A Penny for Your Thoughts?

Penny Farthing
Old English Pub

2228 Oak Bay Ave.
Oak Bay, BC
(250) 370-9008

J: Penny Farthing is one those great British style pubs that seems to be the local social for all that is middle class. Nestled deep in the heart of the Oak Bay shopping district, which is in itself a slice of England, Oak Bay could be described as a place where old stiff upper lip society meets the new and trendy.With the Edwardian styled shop of the The Blethering Place co-existing near the more nouveau Bon Sushi, Oak Bay’s my slice of heaven.We were joined in company by people locally and from the far away land of Alberta. From Alberta were Bill Bracher, owner of Bullseye Bill’s Trading Post, Naomi DeBruyn, proprietor of Callaway Cafe and Robin Poirier, tech wizard of ReStart Computer among many other good friends.

Luckily for Ed and myself, appetizers were half price that night, which suits my Scottish purse just fine. The Crab and Lobster Dip was the first to land at our table.

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Harping over to Vic’s Steakhouse

Vic’s Steakhouse & Bar
345 Quebec St
Victoria, BC
(250) 480-6585

Tucked away to one side of Victoria’s Inner Harbour is Vic’s Steakhouse & Bar—and for seals like me in the area, waddling over there was a no brainer. Sometimes it’s a tough call in where I want to go and with no James around, do I go begging for fish or beef?

There’s other nearby restaurants claiming to serve good meats, like Milestone’s (on the opposite side); one screwed up order there hasn’t seen me return in a long time.

At Vic’s, it’s a cozy place to dine in even during the lunch hours.

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Spin me an Ice Cream

8aa3174ec22106894fe617617391a7a3_400x400Spinnakers Brew Pub
308 Catherine Street

Victoria West, BC
(250) 384-2739

What’s in an essence—the flavour? the spirit within? Perhaps it’s the divine force that’s unique to each and every soul.

In this case, it’s what’s unique to each and every ingredient. Spinnaker’s prides themselves in locally grown and produced products, and while I stopped by to purchase tickets to the coming Island Chefs’ Collaborative 3rd annual food festival, Defending our Backyard, I couldn’t help but notice they were selling ice cream too, at $6 per 12 oz tub.

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