Summer food 2011 revisited La Belle Patate Esquimalt · Friday August 5, 2011 by colin newell
As fond as I am for the great cafe culture, of which Victoria, B.C. is truly blessed,
there are some real restaurant gems in Victoria and it is not so much the food (because the food is important unto itself) but it is the heart and soul of the people that create and work these restaurants that bring magic to the table.
Mathieu (Matty) Lott, owner and creator of La Belle Patate is at 1215 Esquimalt Road in Esquimalt. He knows his potatoes, his cheese curds, his customers and he loves all of them in equal measure.
Andrea, Matty and I sit in the pleasant August sun on the sidewalk patio, full of happy folks tucking into their poutine, burgers and smoked meat sandwiches.
What strikes me is the warmth and ease that Matty exhibits among his staff and appreciative clientele. At a youthful 36, Matty is coming up on 4 years in the business – 4 wonderful years – success measured in bags of potatoes, bushels of cheese curds and smiles… and an endless procession of smiles of customers. He knows them all.
The poutine formula has been good for Matty and La Belle Patate. Poutine is a dish of French fries, topped with a thick vegetable gravy and a covering of Island made cheese curds. We always order a “small” between the two of us – and two all-dressed “Steamie” hot dogs – crazy comfort food – steamed hot dogs (and buns) loaded down with pickled cabbage (saurkraut) and mustard. Brilliant. Pure love.
Matty was recently contacted by the good folks at Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives…” – and Matty has conflicted feelings about the extra exposure. “It is a mixed blessing… in 3 years, we are going full out… 1200 pounds of potatoes a week! That kind of exposure could double our traffic… and right now we are in a perfect place!”
Having Matty join Andrea and me on the sidewalk patio for what seemed like 15 minutes was brilliant. Next time I am doing an audio recording. I could listen to Matty talk potatoes and his loyal customers for an hour.
Back to the reality of his poutine: It’s the real thing. I noted to Matty that I have a fairly good following on Facebook and Twitter (as well as all the devoted readers on the blog and coffeecrew website). There is lots of chatter about poutine, almost daily in fact. And here is the thing – La Belle Patate is the only city poutine that I can take seriously. Sure you can get some freaky gourmet treatment of poutine in a fancy restaurant in the Victoria area – and among some other joints that mean well – but La Belle Patate is the only game in town.
We sip on our iced tea, polish off our last gravy dressed fries and exchange warm handshakes with Matty – he is in a happy place doing what he loves best – making happy people happier and creating poutine converts on an almost daily basis.
Food is love. No kidding.
La Belle Patate is located at 1215 Esquimalt Road a half-block past the Civic Center and Esquimalt’s original strip mall. Bon apetit!
Comment [1]
Summer sips and food - Canoe Club Victoria - 2011 - August · Monday August 1, 2011 by colin newell
I have always had a fondness for The Canoe Club in Victoria. The beer is good. The food is often creative. The staff are usually long term and super friendly and professional. My single warning for Canoe Club is – avoid them on Fridays after work and, maybe, during prime time (lunch and dinner) on Saturdays. They tend to get swamped on Fridays so we always play it safe and go at 2 PM… on any day of the week.
Picture (Click on it) above: Ploughman’s Lunch – selection of cured meats, local Hilary Cheese, pickles, pate and artisan breads… – Panasonic Lumix 8Mp Camera
I am not a beer expert, but the beers are fairly reliable and generally mature by the time they hit your glass – and what I mean by that is… the brewmaster knows what he is doing and the beer comes out of the kegs when the time is right – not a moment before.
The Canoe club, quite arguably, has the best patio scene in Victoria. If you have ever been in any other city in Canada… like Toronto, Ottawa or Halifax – you know the patio scene is the thing – especially this time of the year.
Your blogger sips the seasonal Canoe Club Wheat Ale…
Because of Victoria’s notably short summer season (and the fact that you can count on one hand generally the number of hot summer evenings) the evening patio groove can be slim at times. Bottom line – evening on warm evenings, it can be cool near the water.
The Canoe is perfect for summer days because the patio is ideally located on an inlet and not right on a large body of water – and the layout and design of the patio affords some protection from cool breezes.
In the photo, above, Andrea and I shared the Ploughman’s – cured meats, cheeses, some veg, pate and bread – and as I would discover in a few hours… low on the protein for one 6’ 2” dude. I had a sleeve of Summer Wheat Ale (I call it the chick beer…) and Andrea had the IPA. As always, the beer is good.
Victoria has lots of great food and drink places – so get out there and enjoy them while the weather permits.
Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident and occasional writer for EAT Magazine…
Comment [1]
Summer coffee sensations from Drumroaster Coffee Cobble Hill B.C. · Saturday July 30, 2011 by colin newell
Stopped in at Drumroaster Coffee in Cobble Hill, British Columbia (on the way to Chemainus theater for “Fiddle on the roof…”) and had a solid hour or so to talk story with coffee wunderkind Carsen Oglend – son of Geir and Pat Oglend.
