Irish Times, Downtown Victoria

Well, the name says it all; Irish Times is an Irish pub in downtown Victoria. Typical of most Irish bars it has some old world charm and a tonne of beers.

Usually, when I go to an Irish pub food is not typically on the fore front of my mind; rather, dark beer. Lucky for me Irish times has a great selection of dark beers and a decent menu which is inspired by traditional UK eats.

Most recently I tried their Bangers and Mash and I must say that it was delicious. Imagine a mound of mashed potatoes, covered in fried cabbage, sauteed mushrooms and a rich helping of delicious gravy; all of which was accompanied by to out of this world lamb sausage. If that wasn't tempting enough it was all served up for under $20.

If the large selection of beer and great food hasn't enticed you yet; Irish times also is a great bar with old world charm and live music.

Check it out, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Dick's Last Resort - Excalibur, Las Vegas NV

Dick's Last Resort isn't your typical restaurant; in fact, Dick's is anything but typical. The biggest difference with Dick's compared to other restaurants is that Dick's has horrible service. However, don't be afraid of the service, bad service is actually Dick's schtick.

The atmosphere is fun, light hearted and rude. Once you understand their way of doing things, Dick's can actually be quite enjoyable with a group of friends and some large alcoholic slushies.

As for the food... it isn't that great, but most people go to Dick's for the experience and the booze.

Spinnakers, Lido & Canoe - Victoria (Waterfront)

Last night some friends and I decided to check out the Picklepub Crawl. The Picklepub Crawl is a self guided pub crawl sponsored by the harbour ferry's and four of Victoria's waterfront pubs (Spinnakers, Lido, Flying Otter & Canoe Brewpub).


Spinnakers - 
The first stop on our tour was Spinnakers. Spinnakers is on the other side of the harbour closer to Songhees. It is a two story brew pub overlooking the water. Spinnakers is well know for great beer, but not so well known for their food.

This being my first visit to Spinnakers, I was quite excited about trying some great beer and maybe some appy's too. While on the Picklepub tour you also get a free appy at each pub provided you are in a group of four. We being a group of eight were supposed to receive two free appy's at each pub we visited.

Unfortunately, for us Spinnakers only offered one appetizer for our large group; in fact, we didn't even get to choose our appetizer, but were given one instead. I now know why Spinnakers isn't know for their food because their food isn't good. The appetizer that was bestowed upon us looked like croutons made from a baguette with some sort of dip that looked and tasted like a combination of mushroom soup and Cheese Wiz.... DISGUSTING!!!!

The service and Spinnakers was much like the food - horrible. The service was slow, unattentive and altogether lack luster.

I will say that Spinnakers makes some decent beer, but lucky for me you can buy it at your local liquor store and are not required to attend their establishment.




Lido Waterfront Bistro - 
Destination # 2 was a new venture for our entire group. We had all heard of Lido, but none of us knew where it was.  Lido is located on the water below Warfside in the hotel.

The first thing I noticed about Lido was the prime waterfront location and huge patio. The second thing was their extremely small interior.

Lido, much unlike Spinnakers, serves up some delicious looking food. Also unlike Spinnakers they had great service and offered our group two appetizers of our choosing from their menu. We settled on the hot wings and chips with artichoke dip. Both appetizers were delicious. The only down side to Lido would be they have a very limited selection of draft beer and no dark beers on tap. Other than that Lido is head and shoulders above Spinnakers for food and service.

Note: if you are going to go to Lido's on a less than favourable night I would suggest going early as it looks like it could fill up quickly.


Canoe Brewpub - 
Our final stop was the Canoe Brewpub which has got to be my favourite pub in all of Victoria. I have written a review before on Canoe and nothing much has changed, they still have delicious beer, good service, a great view & delicious braised beef poutine. If you want to know more about Canoe read my previous review or check out the many other great reviews on Urbanspoon.

