Victoria Spring 2011 - Ferris Upstairs Food Review · Wednesday April 6, 2011 by colin newell
Let me just say that Ferris Oyster Bar – the main floor is one of my favorite places in Victoria.
On the insistence of a dear friend, I took my dear overworked wife to Ferris Upstairs for something new and exciting.
Made a reservation at 4 PM today – thought it might be challenging getting a table 2 hours before dinner service… for such a popular place. No problem.
Arrived at 6 PM to an empty restaurant — apart from the staff that is.
Ferris Upstairs is kind of a duplicate of downstairs – fewer tables… bits of kitschy art… a few windows… Old Town at its funkiest. Lots of brick and bare wood on high ceilings.
Wait staff were formal and pleasant… punctual. They seemed to be slightly distracted – we were the 1st customers, so maybe like a good motor, they needed to warm up.
Ordered a couple of glasses of Merlot and some bread for purchase… a tiny baguette and hard butter for $1.50 – no big deal, bread does not grow in trees.
I ordered the Bouillabaisse and Andrea the Ravioli.
The Bouillabaisse was OK – rustic with lots of shell fish, white fish, salmon and shrimp perfectly cooked in a fairly ordinary tomato broth – a garlic toast with a mysterious orange butter on top… Again, it was OK.
Andrea had the Squash Ravioli with grilled sage, walnuts and cheese.
The ravioli was so overcooked that my wallet could have been chewed and swallowed more easily. Did I complain? Nah. Not worth it. Andrea gave up on the Ravioli after a few labored chews. I dug in while she sampled some of my Bouillabaisse.
Thankfully, a few folks sauntered in by 6:30. We were feeling pretty lonely.
Dinner for 2 with 2 glasses of wine. $64 with HST.
I would give the meal a 4 out of 10. Andrea gave it a 3.
The pasta should have gone in the bin – no, chef served it. Unacceptable.
I quipped to Andrea that we would have been better off at McDonald’s – could have gotten a happy meal.
Loving it. No. Verdict. Will try again another time – As a dear friend and baker told me – “You cannot judge a restaurant on the first pass…”
Yea – they probably had something going on that was effecting the quality of the product – I could have spoken up but I did not. It happens. Only human.
As I said earlier, Ferris Oyster Bar downstairs is an eclectic classic – we visit there almost monthly and they are reliable as heck.
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Winter to Spring Pop Culture 1 Facebook Face off · Saturday March 19, 2011 by colin newell
Just decided that my blog and websites have been neglected long enough – and the web stats show it.
This blog averages around 75,000 unique visitors a month – and that is not hits – that is actual people. Thanks folks!
But those reader levels have been dropping faster than the water level in the spent fuel rod baths… and it’s all my doing.
Dang you twitter.
Because if you do the math — and I am fond of my core twitter followers, that is a small audience relative to here — but it is there that I am putting my energy.
Foolish huh? Yea. It is.
And it is not like there are lots of people out there sitting on their hands waiting for me to write something – I mean, I hope not.
Still, writing pulp blogs here is way better that firing quips into the wind on Twitter.
As much fun as that is.
So my new rule is: Before I utter a beak full of tweets, I am going to bash the side of my head and think up some observation on the human condition…
Like this one.
Good start. But I am not finished.
Facebook – it has been way useful for keeping track of events of my actual friends in almost real time – with alarming regularity and reliability that rivals gravity.
But what of those special friends… you know the ones… the ones you have stalked on facebook from your past. The people you went to High School with. The friends of the people you may have dated 25 years ago… etc.
Well, I ask myself. Why am I peering into their lives. I have a cluster of friends on Facebook who are part of my distant past and I am pretty sure I will never, ever get together with them – for any reason… ever. So why do I look into the window of their lives? Or why do I continue knowing what I know?
Hard decision.
Time for a Facebook cleanup. People do it all the time. Different reasons. You have yours, I have mine.
It is time to let the past go and let people get on with their lives.
It is the right thing to do.
Colin Newell lives and writes in Victoria B.C. Canada and is often the go to guy for opinions on the subject of Canadian Cafe and Pop Culture
Happy St. Patricks Day 2011 as best you can · Thursday March 17, 2011 by colin newell
Not entirely sure there is any green in this jacket…
Click on the photo at left for the slightly bigger view – Thanks to British Importers for these fine threads – and even though you have changed your name to the egocentric Philip Nyren Clothing you will always be British Importers.
What do you think? Any green in the jacket? No, me neither.
283 years ago, some guy distantly related to me got out of bed in Cork, Ireland – packed his bags, got on a boat and never looked back. He would turn out to be my great, great, great – several more, great grandfather. Irish? Heck yes. Determined to make a better life in North America. Fingers crossed. Apparently things worked out because he found a mate and part of my family tree branched out.
So I celebrate a little green today.
On St. Patrick’s day 2011 – If you would have told me a few days ago that I would be spending all of my time thinking about Japan and the hazards of the nuclear era, I would have questioned your sanity.
Yet here we are.
The word trifecta would not have been in my dialogue a few days ago either – not being a gambling man.
And yet here we are; Earthquake, Tsunami and meltdown.
Loss of life. Loss of home. Loss of confidence.
Nor would I have looked up the meaning of millicieverts and found it rolling around in my brain after determining how many are OK and how many make you sick – and what life must be like for so many people trapped, homeless and no place to go.
These good people need you now – So do what you can folks. Give to the Red Cross. Help out Japan.
And stay safe.
From Victoria B.C. Canada on the West Coast of North America… I am Colin Newell.
Coffee photos that speak for themselves... · Monday February 28, 2011 by colin newell
Not entirely sure why I find this photo amusing… taken some years ago – the Barista action figure I picked up in Halifax if memory serves me correctly.
Click on the photo below for the full meal deal.
Press coffee is my center of the Universe.
Whether it is from DISCO on Oak Bay Avenue…
Or HABIT COFFEE and CULTURE on Yates at Blanshard.
Or wherever it is being made.
I am there.
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