Bicycle Ride

This is going to be tough. i am extremely full at the moment, bordering on comatose but you deserve to know that truth and I will only remember this meal for a few minutes before I descend into a meat haze.
Ok, Pat and I went out to the Pink Bicycle today. I have been avoiding this place because all the hipsters seem to love it and i just can't be bothered with that kind of hype. Same reason I waveband hit up Foo yet, waiting for the buzz to die down. Today we went.

• Atmosphere: Surprising actually. I really expected something more akin to Ferris'. It had a pretty high class feel to it. The clientele were all business attire clad and that would come as a surprise when i got my food and saw how messy it could be. The decor was lovely, an artist i love but can never remember then name of. good lighting, not too loud.
• Service: Really good. We were greeted and seated promptly, brought menus, drink orders taken. They cut our food for us and the waited even suggested a dip when we ummed for a few moments too long. Bill came as we finished and we were out of there in good time for a lunch break.
• Food: Ok, so Pat and I spilt our two burgers so that we could both form various opinions about yumminess. here is the breakdown:

• Pink Bicycle Burger with bacon. This was awesome. Everything a Burger should be. The pink bike sauce was not something i would order as a side because it is simply the perfect beef burger topper.
• Fries. I have heard many complaints about the fires at this place. Pat explained to me that while he has had bad fries he has also had amazing fries so you always order the fries just in case. These fries were fine, nothing offensive about them in the least. We had the lemon dill mayo and the roasted garlic mayo. I barely tried the lemon dill because I was enamoured with the roasted garlic and it was one thing I wasn't about to share (Sorry Pat!, how was the lemon dill?).
• Blue Cheese Lamb Burger with caramelized Onions. Ok, the name should have tipped us off. Not lamb burger with blue cheese, They put blue cheese first. We should have taken that as an indication about the seriousness of the blue cheese situation. You really couldn't taste ANYTHING else. There was supposed to be some kind of apricot something or other on it too, but I have no idea if it or the onions even existed. the only reason I know the meat was there was from texture alone. maybe if you love blue cheese this burger would be great, but for me (and I think Pat too) it was too much. There was no delicate play between the sweet and savory and smelly. Too bad, won't go near that one again.

We also ordered two Sodas. So two burgers with fires and two sodas. wanna bet how much it cost? Over $40 plus tip! Oh right, that's why I avoid these fucking hipster places! Maybe as a date night for me and my love, this would be a great place but for a work lunch? hardly. The food is good and local, and I am sure the market for food at this price is there, but at the end of the day, these are burgers. They are simple comfort food. I am happy to pay for that, but not this much.

Santiago's at the Gatsby

Ah, Mexican food in Victoria. What a tough time you have. I will start this by saying that i hate Cafe Mexico. Not a fan at all. The way they treat the meat they are serving should be considered a crime. It's exactly like meat on the street in Mexico but the difference is that they have the means to use higher quality food (that's what they charge for) and they have the means to prepare it well ( a kitchen, not a cart). Still they suck more then most sucky places in Victoria suck.

But this isn't about them, it's about Santiago's. I am a little torn about Santiago's to be honest. I've gone twice now and feel like maybe I'm just not a huge Mexican fan. Everyone else likes it so i feel a little in the dark over my lack of enthusiasm. Not that i haven't enjoyed my food. I actually enjoy a few things about this place:

• It's toddler friendly. That means paper table cloths, crayons for everyone, suitable children's menu (Plain Cheese Pizza!) and no nasty looks from the servers when your child is camping out under the table. Even is a large group, which is how i seem to roll to this restaurant, my little one is well taken care of and i can't express enough how appreciated that is.
• The menu does nothing for me. It's one of those places where it takes you forever to order because nothing really gets you excited. Most people i have gone with have the thing that they always have but those thing all seem to have beans in them ( i hate beans) so i can't really go with their verdict. Also, this is a Mexican place that also has curry... very strange. In the burger section they say with each listing that the buns is buttered, making me wonder if this is De rigour in Mexico.
• On my first visit I had the Ceviche. That's right, this pregnant chick lives on the edge! The ceviche is not just fish, but also includes shrimp and scallops. Surprisingly, my favorite part of this dish was the scallops since they were "cooked' to perfection. I think the issue is that all of the different fishes take different times to properly "cook" so the shrimp and halibut were a little past done but the scallops were perfect. It's was served on greens with some taco chips and guacamole. I also ordered some sour cream and i was glad I did. This time around I had a simple Cesar salad with shrimp. There were tons of shrimp on it and they were fresh enough (ie. possibly died this week) but the dressing was pretty meh. Nothing offensive or anything but just meh.

