Summer food fun and drink - great food at Santiago`s Victoria · Sunday September 7, 2008 by colin newell
Everyone needs or should have an alternative kitchen. That special place for celebrating special things… like Tuesdays… or the third Sunday of the week… or a crescent moon… or that you and yours have survived another day in the paradise that is Victoria B.C. Canada.
Days where you do not want to cook. Days where paradise doesn’t seem so great. Days that you just want to be frivolous and let someone bring you food in exchange for a few bucks.
Santiago’s in scenic and historic James Bay, Victoria is not only that place (for us) but I think it is the place for a few other locals (and tourists) as well. Santiago’s restaurant is a stones throw from the inner harbor and the economic tourist heart of greater Victoria. Another good thing. For us, it is a 7 minute drive from our miserable neighborhood of million dollar homes in Rockland. How depressing is that?
Anyway – we have been going to Santiago’s several times a month for a couple of years now – and I guess it’s time we let a few people in on the secret.
Their menu is somewhat Chilean. Somewhat Thai. Somewhat Spanish.
And while some might find this a bit of a mish-mash… We find it delightful.
Where else are you going to go when you are not sure if you are in the mood for the cities best Nacho’s, or one of the cities best burgers, or one of Victoria’s best bowl of Chipotle Mussels, or an awesome quesadilla?
The menu at Santiago’s is extensive, yes – but they do it all well, really well.
And consistent? I have had some of the dishes over a dozen times and I have never been let down. There is never an evening where the kitchen is off. It has yet to happen for us.
I do have a few favorites: The chipotle prawns is a balance of heat and delicate flavors – its heat is not for the faint of heart. I get it with a side of rice (arguably the best rice in town – blazing hot with the consistency of snow flakes…) and I always have their food with a sleeve of draft beer. Their small order of Nachos is large enough for 3 people and comes with an in-house Salsa, Guacamole and corn chips. Yes, they make their own corn chips! Finally, my wife loves the Chipotle Mussels. It is hot and creamy with a seductive smokiness – and served with a brick of fresh bread for dipping. You will be dipping. Trust me.
We have been there dozens of times now and I love these folks. After a hearty meal, they always offer up the dessert menu – and we have succumbed once – for an ice cream treat that is suitable for 2 or 3 people and big spoons.
At under $40 for two, including drinks, Santiago’s in James Bay-Inner Harbor Victoria represents fabulous value and incredible eats!
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Summer food fun and drink - Slow food - Prawn and Goat Cheese Linguini · Tuesday August 26, 2008 by colin newell
Nothing says Summer love better than a nice batch of pasta topped with fresh local ingredients… like Goat cheese from the Saltspring Island Cheese Company – And when we visited the Farm store off of Beaverpoint Road on Reynolds, we were delighted by… well… everything.
Photo above – Canon EOS-30D 50MM Macro F11 Camry 300 Watt/s Softbox
Frankly, Andrea and I did not know what to expect. Sheep? Goats? Goat herders? Julie Andrews? Apparently, the sheep and goats were on a coffee break because the only sign of life were the staff hard at work on their products. And the tasting room! Holy fromage heavens! Every product in their dairy roster was available for noshing along with a wide variety of crispy crunchy things. And to be fair – we found ourselves here because we had just visited Salt Spring Vineyards and the neighborly Garry Oak Winery – in all seriousness readers, this has to be the safest wine tour on the planet Earth. Salt Spring Island has two wineries… so even if you swallow, you are not going to get hooped or looped if you are behind the wheel – Some of the wine sampling was paired with canapé made from the local chèvre and locally made crackers. Conspiracy! Anyway… here is what we did with the cheese… at least… some of it!
Prawn and Goat Cheese Linguini
12 Prawns – Cleaned
1/2 cup sliced white Onions
6 asparagus spears
1 Roma tomato – chopped
1/2 Cup marinated artichoke hearts
1/8 cup artichoke heart liquor
3/4 cup Salt Spring Island goat cheese
Pasta of choice
Sauté the prawns in a frying pan with one tablespoon Canola oil 2 minutes each side – drain on paper towel.
