Author Archives: Ed Sum

11.05.11
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Jack n’ Joes, or Barb’s and ol’ Nellie’s?

Joe’s Seafood Bar
1208 Wharf Street
Victoria, BC
(250) 590-6323

If I could write a nursery rhyme with Jack and Joe, going up the hill, and sailing the tumultuous seas, I’m sure they’d be hanging on for the ride of their life.

Jack’s Fish Spot is based in Pike Place Market, in Seattle, where they get their fish from the sea, and Joe’s Seafood Bar gets most of their product from Wharfside Seafood & Grille.

This detail was stated to me by the staff member who was tending the pier side of the operation. It makes me wonder about their advertising about where they source their food from. They say it is from local fisherman, when possible, but that be after Wharfside gets the pick of the litter.

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10.27.11
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Sampling the Food at Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market
85 Pike St,
Seattle, WA
(206) 682-7453

I pretty much had nothing but seafood in mind for my major meals during my stay in Seattle, and no trip is complete without a trip to Pike Place Market. This place is where anyone can buy fresh wares from both the sea to sky. Fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood were abound, and while I’ve seen enough of the flying fish act before, I was not going to wait around for the next time it’d happen so I can grab a photograph.

I wasn’t going to be that much of a tourist, but I did finally get a chance to wander the market, poke around at Golden Age Collectables, and find a few new kiosks offering food samples or some interesting artistic wares. There is an area where any vendor can set up shop and sell their products. On the day that I went, I talked to the fine folks at Stewart’s Meat Market, and learned they offer up jerky in other forms too. They sell game meats, and I just wonder what kind of red tape I’ll have to deal with to get ‘gator, crocodile or rattlesnake past Canada Customs.

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10.08.11
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The Victoria Downtown Public Market Society prepares for Winter….

The Eat Here Now Victoria Harvest Food Festival at Spirit Square came and went last month, and in my brief time there, I found a dozen restaurants offering some delicious tastes. The Canoe Club stole the show with their octopus kabobs and the Island Chefs’ Collaborative salmon and wild mushroom fare was enough to sate my appetite for the early afternoon.

I had a few other tastes, but none of them really stood out except for these two. At the ICC table were various kinds of fungi, and part of me was disappointed in that I wasn’t able to sample the cauliflower mushrooms—a rarity which is tough to find even in Red Cellar Market. There was some being bbqed up, but timing is everything. I had a morel mushroom, which was a taste I was already familiar with.

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10.08.11
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Big Leagues or Little Leagues: Just Where does the Mafia Belong?

(Located inside Sopranos
Karaoke & Sports Bar)
730 Caledonia
Victoria, B.C.

Mafia Burger has a good product-line going for them: all the traditional toppings and extra heavy fattenings for their 21 burger line-up. There’s plenty to choose from if people visit at particular times. At any others, the pickings are slim.

On my Friday evening visit for a quick dinner bite, the only burger available during hockey night is “The Royale,” a bare bones burger. It was created for the Victoria Royals Budweiser Tail-gate Party that was happening around the bar.

On these special events, the Mafia had no choice but to provide simplicity. Shouldn’t that be the other way around? I was feeling jilted. Where’s the Don to say, “I want it my way!” All Mafia seems to do is to supply a demand. Al Capone once said, “Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class,” and Mafia Burger is not in the big leagues yet.

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09.30.11
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Eatin’ up the Food and Arts scene in Vancouver

I spent yesterday at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s “The Colour of My Dreams” Surrealist art exhibit as my way to celebrate another year in transition. After the show, I was thinking of hitting a nearby restaurant, but time was tight and I should’ve made my way home. By chance, I happened to be at the Vancouver Farmers Market that was set up at Thornton Park, next to the Main St. Skytrain Station. This event runs at different locations throughout the year, and in this case, I was in the right place at the right time. This particular market runs from June 1st to October 5th.

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