Victoria Oven
Government St. at Fort St.
Victoria, B.C.
J: On a warm Victoria day, I was following Ed on an empty stomach as he attempted to complete his errands, from the metaphysical crystals at Instinct Art & Gifts to the artistic supplies of Island Blue. But now and again I would redirect when something of interest popped into the corner of my eye.
Corner of Pike St. and 2nd Ave.
Seattle, WA
Nearly most of Seattle is raving about Gourmet Dog Japon, a street cart operation that makes some mighty mean dogs. But what’s so special about this fast food? Which operation is better? Supposedly, owner Shinsuke Nikaido took the idea from the Japadog carts in Vancouver and he put his own design in what makes a good dog.
My vote is for the Seattle location since they were open at 11pm on a Friday, just when most restaurants are closed. I imagine if I wanted a bite even after midnight, I’d find this particular operation still going strong.
La 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.”
twohungryblokes.com 