Sauté onions and asparagus spears (sliced in 1” pieces) 6 minutes
Add artichoke hearts and liquor – stir to blend
Added chopped tomato
Add 3/4 of the goat cheese – stir to blend over heat until melted
Add 1/2 ladle of pasta water to the vegetable mix and stir to blend.
Just prior to pasta being cooked, put remaining goat cheese in vegetable mixture.
Cover with drained pasta. Basil and pepper to taste.
Stir to mix.
Return prawns to dish for a final blend.
Serves 2 – Wine pairing: Red Rooster Meritage
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Summer Food Fun and Drink - Cafe Brio reviewed in Victoria · Sunday August 17, 2008 by colin newell
There are 3 reasons to go to a restaurant like Cafe Brio.
1.) You are entertaining good friends from out of town and need them to feel comfortable short of strapping on your own apron and making them a home cooked meal…
2.) You are entertaining bad friends from out of town and need to placate them as fast as possible before they summon the Mothra and destroy everything you know and love…
3.) You are out with that special someone and you want to be able to turn that special event (It`s the 2nd Tuesday of the month, or Hey, look, it`s raining! or Wow, look how well I loaded the dishwasher!) into a really special event where you both feel relaxed, comfortable and, in all ways, loved.
Cafe Brio is that place – and in a city of 350,000, there are few places that can handle all these critical situations with aplomb and grace.
So Today. Sunday. Was selection number 3. Andrea and I decided that no reason was reason plenty to treat ourselves to one of Victoria`s best restaurants. You know, sometimes the most joy extracted from an event is when the event was planned, like milliseconds earlier… and today was no exception to that rule.
And the moment you walk through the doors at Cafe Brio, and are greeted and seated by owner/partner Greg Hays, you know everything is going to be perfect.
So we ordered a 16 ounce Rib-Eye from the legendary Quist Family Island Farm (Cowichan Valley) and a suitably fat Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon with the frite and garlic aoli. Yes, that is a 16 ounce to share. Medium-rare. And spot on.
And within the first few bites and sips, the stresses melt away. I comment to Andrea that Cafe Brio is like Rick`s Cafe from the movie Casablanca – “What do you mean, there is a War going on out there?” Cafe Brio is the food equivalent of a back rub. As familiar as an old friend and as dependable as gravity. If Cafe Brio does not satiate every food group requirement and emotional need, then there is nothing we can do for you.
Cafe Brio Restaurant is located at 944 Fort St.,Victoria, B.C. – a few short blocks up from Douglas Street and the inner harbor. They advise reservations which you can make at 250-383-0009 or Toll-Free at 1-866-270-5461 – but if it was a day like today; raining gum drops… you can probably walk in at 6 PM and find a wide variety of great tables to pick from.
Epilog – We were sated after Steak and Wine… but to top things off, we had coffee, Crème brûlée and an ounce or so of Calvados
Life is good.
Summer food fun and drink - Prima Strada Pizzeria Cook Street Victoria · Saturday August 9, 2008 by colin newell
My mother grew up in Montreal, Quebec Canada in the thirties and forties – in one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods the city had to offer. Heck, she had Oscar Peterson’s family as neighbors no less and actually got to sit in on jam sessions – Her neighborhood also included many first generation Italian families. And they shared their homes, their food and culture with everyone and anyone with an appetite.
When pizza places start to pop up in Victoria in the mid-sixties, she used to scoff at the menu citing: “This is not pizza! I will show you what Pizza is… the way the Montreal Italian families used to make…”
Her recipe: A very special dough. Left over tomato sauce from spaghetti.
And one very, very hot wood oven… 500 degrees (F) or more if she pushed it.
I know what you are thinking: But what did she put on the pizza?
I just told you.
In August 2008, Prima Strada Pizzeria’s arrival in the Cook Street village in Victoria brings some of that original and authentic Napoli style pizza – to a neighborhood, a city no less… eager to try something other than factory style pizza. You know the kind; 35 possible toppings and a crust so soggy that it’s inedible.
Pizzeria Prima Strada has gone back to the basics; 5 or 6 different styles and each one with only a small handful of ingredients. The Napoletana for instance, has tomato, garlic, anchovies and oregano. That’s what I am talking about.