I guess my whole deal with this place is that it seems to have some kind of identity crisis. It's a Mexican place that serves curries and sangria? How do you do that? A mexican Place that doesn't serve Tacos? everyone seems to be into the quesadillas but I'm not a fan in general. Also, they feature mussels pretty prominently but being preggo, shellfish can get iffy. If it's not uber fresh, I will puke. that is a promise and a warning.
So, Santiago's You are confusing. Nothing more, nothing less.
If you wnt mexican, head over to Hernandez or the Los Amigos Cart. They'll fix you up good!

The Hunt for better Sushi - Japanese Village Edition

As the second part of our three part journey to find Better Sushi in Victoria, Sara, Nathan and I headed over to Japanese Village. Now, this post is really hard to write because I am extremely full, but i will try to push through it.
So we all agreed that this place was awesome. Great decor for one thing. the place is really big so it didn't feel too busy or overly decorated. The sushi bar was clean and well lit. I also promised Sara that i would mention the cups that the tea came in. You see, it is very cold out today and these cups were made to wrap your chilly hands around. We all kinda coveted them a little i think.
So first, Food:

• Well all had the rice with sauce because that is one thing we are basing our rating on. This may be the sauce that started the rice with sauce trend in Victoria. They call it sesame sauce and it even had some black sesame seeds in it as proof. This was the best sauce we have had so far. Well played Japanese Village!
• The sushi was pretty great. The tempura for the prawn tempura roll and the sweet potato rool were both made fresh when we ordered which is not something either ebizo or azuma do. The spicy tuna was nicely spicy but without the mayonais overload that many places go for. They also use cucumber in the spicy tuna roll which i enjoy way more than avocado.  The tempura roll had something sweet in it that really set off the prawn nicely. The cucmber roll has sesame seeds rolled into which actually acentuated the cucumber really nicely. The sweet potatos tempura roll was full of sweet potato, no filler at all. The prawn and salmon sashimi was fresh and the salmon tasted wild according to Nathan. the only issue with the Sushi was that it had a lot of rice, making it a little heavy. We would have been satisfied with smaller rolls and would happily have paid the same amount.

• Nathan had a bento box and Sara had the vegetarian tempura. The amount of food that Nathan ended up getting was pretty awe inspiring. Both Sara and Nathan had tempura and they both expressed that, although it wasn't in any way bad and the veggies and prawns were all fresh, they found the tempura itself laking in seasoning.

And now, Service:

• We were asked where we wanted to sit (sushi or teppan) and given our choice of seats in the sushi section.I love it when they let me choose!
• The lunch menu was small. Nothing I wanted was actually on it. Didn't matter, ordered it any way and they got me everything I wanted. Same for Sara. We both order and received what we wanted without issue.
• The service was fast, and the server was sweet without interfering with the actual lunch. Our tea was refilled, our cheques were brought when we finished and we were not hurried out as we lingered over out tea.
• They have two debit machines. This may sound silly, but when i want to pay I want to pay. Two debit machines ensures that i Get to pay and get back to work faster and i really appreciate that.
• Nathan pointed out that they didn't offer or bring us water but they did bring us free tea so whatever.

Sorry Ebizo, this place just kicked your ass! The only real issue is that it's more of a go to place instead of a pick up place. Maybe Shiki will be better for take out. Also, Japanese Village is a little pricey but that is also depending on how hungry you are. We spent more but we got tons. Too much, really
So yes, Japanese Village, you are awesome!

The Hunt for better Sushi - Ebizo Edition

So, as you may have noted, I have given up on Azuma as my go to sushi place. It has been sucking and I just don't have anymore patience for it. Some of my coworkers (the lovely Sara and Nathan)agreed to help me in my search. Our first stop: Ebizo.
Ebizo gets points for being the closest to our actual office but that was really all i knew about it. Nathan joined me for a lunch test.
We decided that we should order the kind of things we always get when out for Japanese so that we could rate it consistently against other places.One of the main points i asked our served about was if they had the "rice with sauce" that i loved so much at Azuma. She said that the sauce was actually their salad dressing but lots of people order it on the rice. Fine by me! nathan had a bento with a miso soup and i had a spicy tune, Dynamite roll and a cucumber roll as well as the above mentioned rice with sauce.
now, i won't rate nathans food as he pointed out to me that he always enjoys food that he doesn't have to make fro himself.
But here are My feelings on the meal:

• Service: Sucked. that's all. It just sucked. Things came out at the wrong time, we had to wait forever for our bill. I get the feeling that if you are a regular than it works a lot more smoothly...
• Sushi: I will preface this by saying that i am not an avocado fan. That being said, i know that most people are so i think they would enjoy the sushi i ordered. The dynamite roll was tempura prawn, cucumber and avocado. The Spicy Tuna was thick tuna and big slices of avocado. i prefer cucumber with my spicy tuna because I fine that the crunch is a nice balance for the silkiness of the fish. The rolls were well proportioned, not sliced too thick to get in your mouth (i hate that) and not filled with rice. The ingredients were high quality, though the spicy sauce wasn't much of a stand out. My issue would be that they should list what is in each roll. I simply assumed that a spicy tuna would be cucumber. 
• The rice with sauce: Why would you put this sauce on a salad. it is really think and rich and the thought of it on a salad makes me a little ill. The sauce is very similar to the one at Azume but a little more oily (since it is a dressing?) and it has a hint of garlic i think. Since it was more oily, i found it a little bland but a little soy sauce seemed to do the trick. It was only $1 so it was a great deal but not as good as Azuma used to be.

So is this the best that the City has to offer? I suppose it's possible. It's better than Azuma is now, but not nearly as good as it used to be (am i living in the past?). Oh well, onward in our hunt for Victoria's best sushi!

PIGDOG!!!!!!!

What a glorious world we live in! Sorry about the over abundance of optimism, but i just ate at Pig Dog. It's amazing! Ok, I am a huge hot dog fan. I just love them! hand held meat in a manageable bun, sooo good. Street meat after the bar used to be one of my favorite vices before i became a mom. Now Pig Dog has come to fill a hole in my culinary landscape that I didn't know existed (the hole, not the landscape).
My lovely boyfriend Evan and i went on a lunch date to Pig Dog. All morning we texted back and forth about how excited we were for this lunch. In retrospect, i am lucky to have a partner that is rad enough to love hot dogs on this level. Anyways, we giggled our way to the view street location in anticipation of a dog done right. The selection was perfect, nothing too fancy but plenty to consider. Three kinds of sausages:

1. Regular (hot dog)
2. Turkey
3. Spicy Smokey

Don't be fooled, they are all smokey like in texture and size. Also, I chose the amazing turkey and felt pretty great about being the healthy one until i was informed that it was full of duck fat. Oh well, who cares! Duck fat? that just sounds down right classy!

Add ons:

• Cheese
• bacon
• fried onions
• chili

Combo Dogs:

• Pig Dog
• Chili Dog

Sides and Bevs:

• Coleslaw
• Potato Salad
• Chili
• Pretzel
• Soda
• Ice Tea
• Bottled Water

Anyway, I settled on the turkey dog with bacon, cheese and fried onions ( oh ya, health nut over here!) while the lovely Evan went with the Pig Dog. (Cue dramatic music). The Pig Dog is a dog like no other. It is a hot dog with bacon, fried onions and pulled pork. That's right, the stuff that made the Pig bbq joint famous is available on a hot dog!!! The poor boy didn't understand that this would still all involve a hot dog. I think he is currently undergoing some meat sweats, but totally earned them. We also got an orange soda and an ice tea. The ice tea is great because it is just that; iced tea. not nestea or brisk ice tea or some other form of powdered, canned or syrup form. it was once tea bags, water, maybe some lemon and a bit of sugar. Now it is a cold beverage. Cleans the palate perfectly!
So everything was exactly what i wanted. And as you know, i am uber preggo and i want things in a way that no unpregnant person can understand. i can cry over ice cream and toss my cookies over mussels that are just a little bit less than fresh. I am a chefs worst nightmare right now and am thoroughly enjoying it. And I hope you head down to this place. It is as local as they come minuse the pretentiousness that some of these "local" places come across with. The sausages are made at the Village Butcher in Oak Bay and I have loved their sausages for years. So ya, supporting this place goes a long way in supporting other suppliers and distributors which keeps things cheap and fresh.
Thanks Pig Dog. You satisfied a pregnancy craving in a way you may never understand.