Click on the photo at left for the zoomed in view
Had this rare Kenyan over ice (will fill in the details later on preparation).
This was, without hesitation, the best cup of iced coffee I have ever had. I have been drinking coffee, loyally, since the late 70’s and, as iced coffees go, this was extraordinary… other-Worldly… emotionally moving.
The cup was so full of spice and citrus that I would have thought that something was added – but no. It was traditionally prepared filter coffee, served black and on ice – brewed somewhat strong so that as the ice melts, the coffee assumes the proper concentration. Carsen offered to send me the exact details for making a similar iced coffee – just remember folks, you have to brew your coffee traditionally before assembling the “ice brew”. I have had some spectacular iced teas in my life – and this was the first in what will, no doubt, be an evolution of amazing iced coffee beverages.
I brewed a hot Hario pour over of this coffee today — a tad on the fast side – and got a result that was very fragrant, floral with notes of jasmine, strawberries and black tea. Was very un-coffee like with some pretty big citrus notes poking through.
Click on the little photo at left for the much bigger photo!
Geir and Pat were running an errand downtown so Carsen held the fort and chatted with us as time permitted. At some point during the visit, Tamper man Reg Barber appeared out of thin air as he often does. And then vanished again…
Carsen explains the technique for making the best iced coffee with this bean…
I like to use a coffee with a higher acidity and a more fruit forward flavor profile like an Ethiopia, Kenya or northern Guat. I find that brightness cuts through better in the cup.
Start by getting out your pour-over setup. Use the normal 60g/L brew ratio. I tend to do my brews with 30g/500ml.
The trick to the iced brew is to use half of your brew volume with ice, then the other half with hot water. Put the ice into your brewing vessel, and do your normal pour over routine with the bloom, etc., just use 50% of the normal amount of water.
Make sure you’re brewing directly onto the ice, adding ice to a double-strength brew doesn’t work.
Here’s my recipe: 30g ground coffee – 250g small cubed ice (big cubes aren’t as good). You can experiment with up to 300 grams of ice…doesn’t seem to make a huge difference in strength. – 250g hot water
Note the key tip above: Brew the coffee directly onto the ice! It’s key.
Carsen regaled us with a fascinating dialog on the coffee scene in London, England – and San Francisco (where we will be heading for a week in August…) Carsen needs to have his own audio podcast on the subject of coffee and travel – I could have listened to him for hours.
As I said to Carsen prior to leaving for Chemainus… “There is so much in this iced coffee serving that I did not expect… fruit, citrus and the sense that the brew has been extended with the addition of Botanicals or herbs and spices – much in the same way you would infuse a mash in the gin distillation process.
More on this subject soon!
Summer meeting and non-guided meditation flash mob for Jack Layton · Wednesday July 27, 2011 by colin newell
Imagine a 3 minute non-guided meditation.
It will be marked to begin with the ringing of a gong.
Beacon Hill Park – Saturday July 30th – 1 PM Pacific Time – Just below the parking lot there is a stone circle.
At around 12:30 to 12:40 pm coordinators will arrive to place a bamboo pole with a gauzy piece of fabric at the top to blow in the wind as a central marker.
People can just come and sit and be still and send their thoughts – spread out over the hill and just feel one with the purpose. Find your private space. This is entirely not about us – this is about Jack.
The Meditation Mob For Jack Click on image at left for map.
1:00 pm to 1:03 pm Pacific Time
Gather on the slope of Beacon Hill Park below the
parking lot that looks out over Dallas Road.
If you are joining us across Canada, note the following meditation times: 2:00PM to 2:03 PM Mountain Time, 3:00PM to 3:03PM Central, 4:00PM to 4:03PM Eastern, 5:00 to 5:03PM Atlantic Time and 5:30PM to 5:33PM in Newfoundland.
Help Jack Layton fight that cancer. Zap it with our love. Think about Jack for 3 minutes.
Listen for the gong to start together. Where ever you might be in Canada, schedule the 3 minutes. Plan a few minutes ahead. Center and ground yourself. Clear your mind. Send a positive stream of energy to Jack.
Updates – July 28, 2011 – Alternate locations: Cannot make it to Beacon Hill Park? Safe gathering areas include Centennial Square in Victoria and others… Create your own event. If you are shopping in the Bay Center downtown or one of Victoria’s many fine retail venues, consider putting down your shopping bags (if it is safe to do so) for 1 – 3 minutes commencing at 1300 hours Pacific time.
Currently looking for an incidental percussionist with a large bell or gong. Failing that, I will find something suitable.
Joan Athey and Colin Newell met at the Friends of the Empress Wine and Bubble event on July 26th and came up with this idea. Join us for 3 minutes of quiet meditation for Jack Layton. We encourage other groups to join us in meditation across Canada in your respective time zones. Our motto: “Think about Jack!”