Their Pizze is baked in a wood fired oven rated at about 800 degrees (F) – while we watched, Pizza went in one or two at a time and came out in under 3 minutes. The kitchen area hummed like a hydroelectric station and the floor staff couriered the fresh baked main event to tables within seconds of its ejection from the oven. We found the floor staff to be informed, passionate and motivated towards educating the customers without being overarching. All good.
On our first visit to Prima Strada, we tried the Salsiccia Piccanta; Fennel sausage, tomato, real mozzarella and roasted bell pepper.
Watching the preparation of the pizza from start to finish is oddly appealing, highly appetizing and ultimately satisfying as it arrives at your table (or bar position as in our case…) as fresh and hot as it can possibly be.
And the first bites? Personally, the taste experience of re-living something as simple as pizza from your childhood… Well, it is a powerful thing. On any other night, I may have been crying into my beer – tears of joy of course.
My mama is now 80 years old and I think she would be proud of what Prima Strada has pulled off. For me, her opinion would speak volumes.
But decide for yourself. Pizzeria Prima Strada has salads, some simple antipasti and a small selection of dessert gelato and sorbetto. Wine pairings appear moderately conservative and tasteful for this menu (Andrea and I had beer…)
We will be back soon. real soon.
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Summer food fun and drink - Some of Victoria's best · Friday August 8, 2008 by colin newell
It must be pretty obvious that I am fond of the food and drink scene in Victoria B.C. Canada – and I am not alone. My wife, Andrea, and I are on a 3 week unstructured break from work. We are spending a tad more time around the Victoria area than I thought we would – but the upside of this is…
More visits to the places we really enjoy.
Photo left – Your editor, Colin Newell, shoots with a Canon EOS-30D and a variety of modern lighting equipment – click pic to super-size
Like the Cafe’s and Cafe-Bakeries. My current number one pick right now is Bubby Roses Bakery (2) on Cook Street and Meares Avenue. Valerie and Mark Engels and their team of food Jedi pack a mind-boggling quantity of home-cooked love into every bite. No wonder. Mark’s attention to detail is not unlike a bald Eagle dropping into a mountain stream with its eyes on the Salmon. It never misses.
I had a visit from Poul Mark of Transcend Coffee, Edmonton, Alberta recently. As we tucked into 2 orders of French Toast, he commented on the samples of coffee he had; double shot of espresso and a macchiato. Keeping in mind that Bubby Roses gets their espresso from Discovery Coffee – “How are the shots”, I asked cautiously… Poul hesitated for a second, “These drinks are way better than Disco – which comes as a bit of a surprise to me…” – “Not me”, I replied. The boys at Bubby’s get the level best from this bean. The people at Discovery could equal it if they worked at it – but they are not going to best Bubby’s on anything. Yea, it is that simple.
If I had to pick one spot down town for a perfect mid-day pick-me-up when hunger calls it would have to be Paradiso De Stelle… The Paradise of Stars is aptly named. The staff look like they are chiseled out of Italian granite – and that is not one word of a lie. If you like looking at young people while they whip up the cities finest Panino Gelati and espressi perfectamente – Then the Paradiso is the place. My buddy Italo has been running this place for over a decade – and he has a new place at the Mayfair Mall. Paradiso de Stelle is one of the best spots (at the base of Bastion Square) for people watching – because with pretty staff come pretty customers – not quite sure how that works… but that is the way it is.
Have a hankering for a coffee and panini on the West side of town? Buon amici’s is to coffee and lunch what Bubby Roses is to wonderful baked goods on the East side of town. Derek and his lovely wife Gina are grand-masters of the perfect latte as well as hosts of an increasingly popular Friday BBQ at their Tyee Road location. Our little secret… to you!
Looking for a wonderful meal in James Bay, Victoria and don’t have a sack of Gold for dinner? Consider the Heron Rock Bistro The Steak Fettuccine or Steak Frite are 2 of my favorites. They have an eclectic menu with suitably quirky wine pairings.
In a World as deeply troubled as our own, we are truly blessed living in Victoria – arguably the most peaceful little corner of our green little orb. Dig in. Enjoy it.
In a continuing series on what’s hot in the Victoria food scene, writer, blogger, photographer and all around decent Man, Colin Newell, reports directly from his plate to you
