Maude Hunter’s Pub
3810 Shelbourne St.
Victoria, BC

(250) 721-2337

I’m left with the task of holding down the fort because my partner, James, is struggling through some tough financial times. That means we won’t be doing as many articles together. Not like this mattered before, since we live in two different areas of Victoria, but this news is important for those readers looking for our humorous banter about the eateries we hit.

The straight man is out and the little fella will be running around loose.

So down the road I went, to Maude Hunter’s Pub to enjoy a meal and to hang out with my buddies from the Nexus Newspaper. It was the end of the Fall/Winter publishing year and we usually have a gathering before people spread their wings as Spring hits.

And as our meals slowly arrived, I can’t help but notice the size of the burger patties that wandered past my gaze. Most of them were small, barely even reaching four inches wide, and in taste, they will no doubt vary. Some came with crispy looking bacon, which I could smell from a distance and others looked like it could use some fattening up.

In a noisy environment of a bar and with a large party taking over part of the pub, it’s best to double check that everyone gets what they ordered. Two dishes wafted by me which I thought was mine, and fortunately, I didn’t take any bites out of them. But when you’re hungry, all the dishes look very appetizing. To resist requires a lot of self control.

And when my order finally arrived, a Blue Bison Burger ($13.95), the wait was worth it. The first thing that struck me was the delicious blue cheese that was smothered over the meat in the soft kaiser bun. The bison meat this place uses is a denser product when compared to the soft moist chewiness from an Albertan beast. In the future, I’ll have to ask where the restaurant gets their bison from before ordering. I don’t think I can really appreciate Vancouver Island Bison. I assume that’s what they used here. While I commend the operation for bringing a healthier product to more pubs, I simply can’t find myself enjoying the texture of how this meat is prepared here.

Unless the company treats their bison with the same care as the cattle in Kobe, Japan, I’ll take my preference to Alberta or even Montana. The regional differences in its chewiness are profound.

It’s like comparing potatoes to yams. One is a sweeter product, and I quickly ate the yam fries up with no complaints. They were crisped just right and with a Sleeman Honey Brown Lager to finish my meal off, I was left feeling content.

Now I must get ready to head to Whistler. Since James is cutting out, this lone wolf is out to do more than to take down large game animals. There’s apparently plenty of award winning eateries that I’ll have to try out.

Maybe I’ll have to take a break afterwards too to recoup. Unlike James, at least I won’t take as long to recover.

3 Blokes out of 5