P.S. The Picklepub tours are $15 per person and end in mid September. So go soon and check out some Victoria pubs for yourself.

The Beagle Pub - Cook Street Village (Downtown)

Early on a Friday night the Beagle is bustling and tough to find a seat, but with a little patience the servers were able to find a table to seat five.

The first thing that caught my eye in the Beagle wasn't their food, nor the atmosphere; it was, their beer. Friday night the Beagle is pouring up pints of my favorite brewery on Vancouver Island - Phillips for $5.50. In fact the Beagle has a great selection of BC craft breweries on tap; brewery's like Phillips, Whistler, Lighthouse and Driftwood to name a few. I would go back to the Beagle just for their beer. BC has some of the best craft beer makers around, but so many pubs fail to capitalize on the great local beers surrounding them and focus on the lower quality big name breweries.

What goes better with a pint of your favorite beer than pub style hot wings - nothing! The wings at the Beagle were plump, crispy and well coated in hot sauce (I'm guessing Frank's). I quite enjoyed their wings and I am glad I ordered them because others at my table said they aren't known for the quality of their food. However, I would say that the wings are a little pricey - just over $10 for a dozen.

If there is one thing that would bring down my rating of the Beagle it would be this: the service can be quite slow. Now, by no means did I wait half an hour for a drink, but it was slower than other busy pubs I have been to in Victoria.

Overall, the Beagle is a solid pub in a cool neighborhood. Check it out the next time your in the Cook Street Village and tilt back a pint of Chocolate Porter for me.

Bard and Banker, Downtown

I had the most amazing time at the Bard and Banker last night. My wife bought us tickets to Phillips Brewery / Bard and Bankers Autumn four course dinner and beer pairings. As you can guess the beer was sponsored by Phillips Brewery; who in my opinion brew the best beer in Victoria maybe even BC for that matter.

The dinner was a small event with only about 30 tickets being sold. It was held in a small room on the second floor of the Bard and Banker that resembled an old library, it reminded me of something you see in movies, the only thing missing was a nice scotch and a great cigar. Being a smaller room it gave the night a intimate feeling and the layout made it impossible for you not to socialize. The seating was more of a 'family style' with 10 guests to a table. Adjacent to the library room was an amazing patio where guests could relax and socialize over an delicious "growler" of Philips Service Ale. Service Ale is a Scotish style ale brewed specifically for the Bard and Banker and if for no other reason, I will go back to the Bard and Banker just for some more Service ale.

As for the food, we started of with a personal size chicken pot pie which was paired beautifully with Phillips Phoenix Gold lager. The pot pie was amazing; and as one guest commented "if all chicken pot pie tasted this good...I would eat it a lot more often". The vegetables were al dente, the chicken was tender, and it was all topped with a beautiful puff pastry. I don't think I saw one person finish without licking their lips in anticipation of the next course.

Round two delivered a beef short rib ravioli topped with a chanterelle mushroom sauce. This was a phenomenal dish and one that I would have never conceived in my wildest dreams. Again the diverse crowd of people raved at how good it was, but it wasn't just the dish that was good, it was paired with beer that was just as amazing - Phillips Rifflandabrau pilsner.

Our third course was simply awesome! Pan seared black cod with a tomato cream sauce that had hints of curry, accompanied with leaves of Brussels sprouts. This dish is where I truly believe the head chefs talents were emphasized. His attention to details was something you rarely find in Victoria restaurants let alone bars! I being one of those people who hate Brussels sprouts actually thoroughly enjoyed them in this dish. The kitchen staff took the time to peel all the leaves off of the sprouts by hand in an effort to not overcook them in the traditional manner. The cod was matched with Phillips Skookum Cascadia Brown Ale. As informed my Mike of Phillips Skookum is more of a dark IPA than a Brown Ale, something that Phillips is pioneering. I have had Skookum on a number of occasions; it isn't for everyone, but I find it quite delicious.

