Soup’s Ahoy in Esquimalt

Corner Cafe & Deli
734 Aldebury Street

Esquimalt, BC
(250) 590-7997

Patisserie Daniel
1729 Cook Street
Victoria, BC
(250) 361-3234

Nestled in the industrial side of town, near the Canadian Forces Base, is the Corner Cafe & Deli that looks to be very popular amongst the locals. To one side are huge swaths of residential area, and the other, several warehouses nestled together. There is one “wholesale” place that’s Victoria’s Secret; smaller mom and pop grocery stores can buy their candies or salty snacks in bulk here for cheap and sell them with a huge markup for some instant profit. For large families, hitting this place is easier than going all the way into the Western Communities for Costco.

Don of the Victoria Burger Blog, our pal Jimmy and I checked out the Corner Cafe. I’m really tempted to say Cornerstone, but that’s out in Fernwood. This deli does have the vibe of being a “Cornerstone” since they’re located in a great spot that caters to the many operations that are in the heart of Esquimalt.

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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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