Tag Archives: Downtown Victoria

07.11.13
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Million Dollars Can’t Buy You Happiness at Itami

Note: For some strange reason our previous host provider, eBlogger, loses some of our posts. Despite our best attempts to keep regular backups, even this article disappeared from our archives. This piece had to be ‘republished.’

Itami Sushi Japanese Restaurant
708 View St 
Victoria, B.C. 
(250) 381-8868

J: Wow, I mean really wow. Maybe really wow just doesn’t say enough on how nice Itami Sushi looks. They spent roughly one million on the interior alone. The Japanese garden at the front entrance should’ve more care and attention paid to it. And that chandelier above the serving desk, yes I thought that was excessive but there was very little else I could find wrong. I just have to wonder what their washrooms look like. But with all of this eye candy, the restaurant was barely populated on a Friday night. I asked myself why.

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05.22.13
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A Pirate’s Life for Me

Photograph by Brendan Gibson

Pirate Cosplay Day
May 19, 2013

Brickyard Pizza
784 Yates Street
Victoria, BC
250-995-2722

J: What can be said but how lucky can Two Hungry Blokes get? We’ve attended not one but two events at Brickyard Pizza. I must admit that I really love these cosplay events. With Brickyard’s previous event Medieval Cosplay Day it was like being in an episode of Game of Thrones.

This time, we walked in and were completely surrounded by pirates. They were decked out in their threaded finery and best accessories. Someone would think they were attending a London fashion show rather than a cosplay event. Check our wallets after Ed, I think one of them is giving us the eye…er…his only eye.

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05.15.13
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Side Dish: Eastern Food without the Exotic


Side Dish Restaurant
1008 Langley St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 477-9995

E: Strange. In a region that was once known as Persia, I would expect the food to include the exotic. I’m fascinated with the ancient culture because of the sun god Mithras. His secretive religion is as mysterious as the restaurant that does not bear his name.

At Side Dish, I love the baklava desserts offered and that’s what I should have picked up instead of one of their traditional dishes. I have to agree with what another fellow blogger, Your Restaurant Sucks, wrote about the quality of service and the food. As colourful and simple as my dish was, I wondered where did the flavour go? Was the pomegranate fruit forgotten or the sumac spice not applied?

There’s nothing wrong with the freshness or simplicity of the meal. I also think seasonal visits to this place is required to find the best in what the harvest can offer. I think it’d be neat if this place also offered the very delicious Sangak bread.

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05.09.13
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The Banker Defaults on Fish

Bard & Banker Pub
1022 Government St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 953-9993

J: When I step through the doors of the Bard & Banker, it’s hard not to feel like it’s Christmas.

Could it be the daily specials (drink must be bought to qualify)? No. Is it the grandiose look of the Bard that makes me appreciate this self-proclaimed “Scottish” pub? No, it’s not that either. I know, it must be that the Bard used to be the former location of the Spirit of Christmas.
With its lights, ornaments and decorated trees, Spirit of Christmas was one of the happiest places on Earth, next to Disneyland that is.

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04.28.13
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Get on Board with the Cherry Bomber!

The Pig BBQ Joint
1325 Blanshard St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 590-5193

Cherry Bomb Toys
1410 Broad St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 385-8697

Every Kaiju fan knows that the monster always returns … always. In this case, it’s a behemoth pork burger that I tackled some months back. The latest creation from Cherry Bomb Toys and Pig BBQ Joint is aptly named the Cherry Bomber, and have I succeeded in taming the savage beast? I had to partner King Ghidorah and Godzilla to see if they were up for the challenge. Since they were toys and couldn’t talk back (and couldn’t eat thankfully), I was on my own to meet this limited run burger head on.

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04.16.13
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Looking for a Real Taste of India

Real Taste of India
768 Fort St  
Victoria, BC 
(250) 477-8883

E: One of the essential rules of waitressing includes knowing which is which on the menu and being able to know who ordered what. To not know can spell trouble. That can be excused when taking orders from a large crowd, but when James and I were the only two in Taste of India, I can’t be too kind. The food was great, but the service really needs to be worked on.

J: The service was poor and I’m saying this kindly because I want to use a manure reference. Our first server made many fatal mistakes; the first one was with upselling us more food without explaining his reasons for doing it.

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