Category Archives: Food

07.18.11
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They Sell Chocolates Here Don’t They?

8bddb-harlenc2bchocolates2bdisplayHarlan’s Chocolates
100 Lower Ganges Rd.
Ganges
Salt Spring Island, BC
(250) 537-4434
1-88-TRUFFLE-4U
1-888-35348

E: I’d have to say no trip to Salt Spring Island on a warm summer day will ever be complete without a trip to Harlan’s Chocolates & Gelato.

This place can give Willy Wonka a run for his money, but instead of a gold certificate, it’s a munch card. And after 10 purchases, you get a prize.

J: Yes, there was a small line-up between me and my golden ticket (gelato) but it only made my picking of one among many interesting flavours more rewarding.

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07.18.11
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A Salt Spring Summary

9b8e2-james2bat2bembeJ: Ed and I hit the road (or just the water) for a 24 hour stay over on beautiful Salt Spring Island. We met many wonderful different people from the interesting Dr. Delightments to the downright cranky employee at Morningside Organic Bakery Cafe & Bookstore. And even a horrible motel and heatstroke couldn’t dampen my spirits for exploring the sights and sounds of Ganges.

With luck on our side we landed ashore during the Tuesday market.

E: The timing couldn’t be any better. We arrived late morning and James needed to cool off. Either I can’t take this boy anywhere, or I have to remind him that heavy jackets are not required–except for wandering around late at night when the ocean air really comes in.

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07.06.11
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A LIttle Bit of Old Montreal

dad39-poutineLa Belle Patate
1215 Esquimalt Road
Esquimalt, BC
250) 220-8427

J: Hidden away in the wilds of Esquimalt is a little taste of Old Montreal at La Belle Patate (The Beautiful Potato). This joint is famous for their poutine.

E: … or dive, for lack of a better word. Janine and I chatted about what used to be here and I heard that this place was a laundromat once. I’ll have to do some digging to verify this rumour and to learn some history about the area.

At least in what’s here now, it has an old world charm. Instead of wowing customers with a beautiful looking building, I’m wandering some dark and dangerous streets that resembles East Vancouver. I haven’t been to Montreal so I can’t make that comparison.But at least the area exemplifies simplicity: authentic style cooking. You can see the order being made right in front of you than tucked away. And they have killer poutine, and I mean that literally. That’s because customers can stack it high with the extras at a $1 per pop. And I don’t mean, “just the basics m’am.”

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06.28.11
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This Better Be the Best F#%@in’ Coke Ever!

Fernwood Inn
1302 Gladstone Ave.
Victoria, BC
(250) 412-2001

J: After Two Hungry Blokes, came, saw and ate at Fernwood Bites 2011, it seemed only proper to keep Ed walking until the alcohol wore off (or wore out). Emergency coffee was needed and Fernwood Inn only too gladly supplied. This place has changed from its days as the George & Dragon.

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06.28.11
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Boylan’s Natural Root Beer

Available at Aubergine Specialty Foods and the Market on Millstream.

If I have to describe Boylan’s product in one word it would be “delicious.” But I don’t have to and if I did, it’d make for a very short article and this company deserves better. I discovered their brand of old-fashioned soda on a trip to one of the well-known local eateries, the Little Piggy.

Jersey’s Boylan Bottling Company is located in the area of the Hackensack River Watershed (a funny Jersey name) in the small town of Moonachie (which even sounds funnier). Their product was registered a year before Coca-Cola (1891.) And there are other good things that’ve come from New Jersey, such as the Four Seasons, Kevin Smith and Abbott & Costello. And if you believe the Moonachie locals, the Berry Creek Restaurant.

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06.21.11
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Wannawafel To My Heart


Wannawafel
Market Square
102-560 Johnson St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 590-5300

J: Wannawafel as a business is a complete no-brainer. Victoria has always been accepting of a good waffle recipe but it took a local Belgian family with their own recipes to turn something good into what might become a multi-million dollar franchise.

The family has gained previous success on an episode of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, a show where millionaires sit and listen to business ideas and product pitches only to get richer in the process. It’s not my cup of tea but something must be right if the Dragons see the potential.

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