat. Efes has something they call rice pudding that I am not sure how they make. It is a smooth and silky rice custard that has a wonderful vanilla flavour. My four year old thought it was better than ice cream.

All of this food for a price that is I think really too low. You would be hard pressed to eat at McDonald's as cheaply.

Can I do better at home? No. I can not make rice this good and I have tried over the years. I do not have the skills to cook the lamb like they did and I have never managed to make a falafel anywhere as good as they make. Finally, I am not sure where even to start to replicate that rice pudding.

We will go back.

Locus on Main Street at 25th in Vancouver

2013-02-25T12:18:00.001-08:00

We were in Vancouver over the weekend and needed to go out for brunch on Sunday morning, I was resigned to having to wait and getting a large plate of mediocre food. I have been to many popular brunch places in Vancouver and Victoria over the last two decades and I have never been wowed by the food and really did not like the idea that you have to wait in line for a long time at the popular ones.

I decided there were some interesting choices around Main and 25th and left it to Sheila to choose from a number of options. She opted for Locus.

I was worried we would see a line and was ready to try somewhere else if we are going to have a lengthy wait. Turned out it was not too busy. What was also nice to see is that they take reservations for Sunday brunch. We were lucky there was a small table available for us and we did not need to wait at all.

huveos rancheros

Locus has an interesting decor, it is not some variation of a retro diner which seems to the primary design motif of brunch places. Locus has a primitive art decor riff going on, the "pillars" look like tree roots carved in with tribal motifs hidden into them. In the washrooms the wall decor is like the pre-historic paintings in the Lascaux caves. It is a bit odd at first, but it makes the place cozy and interesting.

I like huevos rancheros, or I should say I like what goes into huevos rancheros, but I have never really been served any that have lived up to what I think the ingredients should deliver. They have almost always been large plates of messy stodge. What I got at Locus is a brilliant refined version of what huevos rancheros should be. All the elements were there but they were done with a finesse that means the dish was light. The salad meant there was an acid on the plate from the vinaigrette which really lifts the brightness of the other elements. The beans were not a bland re-fried mush but well cooked individual beans. Instead of a large flour tortilla they have a crisp tostada underlying the dish.

Leek, mushroom and yam strudel

Sheila ordered the leek, mushroom and yam strudel. This does not look like a brunch dish but like a dinner appetizer in a fine dining restaurant. The strudel pastry was crisp all the way around. The thin stripe of balsamic reduction was a thick and syrupy and added a sweet tangy hit of acid for the dish.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was relaxed. It was not loud as so many brunch places are. The staff were calm and friendly.

I saw at a neighbouring table someone unhappy with their dish and the staff dealt with it quickly and pleasantly. Being from Victoria, this is something I rarely because it seems that restaurants in the capital do not seem to think the customer can be right about a dish being bad.

Locus is also open for cocktails at night, something Sheila and I were looking for in Vancouver but did not find a location we liked. We want to try Locus for that the next time we are in town.

The food was of a quality we could not easily reproduce at home. We will be going back for brunch again in the future.

Four Mile House

2013-02-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

After watching the film Revolution with a friend last night we wanted to go to place to have a drink and something to eat and we ended up at the Four Mile House. I was not impressed but at the same time nothing was really wrong.

Even though it is not all that far from where I live, the last time I went here was in 2005, in eight years a lot can change though I have to admit nothing much has resonated in my mind from that lunch. The setting is nice enough, certainly it has more character than anything else within several kilometers of there. The staff were friendly and attentive.

I had one of the items from the fresh sheet, the pork chipotle burger - ground pork patty, avocado jalapenos, and cheese. As a burger goes, the bun was not up to the task of fillings and fell apart, I had to eat it with a knife and fork. The pork patty was underwhelming and the avocado was not seasoned which meant that the heat of the jalapeno overwhelmed everything else.

I had ordered onion rings but they brought me fries, they corrected their error and did not charge for the fries. The fries were much better than the onion rings. The onion rings looked like they were frozen ones and not made on site whereas the fries could have been made on site though I am not certain.

Overall the menu has no real sense of what it is about. Pulled pork, pizza, fish and chips, calamari, and Thai green curry are all on the menu. This is not pub food and it is clearly not up scale enough to be gastropub. The number of items on the menu are too many for the scale of business they do. With more than 30 main course items there are likely many things that are not sold every day. It worries me about any restaurant that has so many items available that realistically many of them will not be ordered every day. You can not make a Thai green curry to order unless you have prepped the sauce ahead of time but if you only sell a few dishes of it a week can you really be making the sauce from scratch everyday? Very unlikely.

