Tag Archives: Alcohol

06.05.24
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Just Another Block Kitchen & Bar on the Yates Dining Strip

Block Kitchen - The DonBlock Kitchen & Bar
538 Yates St #101
Victoria, BC

Hours: Daily from 3 to 9 pm (10pm weekends)
Phone: (250) 590-6744
Menu: blockvictoria.ca

DK:This is the type of place you feel out of place if you aren’t drinking. Not so much because the waitress acts stunned when you order water, but because really if you’re not here to drop $60 on a few cocktails, why are you here? Tell me Ed, why?

ES: Although I’m not sure how to follow up on Don’s opener, I was just as baffled too. Yes, Block Kitchen & Bar is very much a place to get a drink after work and have a light meal. I don’t think I can get filled unless I spend $100 or more, and even on a former student’s mindset and budget, I’m not willing to spend that much!

However, I did get a cocktail to go with my sort of Japanese meal. I always wanted to try the Birds of Paradise and it was a flavourful drink. The Akvavit is the foundation where more fruity flavours are put on top, and although it’s not a layered drink, it certainly gave me a good buzz when the dishes finally arrived.

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06.23.21
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Finding a Niche at Miche Cafe

donatmiche734 Aldebury St #101
Victoria, BC

Hours: Mon to Fri: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Phone: (778) 440-5335

Menu: michecafe.ca

ES: Tucked in the industrial side of Victoria, BC (in the municipality of Esquimalt) is Miche Cafe. It’s been under various ownerships in the past and I’ve lost count! I’m rarely in this side of town mostly because I’m not a supporter of the nearby operation, Wholesale Club, (family loves shopping here for the bulk goods but I don’t) but when I have to chauffeur, it’s playing Pokemon GO in the area, or coming to this corner deli style stop for a bite because of the atmosphere and down home cooking!

DK: Don’t think we forgot about the bread price-fixing scam. Am I right, Ed? 

ES: Don’t get me started!

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10.14.20
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Who Doesn’t Want a Cocktail after Bartender’s 15th Anniversary Release?

Bartender | World of Yamaguchi HoshikoComing to home video on Jan 19, 2021
BARTENDER 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is available for pre-order now at ShoutFactory.com

The best-selling Japanese manga Bartender by Araki Joh and illustrated by Kenji Nagatomo is a charming and heartfelt anthology series which can be served at any time of the year! When the Victoria Film Festival’s Art of Cocktail has been cancelled due to Covid-19, I had to consider where else I can get my education on fine wine, and this news arrived at the right time!

This anime has a worldwide cult following because it’s not out to promote alcoholism. It’s more so about how to help people look at life with fresh new eyes. Part of the narrative includes offering to the customer the right drink so that after sipping from it, they’ll feel reinvigorated. This acclaimed series is directed by Masaki Watanabe (Battle Spirits, Bakumatsu, KADO – The Right Answer), written by Yasuhiro Imagawa (Giant Robo the Animation) and produced by Palm Studios.

To know all the drinks offered not only in manga and also in the animated series does require a distributor knowing what discerning taste testers want! Shout! Factory and Anime Limited (UK) partnered up to do just that. Though the many brews will be from the anime, the best of from the manga (for this October season) includes:

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05.15.19
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Pie Two in Seattle, WA Near Capital Hill

nullSeattle Pie Bar
1361 E Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98122

Hours: 6pm to 1am
Phone: (206) 257-1459

Very few late-night operations exist near the Seattle Convention Center and the hotels surrounding it. As long as folks want to explore, they exist. I’m not talking about bars… well, technically The Pie Bar is just that and their unique alcoholic cocktail offerings have me intrigued!

When I see window art featuring Shaggy Rogers of Scooby Doo fame endorsing this operation, I knew I had to stop and make five steps back. I associate him with tackling huge sandwiches the size of the Eiffel Tower which he downs in one gulp. As for other gourmet treats, that depends on which version of the cartoon one grew up with. I’ve followed the gang’s adventures for at least five iterations throughout the years.

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12.19.18
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So Below for Cenote Restaurant & As Above for Expansion

Cenote Restaurant and Lounge
768 Yates St,
Victoria, BC

Hours: 12:00pm to 12:00am
Phone: (778) 433-4848

Cenote is a fun little nesting place to dine in. They do host small performances (music) at night. I often walk past it and often wonder if hipster style diner is for me. The place was recommended by one former employee of the Victoria Film Festival (I wish she still worked for them) and a few friends who live downtown. When it’s located underground, down a level on Yates st., next to Lyle’s Place (or is that underneath?), seeking some places out reminds me of a certain movie. As Above, Down Below was an okay horror film about encountering strange evils in the catacombs beneath Paris, but I can think of better.

The etymology of this operation’s name does speak to me. Not everyone knows the original word is Mayan in origin (dzonot), meaning “well.” That is, unlike a traditional design of an aqueduct, the pipe connects to an underground body of water to which citizens can draw water from.

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06.27.18
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[Vancouver, BC] Remembering EXP Restaurant + Bar

Image result for exp bar vancouverEXP Restaurant + Bar
309 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC
(604) 558-1337

EXP Restaurant & Bar has been operating since late 2012 and sadly, by the time I visit this place again, it will be closed. I came across this article about the problems of keeping such operations afloat in a tough as nails city core. I can only hope and let readers know that if the Rio Theatre can be saved by Deadpool himself, is there hope for EXP? Sadly, no.

Their latest Facebook post made the news of closing official. I’m posting this article in memoriam and can only hope a future exists in another space. I get the feeling the owners and operators are not going down easy. They may have an alternate plan in the works but do not want to jinx the future.

Reprinted (in part) from otakunoculture.com:

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