Oh Azuma, What happened?!?

I have been a huge Azuma fan for years. I have converted coutless people to the rice with sauce. I told people about the excellent spicy sauce. But something has happened. Things started to change. I wanted to be charitable, not a fair weather friend. Now, I'm done. The rice has been dry, the sushi has been cut too large to fit in my mouth, and the service has sucked! I'm not asking for a lot here! If you read this blog at all you will know that i don't expect any ass kissing or to have people at my beck and call. Hell, i usually get take out at Azuma and they still manage to piss me off with their suckyness. All of this makes me pretty sad really. This was one of my spots along with Siam, ferris' and a few others. Now I need to find a new sushi place to replace it and i feel a little adrift...

Relish on the Side

I went out for lunch with Pat on Friday. I know, lucky me, right? Anyways, we decided on Relish as our destination. If you have spent even a moment on Urbanspoon or any of the other local foodie blogs you know that relish is getting a lot of attention. And that is why it took me so long to go there. Places that get a lot of buzz turn me off a lot of the time. I don't know, maybe it's my 17 year old inner self wanting to be different or something. Whatever it is, it has held me back from relish, until now.
And i am now starting to hate my 17 year old inner self. It has wasted my time on food that was not as good as relish. Let me break it down for you;

• I heard a rumour that the owner is OCD (ok, how cool would it be to be a local restaurant owner and be cool enough to have insane rumours floating around about you?) and if he does, he puts it to really good use. Every thing is home made. Ok, not at his home ( I assume) but made in shop by hands that you may have held or touched in your life. get it? not a machine, but a person who gives a fuck about how your lunch will taste.
• Ok, this one could kinda go under the first one but when love is involved you break all the rules. THE HOMEMADE BACON!!! I put it in caps because i knew you wouldn't be able to believe what you were reading. Yup, they do it. I wanna order this stuff, so salty and chewy but not too fatty and that smokiness, swoon!!! Pigs never had it so good.
• The location is great. High ceilings, bright windows and local photography (Pat's Friend!!!! I feel like i am practically famous just by proximity!) and it's on Pandora. Oh no, you say. Pandora is dirty and scary and full of crackheads. OK, if you really did just say that, you have somehow stumbled onto the wrong blog. I'm sorry. Ok, it can get a bit messy around Our place, But this place is a comfort in that world of uncertainty. That good food wins over McDonalds and mental illness. or, at least it does today.

So what did we get other than Bacon? We decided to split the chicken with bacon and brie sandwich and the roasted eggplant and pepper with goat cheese sandwich to which we added bacon (yesssss!) and also an heirloom tomato and cucumber salad. We took them to the park up the street behind welburns because all the great reviews have pretty much ruined any chance of finding a seat in this place at lunch. But it was sunny and I was with a hilarious friend so yay for park picnics!! between the two sandwiches, we decided that the chicken was the best but only slightly. i think the amazing tenderness as well as the perfect seasoning won us over. The veggie sandwich was not bad in anyway, but the chicken was just some how sublime. The salad was ok. Tomatoes aren't great this year, it's a sad but true fact. all in all we paid under $30 for two sandwiches, a salad and two drinks. In Victoria, that counts as an awesome deal, and with food that is this high quality, it felt like theft. We wanted to go back and high five the owner but didn't. Next time, we will tip large in thanks for the bounty he has placed at the feet of Victoria residence and be grateful.

Pho Hoa

Yes. I know. Pho Hoa is the McDonald's of Vietnamese food. I get it. That being said, i don't even go for the Pho, so who the hell cares?
i went for lunch with my ever lunch ready pal, Jeffy. We decided to hit up pho hoa because I am pregnant. Oh sorry, does that not make sense. Ok, I am pregnant so I like to eat, but also there isn't as much room and I get icky full really easily. So I like light food and lots of it! That is where Pho Hoa comes in. i love those vermicelli bowls. You know, with the noodle, the fresh veggies, some kind of grilled meat and a roll all served with that lovely fish sauce. Oh god! It's light, refreshing and had to screw up. Since it is hard to screw up, I haveit at Pho Hoa. Know why? because Victoria Foodies hate pho hoa. They turn up their noses and walk across the street to Pho Vy, leaving pho hoa less busy and the service faster. The food is cheap to mid range, the service is whatever but good enough for a quick lunch. My only real complaint is that the vermicelli bowl is no longer served in a bowl. It's served on one of those stylish square plates that i effing hate! Why get fancy?!? so useless, but I'm not going to complain too much.

