Summer fun food and drink - Finding great coffee and cafes in Victoria B.C. · Tuesday July 15, 2008 by colin newell
Buon Amici’s – The Black Stilt Coffee Lounge – 2% Jazz – Bubby Roses – Habit Coffee and Culture – Sounds like Coffee – Discovery Coffee – and others.
Wherever you find your coffee and friendship or companionship… well, that is your best place. It is the best place… for you.
In the last 10 days or so we have had the fun exercise of polling our readers (and many people who have never seen this website before…) on where the Best cafe is in Victoria B.C. Canada.
It has been a fun, but largely pointless exercise… because the reality is: The great cafe is truly in the eye of the beholder. Some Examples:
(a.) Bubby Roses 2 Cafe – Andrea and I sat at Bubby Roses Bakery a few days ago while I spooned their Vegetarian chili into my tummy and shared some wonderful croissants.
At the next table was a very sweet looking young girl with crazy red hair sitting cross-legged in one of the chairs – and she was hand-writing a letter to her lover (and future husband) – Yes, I am naturally curious and yes, I have impeccable vision. He was somewhere far away – but she had this curious smile that would spontaneously appear when she checked out some of the people walking by. At some point a male friend appeared, asking her where her man was – she explained – and they sooned walked off down the Cook street sidewalk – hand in hand…
(b.) B.A.‘s – While at Buon Amici’s on Friday I talk with owner-creator Derek Lucas as he describes, in great detail, his model for the perfect cafe – his passion is measured in megawatts – his ideas flash pass me like a meteor shower. His clientele are urban professionals and all appear to be enjoying their environment.
(c.) The Drumroaster – At the Drumroaster Cafe South of Duncan (my pick for Island’s best cafe [maybe the next poll]) on Saturday Geir Oglend describes the latest and greatest pieces of new equipment for the leading edge cafe. Geir and his wife Pat run one of the few totally Mom and Pop third-wave places on Vancouver Island (and arguably British Columbia too) that is All Family oriented that produces coffee and espresso based drinks as good as they can possibly be – and the food is as good as it can possibly be as well. Bubby Roses, obsessed with every minute detail leader, Mark Engels, comes up with edibles that rival Geir’s – but they are neck and neck.
(d.) The Black Stilt Coffee Lounge is an interesting blend of fine design, eco-friendly deployment with an adult-oriented menu (they have a liquor license) – The coffee is good too. The staff are highly motivated, effusive, friendly and very professional. Half of the guests, tonight, were stationed behind lap-tops – surfing, texting, messaging and face-booking – some were even talking to each other. The space is warm – and even if you are alone, you feel like you are at home.
(e.) Habit Coffee and Culture is home to hipsters, scene-makers, artists, observers, hangers-on and wanna-bee’s – And yes, I am all of those things… especially that last one! If you are a hip chick or sick dude, you suck back your espresso at Habit – you might even find time to work on your sneer or perfect that utterly disinterested look.
So. Long story short. Buon Amici and Black Stilt may have cornered the market on the votes – but the reality is… The best cafe in Victoria B.C. Canada is the cafe you are sitting in right now. You know it better than I do.
But thanks for participating!
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Summer fun food and drink - B.C. UFO sightings increase · Sunday July 13, 2008 by colin newell
For the record, I have never seen a UFO before… lots of balloons, helicopters, shooting stars, kites, planes, gliders and, yes, even rockets… model ones. Ok. Fireworks too. Guess that counts.
But true-blue (I mean green) UFO’s. From outer space? No. Nothing yet. Still waiting.
And yet currently, British Columbia is a hot bed of UFO sightings. Lots of people calling into Transport Canada (and the R.C.M.P. [The Canadian equivalent to the F.B.I.]) with reports of objects floating, darting, ducking, spinning, glowing, and generally flirting in the sky… or above the ground.
Yea. UFO’s apparently flirt with Cows… just prior to performing the vivisection… Or they are coy. Whatever works I guess.
Anyway. Sightings are up big time. But why?
I have a theory. Yea. You figured that didn’t you?
If we look at other times in the last 50 or 60 years when there were bursts of intense interest in UFO’s and correspondingly frequent sightings – Yes, there seems to be a connection there too. Interest and scrutiny yields results.
From my reading I have discovered periods of increased activity just after World War II, during the Korean war and during the most intense periods of the Cold War between 1962 and 1975. But why then? Why in those time periods?
Well. People feel generally powerless during periods of global unrest – and generally powerless during Alien abduction and when they undergo Alien facilitated probes in their naughty regions… experiences which appear to go hand in hand.
So as Israel threatens to Blaff Iran off the map if they don’t lay off distilling corn liquor and Iran rattles the saber at Israel’s all night raves. And while the U.S.A. utters waddle shaking martial harangues at any country with an oil supply – and (thanks to the TSA) intimidates every American citizen for daring to travel within their own country without 16 pieces of photo ID…
Well, we are starting to see things… in the sky… from all this stress.
(And)The way I see it, those lucky enough to see something totally other-Worldly… Well, they are probably hoping to catch a ride… somewhere else… Like Rigel 5 or Alpha Centauri. One can always hope I guess… that there is a Planet out there somewhere, populated with beautiful young people that wear nothing but linen, never age much beyond 21 or 50 years of age, and get restored whenever they get bored – and guns, violence, pestilence, envy, greed and malice are totally foreign to their species.
