Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 12 Fish and Chips · Saturday July 11, 2009 by colin newell
Vancouver Island has some awesome Fish and Chip joints – but nothing compares to the Rock Cod Cafe in Cowichan Bay, on the Eastern Side of the Island south of Duncan, British Columbia.
We get up to Cow Bay a couple of times a year – and today’s visit was wicked – it was easily 32 degrees © – about 90 (F) in brilliant sunshine. And tucking into a patio table at the Rock Cod with a pint of iced tea in front of Andrea and I was Da Kine.
I rave about Fish and Chips a lot on this Island and most of the places are fair to midland – some are downright extraordinary. Some are merely dead in the water.
The Rock Cod rules because the fish is fresh, the batter crisp and tasty – and the finished product is never greasy tasting.
Today I subbed in Onion rings and they were utterly satisfying.
With a small side of tartar sauce and a tablespoon of slaw, this was lunch perfection.
For those visiting the area, by all means visit the Cowichan Bay website – there are some other gems like the Masthead Restaurant and The Udder Guys Ice cream parlor.
On Vancouver Island, this is the good life!
Spring into the Victoria night life - with the Shark Club · Saturday April 25, 2009 by colin newell
When you are 19 to 34 years of age, it is commonplace to put on some tacky threads and hit the night life – to head to the other side of the tracks – to see how the other half lives…
And when you turn 35… Well…
There comes a time when you stop going out on the town…
Which is utter nonsense.
Now unless you have popped out 2 or 3 kids and have been lost at sea for the prime of your life, there are many great reasons to grab the car keys or the cab fare and seek out the gritty side of the downtown.
Example: I am coming up on my 5th century on the Planet Earth…
Duh. I mean… my 5th decade. Yea. That is what I meant.
And I have one very important reason to go out on a date night from time to time:
A much younger wife.
Oh. And the lack of kids.
The Shark Club (many locations in Victoria, Vancouver and the interior…) is custom made for a tasty and thirst quenching couple of hours on the town.
But you have to love at least one of these four things:
- Girls in short black dresses and revealing tops balancing trays of savory snacks and steins of local beer.
- Crowds of girls on the town in party dresses.
- Parched and beefy dudes in plaid shirts with a desire for cold beer and/or girls in party dresses.
- Loud and colorful sporting events on the High-definition flat-screen TVs (of which there are about 28 in each bar).
It is a fun place, really. The wait staff are sweet, mature and ultra professional and courteous. I have never seen an order of apps (we ordered calamari, ginger spicey beef and BBQ Chicken wings) and 2 pints of ale come to a table faster – it could not have been more than 5 minutes from order to delivery. The food at the Shark club is a click ahead of places like Boston Pizza and Earl’s – and the eye candy for both genders is mind numbing.
Alas, I only have eyes for one – and she always comes home with me.
So get out there… into the night. Because, it won’t bite.
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Fall Colors Canadian Style - La Belle Patate Esquimalt British Columbia · Saturday November 1, 2008 by colin newell
La Belle Patate is a little hole in the wall restaurant at 1215 Esquimalt Road a half-block past the Civic Center and Esquimalt’s original strip mall.
Their specialty is Montreal smoked meat sandwiches and Poutine. For the uninitiated, Poutine is a dish of French fries, topped with a thick beef gravy and a macadam of cheese curds. And for those who feel that this might not be the most healthy combination of ingredients – They are completely ignorant to the fact that Poutine is a cruise missile with your arteries in the cross hairs.
Yes. It is that good.
And today we actually ate there. Ok. Here is the story:
Baker/owner of Bubby Roses Bakery, Mark Engels, has been singing the praises of La Belle Patate for some time now – and although we did drive by a couple of times, noting that the general feeling of the neighborhood is not unlike some calmer parts of East L.A. – we swallowed our fear, renewed our life insurance and pulled into the parking lot – a parking lot that served a Thai restaurant, a beauty salon oddly called The Daisy Pot and god knows what else.
Walking through the doors we were greeted with a hearty Hello there! from the owner and staff – We ordered a smoked meat sandwich, a hot-dog and a small order of Poutine. This would turn out to be particularly bold for me… and challenging.
Their Montreal smoked sandwich is a perfect balance of meat (about 6 to 8 ounces) on two cardboard thin slices of perfect rye bread – braced on a paper plate with a pucker inducing pickle. The hot dog is steamed and served on the standard bun with cheese, onions and any assortment of common condiments. The Poutine, which arguably should be served on a skull and cross bones patterned plate, is as described above; fries, gravy, cheese curds… is so comfort food that every bite is yummy inducing. We washed it all down with a tin of Nestea Iced tea – but opted to get a bottle of Spruce Beer on the way out the door – Spruce Beer is non-alcoholic and its flavor (carbonated) defies explanation – you either love it or hate it. We love it.
Lunch for two with more protein that is socially responsible: 22 dollars.
Would we return? In a heartbeat. That is, of course… if my heart keeps beating.
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Fall Colors Canadian Style - White Rabbit Candy Go ask alice · Wednesday September 24, 2008 by colin newell
If you work in a busy office or lab like I do, you will know that the summer days are often powered with strong coffee, home made muffins and mystery candy from China.
And one of these tasty confections making the rounds was White Rabbit creamy candy. It is cheap and you can buy it by the bucket full.
But unlike the Kopi Luwak, I did not eat the candy.
Working on a University campus that is patrolled by hundreds of rabbits, many of them white (and decidedly inbred), I avoid candies and snacks with the brand name, flavor or ingredient; Rabbit, Student, Professor and Textbook… I mean, it only makes sense.
White Rabbit candy is exported to Chinatowns around the world, including those in Toronto and Vancouver, says CBC’s China correspondent Anthony Germain.
The news of contamination of White Rabbit candy comes a day after the CFIA advised Canadians not to consume three Mr. Brown 3-in-1 instant coffee products — imported from China — because they may contain melamine.
Mr. Brown. Your coffee keeps me warm. In more ways than one.
On Sunday, the agency also warned people not to consume Nissin Cha Cha Dessert, a Chinese dessert mix, made with Yili Pure Milk that was possibly tainted with melamine.
Nearly 53,000 children have been sickened and four have died in China after being fed baby formula tainted with melamine.
IOC Connection alert: Chinese physicians alerted the Chinese government prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics about the milk issue. The Chinese government buried the news (and naturally the ICO is complicit) – the result dead children.
In September 2008, taking candy from a baby is now a good thing. It is a necessary thing. And by the way, take the milk too!
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