The piece de resistance - Carrot cake with apple and a butterscotch sauce! Simply a delicious dessert and the perfect way to end the evening. I almost forgot I was eating at a bar, the meal I just had was comparable to a fine dining restaurant, but not the uptight atmosphere. My only complaint about this course would be the beer pairing, I found it to overpower the food slightly. I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of really hoppy beers so, this isn't a complaint about the beer but more about my personal beer tastes. Oh, I totally forgot to mention: the beer was Phillips Growhop.

I want to say thank you to Mike from Phillips and Mike from the Bard and Banker, they hosted an amazing night and did everything possible to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. I can't wait to the Winter tasting! I almost forgot to mention KUDOS to the Bard and Bankers Kitchen!

Eating my way to Orlando, FL

Recently I had the pleasure of taking a work related trip to Orlando, Florida. Anyone who travels knows that you tend to eat out more than usual when on the road. And what better time then when traveling to try out some new spots and revisit some old faves.

Canoe Brewpub, Victoria

I Went to the Canoe Brewpub with a bunch of friends for the first time last night. I have to say that of all the pubs I have visited in Victoria this has to be my favorite so far. The place is huge, but very well laid out. Most places you sit have a half decent view to the water looking out the massive windows. I imagine the view would be pretty nice in the summer as opposed to a raining evening in May.

As a micro brew beer lover, I had to try their Fleet ($11.75). The Fleet consists of their 4 in house brews and 1 of their seasonal brews, all served in half pint glasses, plus a glass full of peanuts. I am usually partial to dark or amber beers; however, each offering of the Fleet was quite satisfying. I even think I have found my new favorite beer.... the Beaver Brown Ale! The Brown Ale was a delicious, dark, smooth tasting beer that you must try if you enjoy darker beers.

As for the food, it was decent. I can't say that my food review is all that in depth, in fact, I didn't eat that much....I was at a pub. However, I was fortunate enough to order the Poutine with Braised Beef (about $12.5). This poutine was by far the best I have ever had. The fries were crispy, yet fluffy in the middle; there was a large helping of cheese curds which melted beautifully under the braised beef demi glaze; and the braised beef was rich in flavor and extremely tender.

So far, this place had me sold...great beer and delicious food. So, I had to try one of their Caesars from the Caesar bar menu; this place has some of the craziest Caesar concoctions that I have ever been witness to. I felt my self leaning towards the Bangkok Caesar. The Bangkok Caesar was, somewhat how it sounded, a spicy Asian inspired Caesar with Sriracha sauce and a szechuan peppercorn rim.  However, I was unable to try it as the bar had run out of Sriracha sauce. The bar tender did recommend a Jalisco Caesar instead. This drink had a Mexican influence and was made up of Tequila,  Cilantro,  Clamato Juice and a Cumin spiced rim. The Jalisco was a delicious drink; however, the amount of cilantro in it made it somewhat difficult to drink.

It is hard to be perfect; and, if there are any downfalls, it would be this:
-Service can be slightly slow
-A little pricey; and
-The surrounding area can be a little sketchy at night time (near a homeless shelter).

Original Joe's Restaurant & Bar, Langford

I have driven by Original Joe's a number of times since its opening; and, every time the place has been packed and lined up out the door. Seeing line ups like this, day-in and day-out, get me excited about trying a new restaurant.

So, I finally did it. I went to original Joe's with the family last night (Wednesday) for a late dinner (eight o'clock). It was busy, but we were seated right away. On first glance it seemed like a new take on a Cactus Club or something similar. It had a restaurant/sports bar feel that seemed to be catered to the 20 to 30 something crowds.

The menu is quite varied in the type of food to choose from; everything, from butter chicken, Asian dishes, to burgers and fries. The other thing I noticed about their menu is that the food was all reasonably priced. I don't think there was anything on the menu over $16 - $17, this makes it affordable to take the family out for dinner every once in a while.