Category Archives: Food

Your guide to some of the best and inviting food establishments.

05.23.15
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Saanich with a Side of Baconalooza

VIP

Baconalooza’s inaugural event at Velox Rugby field in Gordon Head will certainly get lovers of swine food arriving in troves. The lunch-time crowd was light, but when the event started at 1pm than noon, perhaps one opportunity was missed in hopes that the dinner time crowd will be busier. This later time is probably when the bacon eating contest will take place, but for one hungry bloke (who skipped breakfast for this show), namely me, I wish I had room to partake in more.

Poor James. He phoned me early in the day to say he’s been struck down with a cold, and I just had enough room to eat for the both of us, but I was taken down by one overloaded bacon cheese burger by the Esquimalt Lions Club (I asked them to keep on piling the bacon on top). However, I did have room for dessert. I could make quibbles in where the beef is sourced and cooked, but hey, I got more than my money’s worth in bacon. I shouldn’t complain.

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05.23.15
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Following the Smoke Signals to a New Show in Town

TravelingSmokeThe Traveling Smoke Show
950 Yates St.
Victoria, BC
(250)710-6010

The Traveling Smoke Show is looking to settle down. Before they operated out of Sooke for a few years, but now they’re in the heart of downtown Victoria and that’s where they want to stay. They’re located across the street from Harris Green Village (replacing Landmark Auto Sales) to ply their own take in designer sandwiches and brand of tastes. One look at their menu, and I was hooked at the thought of what does oyster mayo taste like? When it’s all blended up, the succulent taste is something that I can lap up as easily as the ocean waves washing in. It tastes great by itself and I can sea other uses for it, like in a cucumber only sandwich.

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05.06.15
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A Tale of Mee Wah’s Service Woes

Mee Wah
1950A Oak Bay Ave.
Oak Bay, BC
(250) 595-3021

E: Honestly, I have to wonder about the attitudes that go on in a Chinese restaurant. In a proper establishment, customers are kept happy and the employees will go out-of-their-way to make sure the customer is well served. But when the level in service drops, I get visions of Mel’s Diner from the 70’s TV show, Alice. It makes me wonder why Mee Wah is generally well liked within certain food circles.

J: Is it the food? Perhaps but I know it’s not the service, the service (or lack there of) is poor. The place wasn’t packed but it was still busy. And during the time we were there I felt as though we were wasting the server’s time. I had to wonder what was bothering her.

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04.29.15
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Underclassed and Underdressed at Fireside Grill

Fireside Grill
4509 West Saanich Rd.
Royal Oak District
Saanich, BC
(250) 479-1222

J: When it comes to ghost hunting, Ed never likes to visit a heritage place on an empty stomach. I guess that is why we visited the Fireside Grill.

The tales this building’s owners could tell could make for some interesting pages in a local history book. But I was more interested in the food. Call me uninterested but if we pulled up in the Mystery Van, I would be looking to make myself a hero sandwich rather than looking for clues.

E: Yeah, James can pretty much be like the Shaggy to any Scooby gang should he ever decide to join one. He’s a coward when dealing with spooks but I will gladly try to shake an entity’s hand. Even if I visited a haunted house, I’m willing to bet I’ll find him in the kitchen sooner than later while I go scouting the premises in hopes something supernatural may present itself.

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04.28.15
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The Victoria Film Festival Rebrands their Foodie Film Festival & One Bloke’s Picks

FeastIcon

The Victoria Foodie Film Festival has renamed to become Feast, Food & Film. Now into its third year, this rebranding is most likely needed to give this event its own unique name and help identify if in the arts and entertainment world of Victoria, BC. VFFF can be known as F^3 in short, and in what isn’t is the lineup of films and tastes to be found May 28 to 31st, 2015.

This year has eight films lined up to play in conjunction with hors-d’oeuvres (mostly) that snackers can take into the theatre. Unlike the previous year where most of the events took place at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, this one places more emphasis at the Victoria Film Festival’s home digs at The Vic Theatre.

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04.26.15
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The Pita Pit Is Where It’s At for Late-Night!

IMG_0896 Ira SmallWhen it comes to evaluating franchise operations, I can certainly say that hands down, The Pita Pit is better than Subways. Although they are tucked away in a corner of downtown Victoria on Wharf Street, they are open late at night to cater to the hungry late-night crowd. I’m surprised there isn’t an operation closer to the University of Victoria, as that was where this franchise got its start from (to cater to the student crowd), but alas, maybe they can get better digs in due time.

When it’s late a night, and my buddy Ira Hunter, Editor-in-chief of Absolute Underground Magazine (that I’m a frequent contributor to), had a food craving and so was I.

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