Could I do better at home? Yes. Will I go back? For the food unlikely, but I may go back for a beer.

Island Chef Survival Challenge at Madonna Farm

2013-01-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

There is good local foodie stuff on Youtube and a lot of people miss it. I figure if I post it here a few people will see it.

This is with Dan Huhges of the London Chef and Chistopher Hammer of the Royal Colwood Golf Course. They are at Madronna Farm.

Go Island! on Shaw TV South Vancouver Island - Finding the Best Cup of Coffee

2013-01-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

They talk with Colin Newell of Coffee Crew, Shane Deveraux of Habit Coffee and Frederick Willeboordse of Frederico's Express. It is a short piece but worth watching

Paul's Motor Inn - is this Victoria's best diner?

2013-01-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

With all the three older boys gone for the evening and a VERY long work week for Sheila, we decided to go out for dinner on Friday night with Max. This gives us a number of constraints because Max is only four and half.

We wanted decent burgers with a beer and a restaurant that would be accommodating to a little boy that can be very demanding. We also did not want to spend a lot of money or go fast food - for some reason here in BC fast food restaurants are not licensed, it would be better to have a beer at MacDonald's than a Coke or shake. I also had no desire to have go a long way to get dinner or be hassled with parking such as at the Fernwood Inn or Big Wheel Burger.

We ruled out Denny's, the Pantry and ABC Country Restaurant because we have not been impressed with the quality of the food at those places. The restaurants that made the cut were Montana's, Kelsey's and White Spot. The three of them are not all that cheap, we would be lucky to end the evening spending less than $60. We decided on the White Spot on Douglas, our experience there had been good in the past though nothing really out of the ordinary.

As we got to the restaurant parking lot I suddenly realized there was Paul's Motor Inn across the street. It never jumps out in my mind when we are thinking of a place to go, but I had a coffee meeting with someone there about six months ago and I liked the atmosphere and the burger I had for lunch. I was willing to go back. It also worked for Sheila because she was looking for the sort of place that would feature in Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.

This place has the classic booths that are right angles to the aisle the waitress walks around the restaurant in - really old school. The place has not changed much over 55 years since it opened, but the food has changed, it is much better than one would expect from a 1960s motel diner. It has the cred that places like Floyd's and Spoons want for their places, this is the real deal, this is a real diner.

On Friday night they had three specials on:

$11.00 Pork Tenderloin Sandwich - the tenderloin on ciabatta with apple chutney, fontina cheese, lettuce and tomatoes served with choice of side
$13.00 Paul's Deluxe Bacon and Cheese Burger with fries and a local beer.
$10.00 Rustic Bread Salad - greens topped with a herbed vinaigrette grape tomatoes, baby mozzarella, focaccia croutons, olives, red onion and parmaesan cheese

With the decent sized portions they serve, these specials are real deals. I wrote them down how they had them up on the board because they clearly are thinking about good quality ingredients when they make the food. I saw the bowl of the salad, it was a meal.

We both had the burger special. Our burgers were clearly hand formed in the kitchen and not something premade they had brought in. The bacon was generous and well cooked. The fries were not from a large Sysco bag of frozen fries. I had gravy with the fries, the waitress asked "Turkey or beef?" They make their own in house gravy, not brown powder in a bag.

Max had the kid's cheese burger and it was a portion larger than he could eat. His kid's meal was about the same was would pay at White Spot or Montana's but it offered more food. The ice cream was a generous scoop of strawberry. In general it is a very good restaurant for kids.

Max got a better page to colour than most places and better crayons than White Spot. Most places try to offer their kid's colour page/menu/place mat that is intended to work from age 2 to 12 and really does not work for anyone. Paul's offers just a good page to colour, something even an ADHD adult would enjoy while waiting for their food On a side note, if the White Spot Pirate Pak was still like it has been when I was a kid, it would be a good reason to go there with a small boy, but these days there there is no interaction left with the Pirate Pak.

The waitress was one more reason I was impressed with this place, she was attentive and pleasant to talk with. She also took pride in her restaurant. She also knew her regulars and greeted them.

Our decision to ditch White Spot for Paul's was a good one. We also managed to only spend $37 for the meal with the tip and HST - they seem to include HST in their prices.

