Food West Coast Texas Chili Vancouver Island Style · Wednesday June 25, 2008 by colin newell
Did this recipe two nights ago with some fine tuning so I thought it would run it again. Vegetarians (love you dearly): Avert your eyes!
2 pounds AAA Angus Sirloin, Strip loin or whatever is available
2 tablespoon corn oil
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
24 fluid ounces of beer, medium ale being the best
2 (16-ounce) container salsa
60 tortilla chips
2 chilpotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped
2 tablespoon adobo or chilpotle hot sauce
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the oil and salt. Set aside.
Heat a 6-quart heavy-bottomed pot over high heat until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl.
Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the pot to de-glaze the pot.
Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pot along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chilpotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, and ground cumin and stir to combine. Cover pot. Cook for 40 minutes at medium heat. Serve immediately.
Goes well with more beer and more corn chips.
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Victoria B.C. Canada - Sunday around town - Beer burgers etc · Sunday June 22, 2008 by colin newell
It’s late in the afternoon. The chores are done. And you haven’t had anything but breakfast.
What do you do on a late June afternoon in Victoria B.C. Canada when the Sun is shining down and there is a thirst and a hunger that needs to be quenched?
Well. Heck. You head to the Irish Times Pub that’s where!
This cavernous joint on Government at the head of Bastion Square is a favorite of locals and visitors alike. On a day like today the patio was popular so we tucked inside at one of their cosy tables. We were immediately attended to by a bubbly young waitress – you know the type; about 6’ 4” tall, fashion-forward type with a pocket-square sized mini-skirt… made of a sample swatch of, you guessed it, a red tartan. Oddly, all the gal wait staff are dressed identically. The male staff wear… kilts – knee length by the way.
The Irish Times has about 32 beer on tap – which might be a record for Victoria. We quickly zeroed on the Kilkenny . It is a significantly lighter version of Guinness – that is because Guinness is a stout and Killkenny is an Irish Cream Ale, yea?
The Irish Times has been open for a couple of years now – this is our first visit. The owner of the I.T. also has the Penny Farthing in the oak Bay Village and is working on a 3rd outlet on Government called The Bard and Banker if I am correct – opening next Friday – June 27!
Oh yea. The Burgers were spot on. We had them with Chips – all dressed.
The holy trinity: Burgers, Beers and Tartan skirts. Good as it gets.
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Heron Rock Bistro #4-435 Simcoe Review · Sunday June 15, 2008 by colin newell
And now for something completely different…
Heron Rock Bistro, in the historic James Bay neighborhood of Victoria B.C. is one of a handful of 3rd wave restaurants focused on locally sourced meats, poultry, veg and creatures of the sea.
And where they succeed is – is taking great ingredients and carefully preparing them in an environment not so formal that it becomes a parody of itself.
The Heron Rock Bistro is anchored by sharp, attractive, attentive and informed staff – and in my books, this is always a reflection of what is happening in the kitchen.
My two female companions had the same thing – the steak fettuccine: It was perfectly prepared with the AAA Striploin attentively prepared to the gals discerning specifications.
I had Moules Frites – steamed Island mussels and hand-cut french fries in a cilantro curry cream – the fries served with a garlic aoli.
Overall – I would brazenly put the Heron Rock bistro in the same category as Victoria’s legendary Cafe Brio and Brasserie l’ecole. Still, I need to pop by a few more times to get a better feel for their consistency. Concluding, I hear from regulars who eat here almost weekly – and the rave never ends.
Quattro Stagione Cafe 7060 West Saanich Rd review · Sunday June 15, 2008 by colin newell
Quattro Stagione – I have no idea what it means.
Quattro Stagione is a restaurant on West Saanich road on the Saanich peninsula.
From the outside it appears to be a bit of a dive or visually unstructured. I mean, there is nothing to indicate here that there is anything outstanding or unusual on the menu. Patience yields a surprise however.
World famous coffee-tamper artisan (and vegetarian) Reg Barber swears by the joint. His shop is in Brentwood (no, the Keating industrial park actually…) and he lunches here.
So while picking up some stuff from Reg Barber, my wife and I popped in for a late lunch (3 hours before having a fabulous dinner at the Heron Rock Bistro – my next review)
Ok. The food here is really good. It is of a middle-eastern bent; falafel, pita’s, wraps, intriguing sandwiches and very original and healthful salads.
Which were very tastefully and artistically served.
The only minor downside at this late hour in the afternoon, 1/2 hour before closing:
Was the owners kids – a 7 year old boy and 11 year old girl kept buzzing in and out of the cafe… endlessly.
We were sitting out at a sidewalk table and the 7 year old boy spent 3 or 4 minutes running around us, hiding behind me giggling and mugging… at some point asking me if I wanted to hear a song with rude lyrics…
I think my bored and slightly irritated expression drove him away… or his boredom took over.
The 11 year old daughter roller-bladed non-stop… into the cafe, out of the cafe, into the cafe, out of the cafe… I am not sure… food safe violation ? No? Yes?
Overall verdict: Really great creative food. But come mid-day before schools out!
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