Summer Food Fun and Drink 11 Scented Garden Bed and Breakfast Chemainus · Sunday July 18, 2010 by colin newell
In addition to seeing “Guys and Dolls” this weekend, we stayed at a wonderful B&B in Chemainus British Columbia.
Located on Maple Street in Chemainus, The Scented Garden B&B could not possibly be located in a more quaint neighborhood – nor could it be more suitably located relative to the Chemainus theater.
Just four houses from the beach and steps to the center of Chemainus village and a leisurely 7 minute stroll to the Chemainus Theater – convenient!
The surrounding neighborhood is thick with character houses and a short walk to the World famous “town of wall murals”.
I have stayed in a few B&B’s – and Andrea has been in dozens and dozens – and this was one of the sweetest. Beautiful inside and out. The Scented Garden has two suites (both large) and the one we stayed in (Island Thyme) was huge with a massive soaker tub and a shower big enough for 4 people.
Breakfast selections change regularly but we had a superb French Toast with whipped cream and edible flowers. Best French bread since Hawaii folks! Other items include Yogurt, granola, breads, juices and big pots of great coffee and an English pot of tea.
Rick & Micheala O’Doherty, who run Scented Garden, felt like family within minutes of meeting them – I would not hesitate to stay there again – and encourage others going to the Theater or visiting Chemainus or using the area as a base camp as a jumping off point for other Vancouver Island exploration options to consider a long stay.
It was a great weekend indeed!
Summer Food Fun and Drink 10 Guys and Dolls Chemainus Dinner Theater · Saturday July 17, 2010 by colin newell
Andrea and I hit the road Friday for Chemainus, British Columbia and the Chemainus theater for their presentation of Guys and Dolls.
Ten Tony awards, seven Laurence Olivier and six Drama Desk Awards make Guys and Dolls an lovable piece of twenties Americana. Luck Be A Lady was the one song that rung bells for me – and although I am more of a Gilbert and Sullivan kind of guy, I found Guys and Dolls well paced, and lively with a cast of journeymen actors (some of whom multi-tasking in the orchestra!
The velvet smooth Sky Masterson, played by David Leyshon was perfectly cast with vocal wunderkind Megan Morrison as Sarah Brown. The subplot of Miss Adelaide (Janet Gigliotti) and Nathan Detroit (Robert Clarke) keeps the audience busy with its heartwarming storyline of unrequited patience – Described as the perfect musical comedy; Gangsters, card sharks, night club headliners and the Salvation Army – is a high energy show that would resonate with anyone a tad over the age of 40 – some of the situations and “lingo” might miss the mark for the younger crowd – but everyone seemed to have a blast.
The Chemainus theater has 274 seats in a very steep “Savoy” style and design which puts you in the action. The stage area is inches from the front row – and in the case of Guys and Dolls, the set was simple but immensely innovative.
At the last moment Andrea and I opted for the dinner buffet in lieu of searching in vain for Chemainus cuisine (I am sure there are other street choices but I did not dig that deep.) The buffet, at around 25$ per person was staggering with interesting and fresh choices, an enticing salad bar with some modern choices, hot entree’s included wild salmon, vegetarian ravioli, carved strip loin and BBQ pork ribs. The dessert table buckled under pancreas stressing cheesecakes, pecan flans, fruit pies, cream pies and an ice cream sundae attendant!
Guys and Dolls plays matinee and evening shows through September 11th 2010 – Don’t wait. Get your tickets now. We are actually considering going in for seconds!
While in Chemainus on the Friday night, we stayed at the ultra-romantic Scented Garden B&B – going to blog that shortly.
Comment [1]
Summer Food Fun and Drink Number 9 Hipster Universe · Sunday July 11, 2010 by colin newell
The Victoria B.C. coffee scene is pretty unique to the Planet Earth. We have the best possible beverages prepared in every imaginable fashion.
Espresso coffee? It’s hard to beat. Like your drip? We have that too. In Victoria you can get Synesso coffee, Aeropressed coffee, Hario V60 coffee, Siphon coffee – heck you can even get instant coffee if you ask politely.
And it really is some of the best coffee anywhere in North America.
