Stone’s Throw Restaurant
642 Johnson St.
Best Western Plus Carlton Plaza
Victoria, BC
(778) 433-0028

J: Ed and I have nasty habits, we’re what you would call outdoorsy people, not the type you would think of. None of that camping in the rough with nothing but a tent and a sleeping bag for us. That may be all well and good for some people but Ed and I have cravings for a little social scenery. As Alicia Bridges sang, “I Love the Nightlife”, it very much applies to at least one of the Blokes. And for this week, our night life was an evening among animals who could eat more than us. Yes, it is possible. I’m talking about dinosaurs in the BBC travelling show Walking with Dinosaurs. As good as the show was, I was eager to spend my money on dino merchandise (I bought a Raptor mug) than on overly priced food at the Save on Foods Memorial Centre. So like hungry raptors we wandered the streets of Victoria looking for our next meals. It was very grim, restaurants were either closed or their kitchens were. Victoria is still a sleepy city most of the time even during tourist season.

E: I don’t know where James was earlier that evening, but I fuelled myself up at The Cozy Place. If I was a sea-faring monstrosity, I went for crustaceans and plankton to fill my belly up before joining James in our safari into the deepest recesses of that said arena to discover some walking behemoths. I’ll say more about this Chinese diner in a separate article, but by the time we found a place to eat after the show I was well fed but for James, look out!

J: There was only a couple of places that we saw operating. One was the Lacey-Lou Tapas Lounge but it was too crowded. I wanted to eat but I wanted to eat somewhere where there was fewer people. Our second choice was Stone’s Throw. I was a little hesitant at first, my last encounter with Stone’s Throw was walking out of the restaurant in the first month of their opening after seeing what they considered a buffet. Sorry but I’ll walk over to Hope Key I thought to myself. But as they say, needs must as the devil drives. And since Ed wanted Marble Slab over proper food, I was happy to disappoint him. Fortunately for him Stone’s Throw offered a decent dessert and equally fortuitous for me, a decent burger.

E: Fortunately, we were not walking by the seawall along Store Street otherwise James would’ve taken a dunk. I thought about the drinks at this restaurant tied at the hip to the Best Western Plus Hotel. Typically, not all of them are going to be great. There’s the odd exception, namely Vic’s Steakhouse and Bar in Harbour Towers, and sometimes just where we can eat puts us between a rock and a hard place.

I was surprised that the dessert they offered was quite good. The ghirardelli chocolate brownie sundae was complemented quite well with nuts and whip cream. There were gentle warm textures mixed in with the coldness of the ice cream layered on top. If I had the room, I could have ordered a second.

J: After listening to Ed’s tale about the food he consumed (and possibly the napkin and cutlery with it), I wouldn’t blame him if he had no room for seconds. I was starving and it showed. But imagine if you will my face when I opened that menu and found the burgers were on triangular buns. I didn’t want to make my eating anymore difficult then it had to be. I had a chipotle bleu cheese burger ($13). It came with a couple of slices of welcome bacon but the burger didn’t quite live up to expectations. Triangle burgers might be the trend but it is not as pleasant to handle in your hands as a regular bun, There is some ease missing when you have to struggle to eat your burger. And although I appreciate the patty was hand-made, the chipotle was what I could taste instead of the meat. And with the meat cooked in a pan and not grilled, the grease left on the burger was a little too much for my constitution, but I’m giving marks here for the presentation. The meal was appealing to the eye, especially the paprika on coleslaw. The coleslaw was fresh but I failed to grasp the gourmet style of the dinner entirely.

E: That’s what makes James too old-fashioned for his own good. With his outdated ways, I guess that’s what makes him prehistoric whereas I can see where the future can go for cuisine. Too many Japanese restaurants are experimenting with new tastes with products that I feel do not necessarily belong in sushi (namely cream cheese).

I wouldn’t call what we ate nouveau; it’s more designer. some restaurants try to be chic but over at this small restaurant, all they can do is to keep up with the trends, otherwise what’s past is quite literally a stone’s throw away before it becomes passé.

3 out of 5 blokes.