Let's do lunch... · Thursday February 15, 2007 by colin newell
One of my favorite places for a meal on Vancouver Island is the Crow & Gate Pub at Cedar south of Nanaimo.
I know. I know. This is one of the best kept secrets of many Islanders (and mainlanders for that matter…) and I know full well I am going to be paying dearly for letting this cat out of the bag!
Ok. So it is a pub you say. So what?
Well (more secrets about to be let out of the bag…)
The Crow & Gate is the most authentic English pub you will find in North America (I know – hyperbole)
It is as if it was transported lock, stock and barrel from England.
Except for a couple of small details.
The food is way better than the average English pub…
and way cheaper too!
I dare say I have had virtually everything on the menu; Steak Pie, Oyster Pub plate (My god! Yum!), Ploughmans Lunch… and on and on and on.
All menu items (made at the time you request them) are under 10 dollars (average price being about $7.50 Canadian)
Did I mention the food is really, really, really good?
Secrets out.
Oh yea. Why the Heli photo above?
Well. Short story. A small group of us were at the C&G a year or so ago when we heard the familiar Whop-Whop of a Bell Jet Ranger coming in for a landing… a landing in the middle of nowhere.
Picture this: Chopper cools down. Pilot jumps out and sprints to the pub back entrance. Pilot whispers a question in a waitresses ear. She nods no. Pilot returns to helicopter. Helicopter powers up and flys away.
I could not resist. I went over and asked the gal what the pilot wanted.
“Steak and Kidney Pie” she said.
“We were out…” she concluded.
It seems they get regular high-rollers from Vancouver flying in for a quick lunch.
Geeze – at 500 to 1000$/hour for a Bell Jet Ranger and pilot you would think they would call ahead.
Lighten up... with Blueberry Cashew Biscotti · Tuesday January 30, 2007 by colin newell
In all fairness, this is an adaptation from the Cranberry-Candied Ginger biscotti from the Christmas issue of EAT Magazine. I like coffee, as you all know, and there is nothing better than a rock-hard biscotti with a cup of rich, hot and freshly brewed joe. They go hand in hand.
For some, baking biscotti is a bit of a hassle. I mean, you have to kind of 1/2 bake it and bake it again. No problem for me. I live for hassles so I have made this a fun one. Read on and enjoy.
I did not have any cranberries. Nor did I have candied ginger.
So here we go.
2.5 cups of all purpose flour | 1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger | 2 large eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon | 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder | 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp baking soda | 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 tsp salt | 1/2 cup unsalted ground cashews
1/2 cup softened butter |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
In a medium sized bowl, blend or sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl toss in the softened butter. Add sugar and blend til creamy. You will need a fairly robust blender for this from here on in.
Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract.
Gradually add in the dry to the egg/sugar/butter mixture.
Blend until a dough starts to form.
Toss in your blueberries and ground nuts.
Knead into a ball with your hands.
Remove from bowl to floured surface. Divide ball of dough into 2 equal sized pieces and roll them into 2 12” long loaves.
Flatten loaves slightly and square off the ends, placing them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light brown.
Remove from oven and cool for 5-7 minutes.
With a serrrated knife, cut the loaves (along the bias) into biscotti sized (1” thick) slices.
Return each biscotti (standing on edge) to the parchment paper covered cookie sheet and return to the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are dried out. Do not over brown.
Remove from oven, cool and place in air-tight container.
Makes about 2 dozen biscotti. Cheers!
Comments? [1]
Mussels Marinara... goodbye my salty friends! · Saturday January 13, 2007 by colin newell
I know that my readers from CoffeeCrew.Com think I am a swarthy tough guy that catches bullets with his teeth, busts international drug cartels completely alone and roams the mean streets of Victoria at night, in an annoying scratchy man-outfit from Lululemon maintaining law and order…
But no. I am just like you. and you. and you and you.
Except for one minor detail.
This is the first time I have cooked with truely live ingredients.
Mussels. From Saltspring Island – a Gulf Island near Victoria.
Sure, I work with coffee all the time and I think of coffee as a truely living entity… but that is not the point. This is live food.
I bought them. I cleaned them (re-cleaned them actually) and prepared them for their glorious moment.
As I held each mussel in my hand, checking their integrity (liveliness I guess…) and bathing them in a soothing and cool final bath of water, I apologized and thanked each one for the briny goodness to follow…
Mussels with Marinara Sauce
A warming dish to serve on a dreary winter day.