I would happily and confidently put my local baristas against anyone on this caffeinated Planet knowing that they would place well.
And it is not like we have some special corner of the market on the beans – because we do not.
We have some mighty fine roasters – and some of the best folks who know how to import some mighty fine “already roasted” beans if necessary.
We have a cafe for every one and every taste.
If you are a fan of the single origin bean (like an Ethiopian Sidamo or a Mexico Malinal) then Cafe Fantastico might be your java joint? Their roasters Derek and Ryan are top in their game and know how far to push a green bean to get the best out of it.
Black Stilt coffee (two locations) takes the environment so seriously that they discard about one garbage bag of refuse a week – The coffee is good and their Hillside location is popular with University and College kids.
For the “Too Cool for School” set, there is HABIT COFFEE AND CULTURE – Owner Shane Devereaux’s laid back style is an odd juxtaposition in a space that is hipper than a Kerouac novel – and the coffee is bad ass however it’s prepared. I do the Press when I am there – it is always perfect and the sugary selection of baked goods is always enticing.
Looking for the Zen of coffee? Consider Discovery Coffee (2 locations) – maybe not as happening as HABIT, but the turntable is just as likely to be blaring The Stones or Creedence Clearwater Revival and the coffee is never less than leading edge.
Want to drive a few extra miles? Drumroaster Coffee on the Island highway near Cobble Hill and the Cow Bay turn-off is the home of coffee senzei’s Geir, Pat and Carsen Oglend. Geir is the great grand-pappy of Island coffee and you are assured of no less than a perfectly transcendent cup of mud.
Tell them I sent you!
Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 6 Hario V60 · Saturday July 3, 2010 by colin newell
While at the Drumroaster Coffee Roastery with my dear wife, Andrea – and affable host Geir Oglend – partner and coffee Übermensch – we brewed stunning cups of Ethiopia Sidamo coffee with the Hario V60.
No visit is complete without cups of great coffee, stimulating conversation… and coming away with a bag of coffee and a pile of information that I did not have before.
Today was no different.
Geir brewed a Hario V60 drip pot of Ethiopia Sidamo with the Hario V60 dripper and Hario kettle (photo below).
Here is the deal:
To really excel at drip coffee (and it is, in my mind one of the most superior methods of brewing an individual cup.):
-You need a precise amount of carefully ground coffee
-A supply of hot water just off the boil in a suitable container (not all kettles are created equally…)
-A suitable filter holder (like the Hario 60 above)
-A timer, maybe a scale and one steady hand.
Weigh out the dose. A digital scale is very important here – and no home kitchen should go without one. A 60 grams (coffee) per liter (water) is more or less ideal. A 12 ounce serving (medium sized mug) is about .35L – or around 23-25G of whole beans. Select your grind that yields a total brew time of around 3 minutes – 3 minutes and 15 seconds tops. Like any other gravity brewer or filter holder (like the Melitta #4) the V60 is not flow restricted… so your instincts are critical!
I Preheat all components and rinse the paper filter with about 100ml of hot water. Does it make a difference? Don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt.
Water should be just off the boil. Boil your water and count to 10. You should be in the ball park.
0 to 30 seconds: Add the ground coffee to the cone. Use your index finger tip to make a small indentation into the middle of the ground coffee. Start your timer (at ZERO) and pour in just enough water to saturate the bed of ground coffee (about 15 seconds worth of pouring). Pour in increasingly concentric rings. Avoid the sidewall of the filter. A Hario kettle (see photo) really makes the difference in precise control of the water.
30 seconds to 1 minute: Watch and wait as the water saturates the ground coffee – there may or may not be any coffee dripping at this point.
1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds: Begin pouring again, in concentric circles out from the middle until the cone is nearly full. Coffee is dripping into your mug.
1 minute 30 to 2 minute mark: Repeat the water delivery to just keep the filter cone topped up.. Good stream of coffee brewing into the cup now.
2 minutes to 3 minutes: By now you have used up your water quota and you are watching the latter stages of the brew cycle. Do not wait for the last drips as you approach 3 minutes as the coffee will be approaching over extraction.