Gimme some of that. I promise to behave… and not bring anything Earthly with me…
Sigh. Dare to dream people.
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Summer fun food and drink - Starbucks in decline chapter two · Thursday July 10, 2008 by colin newell
Listen here for our radio interview today… Flash thingie below – if you cannot see that, click here for the mp3.
Starbucks in decline chapter two
“We are immune to economic ups and downs!” At the dawn of the 21st century, that has always been the bleat of the Starbucks upper Echelon.
While most restaurants feel the squeeze in hard times, as consumers stay home for more Mac and Cheese, Starbucks’ Vente-latte-sipping well-to-dos will keep coming back for more. Or so the economic theory dictates.
Truth is – luxury brands attract premium customers who are less sensitive to economic swings. Better job security and more income to ride out the lows. “When Starbucks continued to rack up impressive gains through 2002 and 2003, analysts went so far as to label the company “recession-proof.” Like the Titanic I suppose.
The past few years have seen a multi-faceted rebuild and re-branding of the Starbucks mission. In its insatiable desire for unchecked growth, the company automated too much of the artistry once known as specialty Coffee. Out with the La Marzocco manual machines – and in with robotic coffee. Starbucks as a therapeutic “alternative – not the home not the office space” for its customers, has given way to drive-through windows, interstate off-ramp kiosks and questionable reconstituted greasy breakfast sandwiches and Cd shills.
Two sucker punches come along. Overbuilding and under-training, and coffee that suffered – even to my grizzled taste buds. As people became more educated about what a real coffee should taste like (thanking Starbucks in the 80’s): consumers sought out the mom-and-pop coffee shops (in the U.S. up 40 per cent to 14,000) — with an seemingly endless cortège of thirsty Starbucks refugees.
During one of its costume changes, Starbucks has attracted a new type of customer, one drawn to the fashion statement of the specialty coffee experience, but lacking the requisite bling to sustain a daily double-tall Vente Macchiato habit.
So, the U.S. housing market collapses – a threat of layoffs, these lower- and middle-income Americans are forgoing the to-go cups. Caramel lattes or a a gallon of gas? Gas wins.
They wanted to win everyones heart in order to sustain their growth – and have ended up leaving us with a caffeine withdrawal induced headache – that isn’t going away anytime soon.
Remember this? Chairman Howard Schultz once said coffee drinkers who try out cheaper competitors will upgrade to Starbucks.
“Those consumers over time are going to trade up. They’re going to trade up because they are not going to be satisfied with the commoditized experience or the flavor,” he said.
Your right Howard. We got sick of the flavor. And we moved on.
Thanks for the memories.
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Summer fun food and drink - flowers and travel · Tuesday July 8, 2008 by colin newell
If you are like me, and living in the month of July… ah, like me. You are probably wondering what you would like to do this summer. Better get on it now. Because summer… for some of us… is here.
And let me just say this: Summer in Victoria B.C. Canada is a pretty subtle thing. It arrives… gradually. Sometimes by surprise. And it is a curious thing… because Victoria B.C. Canada does not actually experience seasons. I would hard pressed to explain how there is much difference between night and day.
Photo above – Took this (last night) with my Canon EOS-30D dSLR and a F2.5 55MM Macro Lens at Government House, Rockland, Victoria B.C. Canada
Seasons (and summer) is a funny thing here. On any given day in June, July and August, it might average 22 degrees © for 70 something (F). It is a rare thing indeed when the temperature rises to 30 – and when it does, it too arrives in a subtle way – like overnight. One day it is 22… and then it is 30 for a couple of days… then it is cool again. Anyway. I am getting off track.
If you live here you are busy planning your get-away. If you are a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, (for example) where the average temperature during the day is about 325 (F) then you have your sights on Victoria as a destination. Because Victoria (compared to Arizona) is the equivalent of stepping from a blast furnace into a mountain stream.
And as you can see from the top photo above, the flowers are insane here. This was one of dozens of different kinds of roses that were fully in bloom. I think I saw every color of rose except for Green and dark blue. I saw every other web safe color in the Government House garden. Click on the photos above for a mind-blowing enlargement. Mind blowing. Hmm. Showing my age with expressions like that. Let’s try this. The green in Victoria is dope and if you stay in Phoenix this summer you are, like, whack. There. Better.
Hey. Quick piece of travel advice if you are flying from anywhere in the U.S. into Canada – particularly Victoria B.C. Canada… and you are wearing a T-Shirt. Many people wear T-Shirts right? Make sure there is a pleasant and non-violent message on your T-Shirt. Examples:
-Anything with Kittens, Puppies, Flowers (like the ones above), American flags and pictures of Jesus are good.
-Things like guns, rifles, grenades, and Peace signs are definitely a no-no. Go figure. Cartoon characters like Transformers: Bad! Especially if they are holding ray-guns. Ray-guns bring down airplanes you know! Here is the T-Shirt in question.
Also. Avoid words on your T-Shirt like Boom, Bang, Attack, Peace or any script in any language other than English… because if it ain`t English it looks like Arabic to the TSA.
So. Play it safe folks and silk-screen one of my flower pictures onto your travel safe T-Shirts.
And Bon Voyage!
Uhm. That means Safe Travel for those that do not understand Arabic.
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