Waan Japanese Izakaya
2020 2nd Avenue
Belltown, Seattle, WA
(206) 441-5637
Upon my arrival in Seattle this week, there was only one mission in mind on my first night here, and that’s to be in a massive Battle Royale with the Dragon and Mecha Godzilla at Waan Japanese Izakaya.
Pablo’s Dining Lounge
225 Quebec Street
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 388-4255
J: Ed was fortunate enough to be given a pair of gift certificates (GC) courtesy of our our benefactor, the event organizer Bill Code. Bill was responsible for the 2009 Victoria Comic Book Convention and is currently working rebooting it as the Victoria Comic, Movie & Steampunk Convention for 2013.
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.
(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.
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.
Pho Vy
772 Fort St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 385-5516
J: I played a little Russian restaurant roulette recently. It’s where one travels to the downtown core of quaint little Victoria. From here Ed places his faith in me to wander the streets before my stomach tells me to walk in. Will it be good, bad, a classic or just a night of taking Gravol?
I settled on a little Vietnamese place decked out in fake flowers but with a yellow and green colour paint combo that was oddly appealing.
E: Pho Vy sat on the opposite side of the road, where Pho Hua is on Fort. I checked out Hua a long time ago, reviewing it for Nexus, and wasn’t too impressed, but Vy had a different atmosphere.
