Island's Best series - The Crow and Gate · Monday July 2, 2007 by colin newell
In 1972
something truly magical happened. No, it was not the year I was born. If only.The Government of British Columbia introduced changes to the beverage industry to allow neighborhood pubs in the Province.
Click the image at right for an enlarged view
Like the specialty coffee revolution (currently well underway in Canada) the arrival of the Pub on the Canadian dining scene would forever change the fabric of the eating out experience.
So let’s celebrate shall we? Please raise a glass to one of Canada’s finest pubs (and I have visited a few); The Crow and Gate Pub in Cedar, British Columbia – a few KM south of Nanaimo.
The C&G is somewhat unique in that it is located kind of in the middle of no where. Well, countryside is not exactly in the middle of no where. Close perhaps. It is a bit of a drive for the average Island resident. From Victoria, it is about one and 1/2 hours at the posted speed limit – just under 100 km. Do yourself a favor. Take the Island Highway straight up along the East Coast of the Island, past Duncan, Chemainus and Ladysmith and turn off at the Cedar road exit. Do not panic – it is probably about 12 km down a series of country roads and there are signs everywhere. The Crow & Gate pub is at 2313 Yellow Point Rd., Cedar, B.C.
The Crow & Gate is a very solid copy of an English pub. It is not a Pub Style restaurant by any stretch. It is a Pub. Keep this in mind if you are a family with children. You must be 19 years of age or older if you wish to partake of the food and drink here.
The Food – Everything is made fresh at the Crow & Gate. Nothing comes out of a can. Typical English favorites include Steak & Mushroom, Steak & Kidney Pie, Ploughman’s Lunch, Fried Oysters, Scotch Egg, Melton Mowbray and the like. If you do not like English food at its very best, you are not going to like this stuff. I do and the quality is superlative.
The Drink – The Crow & Gate does not serve watered down American Beer. This is the real deal folks; Kilkenny, Smithwicks, Guinness and a wide selection of local and regional artisan beers are on tap. The beer and the food are the perfect compliment to each other.
My meal – In the photo above, I ordered the Steak and Mushroom Pie. It is, as always, the best I have ever tasted. Perfect pastry surround a wonderful beef stew filling with just the right amount of beef gravy. Each meal comes with a serving of side green salad and potato salad. Pate is an option if you are eating with someone who has ordered a Ploughmans. The Pate here is incredible.
Summary – If you like food and drink (and who doesn’t?) and are visiting Vancouver Island, the Crow & Gate Pub is a must do while you are here. No exception.
In a continuing series on Island food and drink, Colin Newell critiques the best of the best among Island establishments.
Pumpkin Espresso Muffins · Monday July 2, 2007 by colin newell
I wanted to make my Kitchen Sink muffins tonight but I did not do a weekend shop and I had little to no Whole Wheat flour…
I did have 1/2 of a can of Organic pumpkin from a previous muffin experiment; Pumpkin & Praline muffins… Yea, they were good. I will write up those bad-boys when I get a moment.
click on the image at left for a slightly larger view
Anyway – here are the ingredients.
Note – the pulverized Pecan meal is totally DIY – I used the business end of a K-Bar hunting knife and a big-ass stoneware mug in place of a mortar and pestle – you know, to help maintain the manly-man aspect of this recipe.
1 cup White Flour – 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 TSP Baking Soda – 1 TSP Baking powder
Pinch Salt
1/2 TSP ea. – Nutmeg, Cinnamon and ground Ginger
1/2 cup pulverized pecans
1 Egg – 1/4 cup sugar – 1/3 cup Veg.Oil –
1 cup pre-cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup Milk
Instant espresso powder
Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl.
Pulverize 1/2 cup whole or chopped Pecans into powder or meal.
Add to dry mix.
Make a well in center of dry mix.
Beat egg in bowl. Add sugar, cooking oil, pumpkin and milk.
Pour into center of dry mix well
Stir long enough to just moisten everything. Do not over mix.
Divide batter between 12 muffin tins.
Sprinkle tops of uncooked muffin batter with espresso powder.
Bake at 400 degrees (F) for 15 minutes.
Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm, with butter and lots of hot coffee!
Fishing for lunch... Barb's place · Monday June 25, 2007 by colin newell
I am a big fan of Fish and Chips. Everywhere I go, I have to try and find the best Fish and Chips that the city has to offer.
Barb’s Place in Fisherman’s Wharf, Victoria B.C. Canada is a stop I make a few times a year.
Let me just say that I have been coming to Barb’s for years… since Barb actually ran it. She does not anymore – Barb’s was sold to some dude a few years ago.
My overall experience, once I got past the sticker shock ($17.50 for a 2 piece Halibut and Fries meal!) was, well, blah.
It is not that exciting and certainly not worth the gold they demand for a floating kiosk style joint. The fish is OK for a product that is delivered to their door. The batter is bland and a tad soggy. The fries are mushy and instantly forgotten.
The upside of the Barb’s experience is sharing a table with tourists. There is always talk-story and you will always make new friends here. And if that isn’t enough, the buskers are entertaining and original and sea lions feed a few feet away.
In the end analysis, Barb’s Place could well be the most expensive order of Fish and Chips in North America – I do not know.
All I know is… It is OK. Nothing to write home about. They do have a captive audience here – I mean, tourists wander off of cruise ships within a few blocks so I think the pricing here comes down to the “what the market will bear” economic theory.
For some reason on this particular Saturday, I was inclined to order some Onion Rings ($4.50) — possibly the most expensive order of Onion Rings anywhere.
Good thing this is enough food for my wife and I. Yes, we share a double order of Halibut and Fries.
With Onion Rings and a single refillable “pop” – that comes to $27 or so.
On a scale of 1 to 10, this Fish and Chip meal comes in at about a 6. I have had way better for less.
In a continuing series on food and drink on Vancouver Island, Colin explores the good, the bad, and the downright tastless.
Hanging with Brad and Paris · Monday June 18, 2007 by colin newell
If you are visiting Victoria B.C. Canada for the 1st time and want to get some breakfast (lunch or dinner for that matter too…) without leaving with that empty feeling – then maybe, just maybe Lady Marmalade is for you.
Tucked in at 608 Johnson Street near Government Street, Lady Marmalade appears to be little more than a hole in the wall – but do not be deceived. There is space aplenty within – and once past the front door and the seat yourself sign, you will find 30+ tables. No, I didn’t count them all — but this particular Saturday morning, all of them were filled except one.
I have always thought that the secret to a successful cafe (or diner, bistro, restaurant, etc) is taking the tried and true and putting a quirky spin on it.
You know – flirt with the outrageous without going that catastrophic one step too far that leave diners bewildered.
Lady Marmalade is also that place.
Take the Eggs Benedict – perhaps the best in town.
Take the old recipe you know and trust… and throw it out the window.
Add wild salmon… and sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and arugula… well, you get the idea. It was good. Very good.
Lady Marmalade is popular with the Grunge meets Oceans-11 crowd. Slacker dude Vince Vaughn, Brad Pitt wannabees show up in muscle Tee’s and homemade costume jewelry… big sunglasses… the works.
Girls outnumber the boys in Paris Hilton form; pizza sized sunglasses, mini-skirts/shorts and lululemon is de riguer…
Young people with lots of apetite for carbs after a nasty night out.
Our first visit to Lady Marmalade was during a full house kitchen slam – everything was flying.
The only downside to my experience was cold food.
Ok. So the Benny was room temperature. I can excuse this totally because the place was busier than a train station.
The hollandaise on the Benny was perfect – I have never had better.
My other bone to pick was the bread with breakfast – it was a kind of rye bread from a local bakery “Wild-Fire” that was sliced too thin – as a result it came across more biscotti or melba-toast than real toast.
Oh yea – and who serves a teeny bowl of salad with a breakfast plate?
All in all, I would rate Lady Marmalade on Johnson Street a solid 8 out of 10.
Colin Newell lives and eats in Victoria – He wanders the streets of many Canadian cities looking for genuinely good eats. In this continuing series on food and drink in Western Canada, Colin stresses the point that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
