Tag Archives: British Columbia

01.12.22
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A New Ramen Player in Town, and It’s All Arashi

20220111_1426402950 Douglas St Unit 222
Victoria, BC

Hours: Tues to Sun 11:30am to 8:30pm
Phone: (778) 922-2950
Website: www.ramenarashivictoria.com

Sugoi! Victoria ni atarashī totemo oishii rāmen-ya ga arimasu yo. As for whether that’s grammatically correct, I think I got my statement right and insert a pun for good measure.

Ramen Arashi is a diner that opened over the holidays. I’ve been keeping tabs on when they’d open since they’ve been making noise mid last year on the social media front. They’re not competing in the busy downtown area, and I think they’re likely to carve a niche in Burnside. They’re located a few blocks south of Mayfair Mall and I’d visit this operation in a heartbeat. Their bone broth has a nice additional peppercorn flavour.

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12.15.21
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Strange Fellows Brewing Has A Krampus in their Midst!

Krampus - Abbey Dubbel | Strange Fellow BrewingI’m tempted to grinch out and hoard as many bottles of Strange Fellows Brewing‘s Krampus Abbey Dubbel beer as I can for this holiday season. That’s because this drink was a limited run drink once upon a time, but due to demand, it’s back! Be it Halloween or Christmas, these are the seasons to warm yourself with a good drink. Although the Sasquatch in another brand is no longer as prominent, I recall a time those commercials graced the television. These days, I think the white haired mascot has gone into a hiding.

I’m generally not a fan of chocolate in beer. This flavour tends to creep into seasonal drinks often and I’ve learned to avoid them. The caramel notes in this nosh does a better job to keep me thinking of sugar plum fairies. Yes, when I was at Hillside Liquor a few days ago, I saw a drink using those fruits too and I may try one closer to the 25th.

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12.01.21
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A Return to Miku and Extravagance

20211102_211550Miku Restaurant
200 Granville St #70
Vancouver, BC

Hours: 11am to 10pm
Menu: https://mikurestaurant.com/
Phone: (604) 568-3900

During the pandemic, Miku Restaurant really scaled back. They limited the amount of items available to order, and depending on what the latest regulations entail, this can mean them becoming a mostly take-out operation or closing their doors. The plan is to offer a wider variety of choices as patrons become comfortable dining out again. The present menu is scant; not even three dishes out of the twelve or so item list is enough to fill me up.

I finally ventured off the rock because it was needed. When A Filthy Lot, a film studio, invited me over to see what they’re all about, I was excited. They’re an online streaming content creation entertainment company with an immense love for Dungeons and Dragons and pop culture. They have three different channels to distinguish their material. The main one focuses on nerd culture, second on gaming and third on comedy. Some talents are from Victoria too!

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10.20.21
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How to Bust a Funk for Halloween with Helheim Beer

HOUSE OF FUNK – House of Funk Brewing Co.

House of Funk
350 Esplanade E
North Vancouver, BC
 
Hours: 1-9 p.m.
Phone: (604) 770-3646
 

The House of Funk Brewing Co. is more than just another microbrewery based out of North Vancouver. They offer pretzels, schnitzels, beer mustards, sauerkraut, pickled beets, yams bratwurst and other tasty treats in their dining section of the brewhouse. It’s an operation I’d love to visit because they may well be the next best thing to Skål Beer Hall in Seattle as far as sticking to a Scandanavian theme goes. Borders are slowly reopening, but to have something a lot more local makes sense!

This relatively new operation started business in 2019. Anyone who’s missed out in collecting and tasting their past brews are simply out of luck.

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10.06.21
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From Farm to Tractor(ing) Everyday Healthy Foods at the Inner Harbour

Tractor Foods · Everyday Healthy FoodsTractor Everyday Healthy Foods
805 Government St
Victoria, BC

Hours: Mon to Sun 8:00am to 8:00pm
Phone: (778) 247-0354

Menu: tractorfoods.com

ES: From sandwich shop to soup kitchen (if it can be called that), the deli turned health food stop certainly knows how to serve the soups and stews up warm and fresh. They also know keeping a few luncheon staples folded between breads is still important. The operation is now known as Tractor. They have farm fresh in mind, and my meal was cozy enough to warm me up on a wet day while downtown Victoria, BC.

DK: While waiting for Ed a young man in a suit passed by along Government Street. Not a suit, suit. More an “I’m here for a conference and I need to look fresh and clean when the gang goes out on the town” suit. Anyway, while striding by one of his companions asked if he’d ever been to Tractor, and what his opinion was. “Nice aesthetic, but pretty expensive,” was the man on the street’s reply.

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09.22.21
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We Made it to Esquimalt Ribfest and Surviving the Colossal Onion

20210911_184634Esquimalt Ribfest
Bullen Park
Sept 10-12, 2021

Don and I made it Esquimalt’s Ribfest! Though we met up for dinner elsewhere to sate our appetites (review coming in two weeks), my suggestion to check out this festival was with no regrets.

We saw a new tent that may well be part of the annual show. And, it gave us reason to return since we didn’t want to deal with the long lineup for The Colossal Onion. on the evening we went. We both agree that this event is not the type to return to every year. Our criticism is that the “competitors” hardly change. When compared to similiar shows elsewhere around North America, there’s tons of operations out there who can bbq up a tasty pork or beef rib. Either they’re not as well known to get invited to the island or they’re not into national-level challenges.

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