Monthly Archives: January 2015

01.28.15
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-[Roast]- Me A Swine & I Will Do the Hula

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Roast Meat & Sandwich Shop
#6 – 1701 Douglas St
Victoria Public Market
Victoria, BC
(778) 433 – 6639

In my many sojourns into the Victoria Public Market, I’ve always walked by Roast with all those lovely pork rinds prancing in the corner of my eyes. I can pick up a Chicharrón (a dish with nothing but these rinds) or get a sandwich with this garnish, but I always pass it by. Yes, I have a weakness for those crunchy delicious delights. When I should watch my weight, resistance was lost to me this day. I finally gave in and ordered their Porchetta sandwich ($9.95). Yes, it’s pricey for a 5″ sandwich but oh the flavour!

Unlike the BBQ Pork that I have from Chinatown, which is basically a rib cage dipped in a vat of hot oil, this one took its time to cook. The herbs added to it while it cooked braised all the way through from the skin, through the fat and into the meat.

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01.21.15
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Going Down on the Corner to River Roads Specialty Chocolates

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To say that River Road’s Specialty Chocolates will cause euphoria is an understatement if their honey mead truffle is any indication. I love a sinful delight now and then, but for the best piece of chocolate to cause my knees to buckle and have tears well up in joy would entail certain details with fantasy lovers too x-rated to say in this blog. At least, in my sampling of the various products this chocolatier offered as James and I wandered the Victoria Public Market one day, I was sold.

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01.07.15
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One Bloke’s Quick Guide to the Victoria Film Festival 2015

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Today marks the launch of Victoria Film Festival’s release of their 2015 program guide, and in what’s offered will be more documentaries than anyone can watch in a day, much less a weekend. That’s the first thing people scanning the guide from beginning to end will note. And starting this year (and most likely continuing) are screenings in Sidney, BC. People living north of Victoria (heading to BC Ferries) have a venue to see a specially selected list of movies playing at Star Cinema without having to travel too far from home.

The show runs February 6-15th, and this hungry film buff is looking forward to this year’s gala event — the movie Boychoir starring Dustin Hoffman as choirmaster who finds talent in a boy suffering from family loss. The reception that’ll follow afterwards will sport a 40’s theme with plenty of big band sounds to kick off the night. With the talents of Rita Hayworth, Veronica Lake, Cary Grant and Claude Rains blazing on background monitors, a few fans of comedy may well ask, “Well, Who’s on First?” Abbott and Costello is suspiciously missing. This event will be held at the Promis Building.

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01.04.15
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Pagliacci’s: The Best Lasagna in Town

PagsPagliacci’s
1011 Broad Street
Victoria, BC
(250) 386-1662

J: New Year’s day offers very few places for people to dine. Many of the city’s restaurants, cafés and bistros are closed up tight because there is probably very little money to be made in the tourist off-season. And they are probably correct, at least where downtown Victoria is concerned. After Christmas and Boxing Day, who really has money to dine? And what about those New Year’s hangovers?

But neither that or empty wallets appeared to deter people from going to Pagliacci’s. They are a local landmark on the restaurant scene for the last 34 years. Artists like Jim Byrnes (Highlander the Series, Beast Wars) have eaten here and even the great Etta James performed at Pag’s for their tenth anniversary. Even the owner, Howie Siegel is still a local celebrity. Originally, he was a Jewish kid from the Big Apple. Here at Pag’s, Howie brought a little of what makes New York City desirable into a little corner of the Inner Harbour.

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