Can I do better at home? Maybe but not much better and certainly for the price it is a deal. Making decent fries at home is a pain and rarely to I have gravy for the fries because that is one thing too many to manage for a burger and fries dinner at home.

We will be going back not only because of the good burgers, but also to try the rest of the menu - it is four pages of diner classics with modern twists. You have your steak sandwich, turkey pot pie, turkey dinner with all the trimmings, baby beef liver, Reuben, Clubhouse and mushroom meatloaf together with things like the falafel burger, fiesta sticks (think a deep fried quesadilla) and a Thai wrap.

Paul's Founder Paul Arsens with Bob Hope in the Dominion Hotel

The History of Paul's from the website:

Paul Arsens was a true trendsetter in the restaurant and hotel industry in Victoria. The Motor Inn started with a family style restaurant named, you guessed it - Paul’s Restaurant in 1958. This was just one of many businesses this Ladysmith entrepreneur opened in Victoria. Shortly after the success of the restaurant, Paul and his wife Artie, decided that they would try their hand at a motor inn. So they set about building Paul’s Motor Inn with 78 rooms that would be attached to Paul’s Restaurant.

1956 ground breaking for the restaurant

Paul was always up for doing something different and humourous - at times he would have his billboard advertising hung upside down or sideways to attract more attention. He once got international attention in the Boston Globe and New York Times by having restaurant guests decide what price they would pay for dinner, and even went so far as to have them ring in their own bills and make their own change!

No wonder we are such a unique and fun loving group.

Victoria is the Single Malt Capital of Canada

2013-01-17T09:40:00.001-08:00

This weekend sees the 8th annual Whisky Festival in Victoria and once again it sold out early. It is one of the reasons Victoria is the single malt capital of Canada. Another example here in town is the Officers Mess of the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) has a single malt selection that is possible the best in North America and I suspect one of the top ones in the world

This one of the food and drink events in this city that I think is more interesting than most because it is not something done everywhere by every location. Wine tastings are dime a dozen but whisky tastings are not at all that common which is why the Whisky Festival is such a great event, the biggest problem is that the tickets sell out so early - I missed them again this year.

Tonight is Jim Murray giving a talk - Jim is the author of the Whisky Bible. I really wish I could to the event tonight but there were only 90 tickets to the event and they sold out LONG ago.

I really need to get my act together for 2014, ideally I need to get my brother Nik to come to it with me, we are both whisky fanatics.

In the meantime I should join The International Order of the Companions of The Quaich but the Victoria Chapter is not taking new members, it is full. There is a Westshore Chapter and Saanich Peninsula Chapter I could join.

A quaich is the traditional Scottish drinking vessel for whisky.

The International Order of the Companions of The Quaich is only in Canada, which is not really surprising given that about 7-8 million Canadians are of Scottish descent and only 5 million in Scotland. Cape Breton was the last place to have a healthy gaelic language populatin. The Quaish has 22 chapters of which 3 are in the Greater Victoria area - 1% of the country has 14% of the chapters. Victoria really is the single malr whisky capital of Canada

Why Classico tomato sauces are such a good deal

2013-01-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

The 750ml jars of Classico tomato sauces are also canning jars with a standard opening (70 mm). This means I get a free canning jar with each jar of sauce I buy. I know a lot of people do not can and this makes no difference to them, but it should because they are not only good for re-using for canning, but they make good storage jars as well.

The 750 ml size of canning jar is not one normally available but I have a more than large enough stock of them because of all the tomato sauce we buy. It also means that each time I buy the sauce I can reuse the jar and save money on not having to buy more canning jars.

The cost to buy new canning jars is about about $10 to $12 a dozen though this includes a set of lids with rings which is a $4 to $5 value. The net cost of buying jars is about $0.55 a jar. So each time I buy Classico tomato sauces I effectively am getting an extra $0.55 value. It means that the $3.50 typical price for the sauce is really only just under $3 for me because I get the jar. I not only save money, I save the world some resources.

Most glass jars will end up being recycled but I do not recycle these jars but use them for years to can and store all manner of things. Re-use is a much better option than recycling because in reality glass is not worth recycling. The cost to transport and remanufacture the glass makes it a recycled product with a negative value, it in facts uses more energy and resources than to make glass from raw materials. Glass is well suited for re-use because it can be cleaned so well at home and is moderately durable.

