Summer food fun and drink chapter 17 Victoria's best poutine · Saturday July 31, 2010 by colin newell
Mathieu Lott, owner and Poutine chef at La Belle Patate on Esquimalt Road in Victoria B.C. Canada knows his potatoes. He loves his potatoes – and it shows.
And if you think that there is only one kind of spud, you are sadly wrong.
Photo right – Mathieu Lott owner and operator of La Belle Patate has a love for the apple of the Earth!
Mathieu, or Matty as his employees and friends call him, lists off the variety of potatoes that he uses and the quantities – thousands of pounds of potatoes come into La Belle Patate to be cleaned, peeled and hand-cut into perfect fries.
Because fries are the bedrock of a great poutine.
Ah Poutine. For the uninitiated, Poutine is a dish of French fries, topped with a thick and dark vegetable based gravy and a macadam of Island made cheese curds. And for those who feel that this might not be the most healthy meal – Poutine is a cruise missile with your arteries in the cross hairs. After a platter of poutine (in our case the Vege BBQ version), two “Steamie” – all dressed steamed hot dogs (and buns) loaded down with pickled cabbage (saur kraut) and mustard – washed down with two lemon Nestea drinks that have about 15 scoops of sugar per tin… Let’s just say that if your pancreas has not packed it in and your arteries have not clogged beyond repair – then the added salt is pushing your blood-pressure into the red zone.
Which is an entirely good and wonderful thing.
We try to get to La Belle Patate once a month for a “correction” in our normally great, border line hippy eating habits – because HEY, our internal organs and cardio-vascular system need to be reminded from time to time who is in charge here!
Lunch for 2 with drinks: $14.
La Belle Patate is located at 1215 Esquimalt Road a half-block past the Civic Center and Esquimalt’s original strip mall. Bon apetit!
Mathieu Lott recently traveled to New York city to check out the burgeoning poutine-scene and found it hopeful but in need of a bit of work…
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.
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Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 8 Chili Prawn Spaghettini · Monday July 5, 2010 by colin newell
Boil enough spaghettini for 2 – 5 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile – heat a saute pan to medium with olive oil – 2 tablespoons
Pan fry the Prawns 2 minutes a side – remove from heat – set aside on paper towel.
Grate 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Once heated, add a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic + 1 teaspoon of chili flakes (adjust to personal taste!).
Photo right – the result… Canon EOS-30D with 55MM Macro lens – F2.5 window light
Saute garlic and chili flakes.
Turn heat down to LOW.
When the pasta is done, drain – reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Add pasta to the garlic and chili mixture – combined with the 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Toss and add 1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Return prawns to pan.
Toss.
Divide into 2 serving plates – covering with extra Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Serve with robust Italian Red Wine!