Makes: 3 to 4 servings
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium purple onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 to 4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine
14 oz can diced tomatoes and 2 tsp. tomato paste
pinch dried oregano and sugar
pinch chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs fresh mussels*
chopped chinese parsley (cilantro)
Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, and garlic. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened. Add wine, tomatoes, oregano, sugar, salt, chili flakes and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high and simmer sauce 5 minutes. Add mussels, cover and cook until mussels open (discard any that do not). Sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve as is with lots of warm crusty bread. Serves 3 to 4, depending on appetite.
Note: Rinse mussels in cold water before cooking, removing any beard-like material from their sides. Discard any that do not close when tapped.
This dish goes down extra-well with a very tall glass of Red Wine.
It helps ease the guilt…
My dairy-free waffle or pancake recipe · Sunday July 9, 2006 by colin newell
Perhaps more than life itself, I love breakfast. If I fail to start my day with lots of carbs and a bit of protein, I might as well stay in bed.
A typical morning for me includes granola, fruit, yoghurt, multi-grain toast and water.
I know what you are thinking: No coffee and no juice? No. Never.
Coffee is a ritual that comes later – Almost always around 10AM.
Lately, I have been doing way more baking. Muffins. Cookies. Waffles.
I sous-chef for 100% of our home cooking, but I tend to nibble more at work. So, in addition to making all of my own coffee and the coffee for the lads in the lab, I make all my own baked goods for my weekdays.
But back to breakfast: I love breakfast and we all know that breakfast tends to include dairy in some form or another. It is hard to find a work-around. But you can. Here is my dairy free waffle recipe. This is not purely vegan, but I suppose with a bit of work it could be.
Ingredients and instructions.
1 3/4 cup of all-purpose unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Egg yolks
1 3/4 cups premium quality Soy, Coconut or Almond milk
1/2 cup cooking oil, ideally canola oil
2 Egg whites
In a large mixing bowl (which will ultimately hold several days worth of waffle mix) stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a smaller mixing bowl beat egg yolks. Add Soy, almond or coconut milk, cinnamon and oil.
Add your wet to the flour mix all at once. Stir or fold until mixed but still slightly lumpy.
In yet-another-bowl whip egg white to form a stiff peak.
Gently fold egg whites into soya-flour-oil mixture leaving a few whisps of egg white visible.
Heat waffle iron letting waffle mix work for about 7 minutes.
Pour batter onto preheated iron. Do not open while the waffles are cooking! Timing will vary depending on your iron.
Serve with butter, maple syrup, fresh blueberries and hot, hot coffee!
Enjoy! This recipe updated September 2016
Colin is a Victoria resident and food lover that is constantly searching for the perfect cup of coffee. His blog has been on the air since 1995… but who’s counting?
Comment [44]
Mini-restaurant review - Zambri's Victoria · Saturday July 1, 2006 by colin newell
Attended a retirement dinner last night at Zambri’s Restaurant. Located in a faceless Yates Street Mall just up from Quadra Street, Zambri’s has made a name for themselves serving the freshest of slow-food, sourced from all-local suppliers of organic veg and meat.
Slow-food.
What is it?
No… No, it is not slow service. Quite the opposite.
In Zambri’s case, it is a wonderful example of quality dishes prepared fresh and served in no perceptible rush.
And rush we did not.
We arrived (on time) at 7 PM.
We were immediately handed a sparkling wine beverage.
We had one of the party rooms in the back. It is a bit sterile with a careful selection of local art hung on an otherwise unremarkable wall.
The windows looks out over the View Towers entrance. If you know Victoria, you know the View Towers. It used to be a very lively residence housing some of Victoria’s most colorful individuals.
Anyho. After all the guests had arrived and settled in, platters of antipasti started to filter in. They were good. All good. Nothing out of the ordinary mind you – just predictable offerings like brucshetta, polenta, deep fried cauliflower, tuna and potato salad and the like.
Again, at Zambri’s it is not about knocking you out of the park with drop dead amazing flavors – it is about the simple things done right.
Our main course was an offering of Fish (Salmon) or Poultry (Chicken), again simply prepared with a few twists.
There were two choices for dessert: Tiramisu or Pizelle with fresh organic strawberries. They were both wonderful.
This was a group event. My wife and I will be going back for the romantic couple experience!
Slow-food indeed! We finally left (almost the last people out) at about 11:15PM! I had about one glass of sparkling white-wine, a half-glass of a mystery red wine and a mug of 1/2-Caf with my tiramisu. I was one satisfied diner.
And you will be too! Bon apetit folks!