There are no end of products that I buy which if they used lid openings that fit canning jar lids I could re-use. I am thinking about mustards, relishes, olives and so much more. The problem is that companies all choose to have products in their own sized jars that can not be re-used.

As an example, we buy various Bick's Relishes in the 375 ml size. I have re-used as many of these jars as I can to store bits and pieces of hardware and other things, but I have run out of uses for them. I have to recycle them all now. If a company were to offer relish in a jar that would fit either the standard or widemouth lids, I would shift my purchases to them.

It is not only for canning that glass jars are good for, but also general storage. If the jars were a standard 70 mm or 86 mm wide mouth opening I could re-use them for storage such as we do in our pantry which is filled with glass jars from 125 ml to 2 litres in size holding all of our dry goods. Bernardin sells plastic screw on lids for both the standard and wide mouth sizes, which is much better a fit and cleaner than re-using an old relish jar lid.

I know this is not a big thing but still it is the sort of lack of forethought in our society that means we end up being less thrifty than we should be. I wish some of the companies out there would pick up on this and point out they have an environmentally sensitive virtue as part of their product.

25th Anniversary of the Hermannator

2012-12-03T13:46:00.001-08:00

I remember the Hermannator Ice Bock coming out in the late 1980s so I guess it has to have been 25 years.....

On Saturday the Vancouver Island Brewery will be offering the Hermanntor at the brewery store from noon till 6 pm. You will also be able to buy 650 ml collector's bottles of the beer at the brewery as well on Saturday, but act fast because the supplies are limited. Their Doughhead Gingerbread Ale 650 ml bottles have already sold out in the brewery store.

I will be going down to get a taste from the cask and buy a couple of bottles.

Vancouver Island Brewery Doughhead Beer

2012-11-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

Due to so many things going on I have not had a chance to talk about the tasting of the Vancouver Island Brewery Doughhead Ale on Saturday. I went into it with trepidation because so many of the wilder beers I have had over the last couple of years have been duds in my opinion. The five local breweries and four brewpubs offer something like 75 to 80 different beers depending on the time of year. Not to be too critical, there are least a few brews that have been released that I think were done more for attention than the quality of the flavour. With so many choices you have to stand out somehow and a gingerbread ale felt like that.

The idea of a gingerbread beer was something I had trouble reconciling in my head but Rob Ringma of Vancouver Island Brewery convinced me to come and try it on Saturday.

I was pleasantly surprised at the flavour. Sheila and I had just made a large batch of ginger snaps the night before so we had a strong sense of a gingerbread flavour in our minds. The beer delivered enough of the flavour to make the beer interesting but not so much as to smack me upside the head. A good gingerbread has a strong spicy and bitter flavour along with the sweetness. Gingerbread is really a very earthy or umami aspect to it and it is this that came through in the beer. I could really get the bitter and sweet notes of the molasses along with the spice of the ginger.

My biggest fear was that the beer would be overly sweet or taste like drinking raw gingerbread dough and nothing else. Neither of these were true, the beer was very well balanced.

The brewery had some food pairings for the beer - a blue cheese and crackers (I think?). I am not sure any longer what they were but I did think the pairings did not work for me. I am not sure what I would pair this beer with. The gingerbread flavour is there but subtle enough that I would need to find a food that enhances the flavour and does not over power it. With the cheese I lost a lot the complexity from the molasses.

I like the beer enough that I will be buying some bottles while the supplies last.

Vancouver Island Brewery

2012-11-23T17:14:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow Sheila and I are going to try this new beer from the Vancouver Island Brewery - the Doughhead Gingerbread Ale. We are doing this because I expressed my skeptism about the very idea of gingerbread beer but Bob Ringma at VIB has convinced to come and try it.

We talked back and forth on email a bit and I mentioned that I had noticed last summer how so many of the small independent breweries in Canada had been purchased by international companies but that in Victoria we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to independent brewers.

Here is his part of the conversation:

Bernard,
You are very correct. The big boys now know that artisan craft breweries are growing and they do not fully understand our side of the industry so often the easiest way to gain entry is through acquisition. We started brewing at the same time as Granville Island (now Molson/Coors) and Okanagan Spring (now Sapporo) yet we are still owned by a 74 year old farmer from Cobble Hill by the name of Barry Fischer!
These same global corporations make sure to keep these acquisitions quiet as they know it will affect their credibility and future sales of the craft beer brands they purchased.
Although we are the oldest, we certainly are not the biggest in BC as breweries such as Phillips now export their beer to Alberta and Ontario and have surpassed us in size. We still do over 85% of our sales right
here on Vancouver Island and we are proud of that.
Please feel free to come by on Saturday, we open at 10am- 6pm. I think they will have the cask ready to go at 12pm. I will be in attendance but may be in the back warehouse, hand wax dipping the tops of a
special 25th Anniversary edition of Hermannator Ice Bock!
Please have one of the employees in the store come get me as I would like the opportunity to meet.
Cheers,
Rob

We will bring the camera and report on what we think of the beer.....

