Beyond Vancouver : Tiny Bites

Patio favourites in Victoria

4 Comments Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

We’re in the height of summer and that means most nights out I’m looking for a patio to enjoy a drink with my dinner. My critera for a great patio is pretty bare:

Great view
Heat source for when the sun sets
Good drinks

Anything more is gravy. I’ve already talked about Glo Europub and Grill, so here’s a rundown of a few of my other favourite patios in Victoria.

Canoe Brewpub, Marina and Restaurant

beer @ canoe brewpub by sashafatcat (Creative Commons)

Canoe’s restaurant interior design relishes in the fact that it’s placed within a 1894 heritage building, showing off its exposed brick and timber supports with gusto. But today we’re not here to talk about interiors; today we care about patios.

The outdoor terrace overlooks the marina and is west facing. Making it perfect to watch a setting sun while you kick back with one of Canoe’s microbrews,

The Sticky Wicket Pub & Restaurant

The Sticky Wicket by elwino (Creative Commons)

I admit that even if I did not appreciate the food or drink here, Sticky Wicket would still make this list by the fact that there’s a sand volleyball court on the rooftop patio.

I repeat: a sand volleyball court. On. The. Roof.

Great for large gatherings, the normally drop-in courts can be reserved with a minimum food order of a few hundred dollars.

Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

A brisk walk along the water the West of Downtown Victoria, across the Johnson Street bridge lies one of the best brewpubs in the city. And the view from the top floor? It’s the kind where the wide ocean view clears your mind and your soul.

Or maybe that’s a side effect of the micro-brews. While I’m a fan of their hand-pumped stout, a coworker of mine swears by their IPA.

There are many more great patios in Victoria – a couple of hotel restaurants and a one named after a small, narrow boat immediately come to mind.

Chime in in the comments if you have a favourite patio.

Canoe Brewpub, Marina and Restaurant
450 Swift Street | Victoria
(250) 361-1940
canoebrewpub.com

The Sticky Wicket Pub & Restaurant
919 Douglas Street | Victoria
(250) 383-7137 | 1-800-663-7476
strathconahotel.com/the_sticky_wicket_pub___restau.html

Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub
308 Catherine Street | Victoria
(250) 386-2739 | 1-877-838-2739
spinnakers.com

Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Restaurants, Vancouver Island, Victoria

Globetrotting at Glo Europub and Grill

2 Comments Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

Located along Victoria’s Gorge Waterway, Glo Europub and Grill isn’t a restaurant most people will serendipitously pass by and notice. As such, it’s one of Victoria’s worst kept secrets.

Glo Europub and Grill

Their smoked gouda pizza (blackened chicken, cashews, asparagus, gouda) is often reason enough alone to make a stop. Add in being a five minute drive from my office and Glo becomes a favourite for after work drinks.

In the summer, their scenic patio opens up along the water feeding your senses with sights of kayaks and dragon boats racing by as you take a trip around the world with their city named martinis. I’ve never quite made it around the world in one sitting, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying!

If the martinis don’t pique your interest, Glo also has an extensive wine list with certain bottles priced at just a few dollars over cost on Wednesdays. By pure coincidence, I assure you, I used to take my project team to here after work on Wednesdays.

Glo Europub and Grill
104 – 2940 Jutland Road | Victoria
(250) 385-5643
gloeuropub.com

Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Restaurants, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Wine

Battle of Chicago deep dish pizzerias

3 Comments Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

Although – or perhaps because – my youth was spent working at a pizza chain, I never truly developed a great fondness for pizza. Except under certain stringent conditions, that is.

The pizza must be cold.
So must the beer.
Underwear, but nothing else, must be worn.

Under these conditions, pizza was a god-send. Otherwise? It was either fun event in the kitchen or a quick fix for a lazy night.

It was with these underlying beliefs that I had a transcendant experience in Chicago during last year’s Lollapallooza festival, and no I’m not talking about seeing Radiohead live in concert.

Being my first time in Chicago, there were two things I was told to experience: Deep dish pizza, and delays at O’hare airport.

I ‘succeeded’ on both counts.

The hotel concierge claimed there are three main restaurants that compete for whose deep dish cuisine reigns supreme. We made it to two of the candidates, Edwardo’s Natural Pizza and Pizano’s Pizza & Pasta.

Edwardo’s was up first and the shear weight and girth of the pizza pie was enough to make my jaw drop. Never before had the term pizza pie been so apt.

At Pizano’s, the dish was served in a cast iron skillet.

In both cases the pizza turned out to have surprisingly little grease, and the crust, oh the crust! It’s a year later and I’m still holding on to the flavours lingering in my memories.

To be honest, my expectations coming in were that the stories told would fall victim of overhype and that I would still hold the opinion that pizza, ultimately, is just pizza.

I was wrong. Pizza will never be the same again.

Edwardo’s Natural Pizza
521 S Dearborn St | Loop, Chicago
(312) 939-3366