The Two Hungry Blokes Take On Avenue Q and the Victoria Fringe Festival

Avenue Q
August 29 – 31, 2013

Copeland Lecture Theatre
St. Michael’s University School
3400 Richmond Rd.
Saanich, BC
E: I find it hard to imagine that James Shaw is a Victoria Fringe Festival newbie. I’ve heard him talk about his days in theatre from his years long gone, but the intervening twenty years have not been kind. He’s been a busy beaver in the work scene and has forsaken the arts. Shame on him!

After a quick bite at McRae’s down the street, we were rushing to make it on time to this play. I was able to get him out of the house to get an education with a high school style rendition of Broadway’s Avenue Q. This coming-of-age parable is an interesting one. Because of this show’s Broadway success, it has been adapted by the creators so it can be performed by any theatre group in either North America or Europe.

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Dinner Theatre: McRae’s Bistro

McRae’s Bistro
1652 McRae Ave
Saanich, B.C.
(250) 590-6944

J: After four years, the Two Hungry Blokes have moved on to the next stage in their evolution. And I’m not talking about trousers with stronger waist elastic. We’ve decided that it was only natural for the arts, both the culinary and the theatrical, to come together on our blog. The end result is a love child where dinner and a show are both reviewed.

Although it won’t always be at the same time, I think it’s a perfect joining of the two. And who better to take part in the union then McRae’s and St. Michael’s University.

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There’s no Opa for Greek Fest 2013 and Beyond

GreekFestGreek Fest 2013
4648 Elk Lake Drive
Royal Oak
Saanich, BC

J: When it comes to all things Greek. this year Ed and I were missing the mark. It was due to our lousy timing that we managed to show up on a Friday with a two hour window between performances. Technically there were dancing lessons but apart from one young man getting up on stage while a woman in the audience eyed him like candy, nobody else was partaking.

E: When there was barely anybody there, except for retirees, I suppose saying opa was out of the question. Well, despite our mistake, we did finally get to try some desserts that would otherwise be normally sold out during the busy hours of dinner or the next three days of the two weekend long festival. Honestly, I can’t say any of it was anything special. I’m thinking the line cooks and people preparing the meals have gotten complacent in thinking their food is the best… but these days, it is not.

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Redemption for Dog Nation

Uptown Plaza Anniversary
August 24, 2013

Uptown Shopping Centre
Douglas St. at Saanich Rd.
Saanich, B.C.

Readers who have followed the thread about Dog Nation when James and I visited them will know we came down on them pretty hard. James has his reasons for not returning, but I felt that they deserved a second chance. After all, this issue was more with being an open air environment where the offending hair could have blown in from anywhere and about one poor choice to continue using buns that not everyone can take a liking to.

That decision can topple any country and send it into chaos. But in this case, British Columbia is safe for now, and I can’t say much about Canada since I don’t monitor politics, or all the back room dealings this government has with private corporations.

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Brickyard Pizza Doesn’t Always Slice

BrickYard1Brickyard Pizza
784 Yates St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 995-2722

E: One free movie and pizza night sounds like a good deal to me. I had a pass to an advanced screening of The World’s End and James had one for The Brickyard. And for once, that was a plan worth putting together. Who doesn’t want to have an all expense paid free night in downtown Victoria?

J: I won these coupons at one of Brickyard’s few Cosplay parties. I’ve heard differing opinions about Brickyard but a lot of it was positive and those that were in the negative were not horror stories. Brickyard seems to me to be a good choice for a bite before we attend The World’s End (I always wanted to say that). I was craving Hawaiian but silly me left the decision to Ed like it was his birthday.

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Brady’s Fish and Chips

Brady’s Fish and Chips
#1-50 Burnside Rd. West
Saanich, BC
(250) 382-3695

J: Brady’s is just one of those places I’ve heard so much about, it’s praises being tossed around have landed in my lap over the years but it wasn’t possible on our Two Hungry Blokes schedule to find time for it until recently. It’s located in a little strip mall on Burnside between Art’s Bakery and Hometech Games Plus (previous location of A&A Appliances). I knew this mall from my youth for it’s Peppin’s Pet Centre.

E: I always pass by this Fish n’ Chip store on the way to Silvercity. I never thought about checking it out until James brought the idea to the fore. But when considering his growing reputation of picking places that have been mostly on the “miss” side, was I reluctant? Will I ever learn my lesson?

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