Vancouver Island Brewery - Gingerbread Ale???!?!

2012-11-19T16:09:00.002-08:00

I have to say this does not make me want to drink the beer - I can not reconcile gingerbread and beer

Vancouver Island Brewery

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Press Release!

Dear Bernard,

Our Brewmaster has been hard at work baking some new ideas for a craft brew...

Local brewery mixes brewing and baking to craft a Holiday Classic!

When you think of the holidays and times spent with loved ones, sweets and treats seem to find their way into the picture. With that holiday inspiration in mind the brew crew at Vancouver Island Brewery set out to craft a beer that brings the best flavours of the season into a unique beer perfect for the holidays.

Dough Head Gingerbread Ale is the result of combining the best of baking and brewing and the local brewery has brewed up a fresh limited release batch as part of its seasonal 650 mL bottle series. Crafted carefully, Dough Head Gingerbread Ale unites these two worlds into a handcrafted beer with a touch of ginger and spice that is balanced with a malty sweetness.

"The holidays are times to be enjoyed and this beer is a feel good brew, crafted to bring a smile to your lips." stated Jim Dodds, General Manager at Vancouver Island Brewery. "We love brewing unique, flavourful beers and this gingerbread ale is a fine example of combining spice and malts perfectly balanced for a drinkable winter treat."

The brewery is also hosting an open house and cask tasting event for Dough Head Gingerbread Ale on Saturday Nov 24th from noon - 6pm. This is a great opportunity for beer enthusiasts to come down, sample Dough Head Gingerbread Ale and go on a brewery tour to see how the local brewery crafts their beers. They will also have fresh Gingerbread Ale draught available in unique 1.9L glass Growlers at the brewery.

Crafted in small batches there is a limited supply of bottles available at local beer stores and at Vancouver Island Brewery's on-site beer store.

Flavour: Ginger and spice balanced with a pinch of sweetness
Aroma: Spice, molasses and malt
Colour: Gingerbread brown

About Vancouver Island Brewery

In 1984 Vancouver Island Brewery started with the mission of crafting local, all natural craft beers for Islanders to enjoy. Beginning with the careful selection of the finest quality ingredients, we use skill and patience to handcraft our family of ales and lagers in small batches. Our goal is to bring

our passion for craft beer to the brewery each day and brew unique, flavourful beer for you to enjoy.

Thanks for your time! I hope you enjoyed the update and can make it down to the brewery on Saturday, Nov. 24th for a tasting of Dough Head Gingerbread Ale.

Sincerely,

Adam Ball

250-361-0007

2330 Government Street

Victoria, BC V8T 5G5

Vancouver Island Brewery

Socialize with Us

Find out what's going on at the brewery on Facebook and Twitter, and share your craft beer experience on Untappd.

Join Our Mailing List

vibrewery.com

Save
$2.00

VIB Brewery Tour

Coupon must be printed and presented in person. $2.00 savings applies to the brewery tour fee of $10 which includes a branded VIB pint glass. Coupon is transferable so please share this offer with friends and family. For more brewery tour info please click here.

Aaron Hall goes to Wannawafel

2012-11-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Aaron Hall is the host of Shaw TV's local foodie show Delicious and this time he checks out Wannawafel.

I have tried their waffles, my problem is that they are a style that does not appeal to me. These are well made proper Belgian waffles, but they are simply too sweet for me.

Aaron Hall goes to Foo Food

2012-11-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

Aaron Hall is the host of the Shaw TV program Delicious and this episode he goes to Foo Food.

This is a hard one for me to write because I know they are good but the experience for me has always been not quite right. I put it down not to a problem on their part but really a frame of mind thing on my part. I have either come there and it has been very busy and I was annoyed and a in a rush, which is not their fault. Or I went with someone else that wanted to go there and it was not what I wanted to eat.

Here is my horrid admission, I really am not a pad Thai fan, I can tell when they are good but something about them does not really work for me. I think it comes down to the tamarind flavour, nothing else would seem to make sense.

Very cool is that they make use of the Health Nexxus Food Tracker app.

Saanich Food Roundtable November 20th 11am

2012-11-08T09:45:00.001-08:00

Saanich Food Roundtable

November 20, 2012
11:00am - 1:00pm

District of Saanich, in the Annex
770 Vernon Ave Victoria, BC

Come to learn and share about emerging issues and actions in Saanich related to the Food System including:

District of Saanich planner Jane Evans will update on planning and food related initiatives
Sustainability Office Communities in Harvest vegetable growing contest set for 2013
Community Kitchens Network Coordinator, Diane Andiel
Panama Flats, Gorge Community Gardens, Commonwealth Community Gardens, Food Scrap Recycling Program…
Update on the Regional Food Policy, and the efforts to support land access for farmers in motion.

This meeting is a roundtable format for networking and sharing information, please bring updates and any materials you would like to distribute.

RSVP to admin@communitycouncil.ca

Linda Geggie
lgeggie@telus.net
c-250-896-7004
Coordinator, Capital Region Foodand Agriculture Initiatives (CR-FAIR)

Aaron Hall goes to Street Level Espresso

2012-11-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

Aaron Hall hosts another episode of Delicious on Shaw TV. This time he is at Street Level Espresso.

Making bread at home

2012-10-24T13:20:00.001-07:00

Some time back I found an interesting recipe for a crusty white bread so I thought I would try it. I am stunned at how well it works and how forgiving it is. The bread I get at the end of the process is better than most of the average breads I can buy in the stores and bakeries.

Here is my recipe:
Ingredients:

750 ml hot water
10-12 grams of yeast
10-12 grams of salt
900 grams of flour, I have been using 600 grams whole wheat and 300 grams white

Instructions:

The oven set up I use

Bloom the yeast in the water.
Add the yeast and water to the flour and salt.
Stir till the flour is combined - this will be a wet bread dough.
Do not knead the dough, just dump it in a bin to rise - if using your hands make them wet when handling the dough
Let rise for 12 to 18 hours
Punch down and divide into two loaves and let them rise for half an hour to an hour - use wet hands for this
Heat your oven to 440ish Fahrenheit with two pizza stones and a bowl of water
Sprinkle a pizza peel with some cornmeal and then drop a loaf on the peel, push it into the oven, repeat for the other loaf (If you do not have a pizza peel, I recommend buying one, they are only about $25 and we have found it important for anything we do on the pizza stones)
Bake for 45 minutes to 50 minutes.

Points to know

A wetter dough tends to be better than a drier dough - I had some drier doughs that ended up dense
An all white dough will be very light and fluffy
Punching down and rising and then punching down and making loaves will give you more even holes

What I like about this recipe is:

The bread is amazing
The actual work time involved is short - maybe ten minutes of your time. I can make the dough while having breakfast and bake the loaves after dinner.

The cost is about 35 cents a loaf. In the store a similar bread will sell for $3 to $4. At 8 loaves a week, I am about $25 ahead by making this bread.

Aaron Hall goes to Clive's Classic Lounge

2012-09-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Delicious is a TV series locally on Shaw which is hosted by Aaron Hall. In this episode he checks out Clive's Classic Lounge.

I am a huge fan of the return of the cocktail culture, though with a bunch kids and other responsibilities in the community I really have not had the time to enjoy the lounges that there are in this town. I am sad to say I only been for drinks at Clive's once and then I had a beer..... What I saw of the atmosphere impressed me, what I know of the bartenders gives me confidence this is a good place for a drink.

Clive's is located in the Chateau Victoria which will be host to many of the events of the Art of the Cocktail October 13th-15th.

Clive's is named for local hotelier Clive Piercy.

Aaron Hall goes to 2% Jazz

2012-09-18T09:17:00.003-07:00

Next in the series of the Shaw TV local foodie series Delicious hosted by Aaron Hall is a visit to the new2% Jazz location in the new Hudson development on Douglas.

I know that 2% Jazz is very popular with their fans, but their first location on Douglas beside the TC put me off because of a number of issues, none of them to their coffee. All the reports I have heard about the new location says to me this would not be a concern and the reports have been right.

I stopped in the other day when I was downtown to get a coffee so I can not speak to the quality of the food, but the location lives up to what friends have told about it.