Jeffy had the Pho against my urging. It had chicken in it.The chicken looked gross!! gray and slimy and just icky. (it didn't loo anything like the picture below. At All!!!!) He wasn't into it at all. Also, the noodles looked clumped together and the broth kinda greasy. I don't do pho so I have no clue if it was actually good or not, but he seemed to be a bit put off. Whatever, I warned him. I find that soup is not usually worth ordering anyway.

So i had a good time and I will continue to go there because something that hard to mess up should only be a block away and that is how far it is from my office to Pho Hoa.

Ferris'!!!!

I have been hitting up this place since i was about 17. One of my first serious boyfriends and i used to go all the time. On the morning after y nineteenth birthday i had a jug of daiquiris for breakfast on the patio (this was when you could still see the menu written on the wall outside and there were no heat lamps.). And I still go! Ok, the owner can be a bit much for some people. My bf is horrified by the fact that he always wear open toed sandals. But the food is so good! Everyone has there regular dish here. Alison seems to favour the Halibut Burger, Both my sisters insist on the Chicken burger. I for one am totally loyal to the Lamb burger with half regular fries and half Caesar salad. There are a number of reasons why i keep going back.

1. Service: Some people love it and some hate it. I have never had anything but great service, but i think a sense of humour (as oppose to a sense of entitlement) is key. Yes i know that you are spending your hard earned money and you expect the best. But who are you punishing by going in with mile high expectations instead of a good attitude? Just saying...
2. Place: it's right downtown and the perfect walk to the movie theatre after a meal. Date night, yes!
3. Food: That's what this is all about, right? I almost always have the lamb burger as mentioned above, but i have also tried the the roasted garlic with cambzola moose, the potsickers, the smoked tuna sandwich, the various salad mains, and some other stuff i can't remember over the course of the past 10 years. What i am trying to get at is that it was all good if not awesome.

4. The Caesar dressing: Maybe you think this should go under the food heading but i disagree. Too many places in this fine foodie city us bottle Caesar. This is unacceptable! You have a kitchen, right? You have a mixer? Possibly even an emulsifier? I want it real! I want the anchovy, caper, garlic, Parmesan goodness! Ok fine, you don't want to use raw eggs, fair enough. But at least try to make something that you are proud of. Same thing goes for croutons! There is so little that goes into a Caesar salad that i think each part should be the highest quality possible. Just my opinion. and if you can't tell my the rant, they get it 110% right! sometimes I get some extra for the table to share as fries dip, it's that good!

So ok, maybe you hate the owner. Maybe you think they are all a bunch of hipsters. Fine, fair enough. But the food? Seriously? I haven't been able to find the match for it, at least consistency wise, in this city yet.

Devotion

I took my friend James to Devour today. He had never been and since he is a healthier kind of guy, I was excited to bring him. Have you been? It is exquisite! That's not a word I throw around but here is the thing, it's all local! The menu changes everyday, that's how season dependant these women are. And it is women. One in the front, one in the back. And the place is tiny and filled with cookbooks. It's like foodie heaven. I seem to always get the sandwiches with salad. Today was no exception to their awesomneness: Bacon, tomato and brie on a lovely baguette with some kind of homemade mayo (garlic?). The bread was chewy and crispy, the bacon was tender and caramelized, the tomatoes were fresh and the brie was melty. The creamy homemade mayo just pulled it all together. And then there was the salad. I'm not usually into side salads. they are just kind of plate dressing for me, but at this place, i just inhale it! nothing on the plate remains at the end! I left full and happy for $10 and that is a pretty good deal. James seemed pretty into it too. he got the smashed chickpea sandwich. Sounds kinda lame to me because of my deep hatred of legumes (totally different story) but he was pretty into it and also enjoyed his salad.
I had a great lunch with a lovely friend at an amazing local place. This is the kind of place that deserves our support because, by buying and selling local food, they support us.
Yay for Devour!

Beef Stew!!!

Alright, now that the fall seems to be upon us I thought I would share with you my ultimate favorite comfort stew recipe. This recipe calls for beer but you don't need to use it. You can double up on the beef stock and the add a little more vinegar. Yum!!! Serve it with crusty rolls, fresh bread or biscuits as well as a couple drips of Tabasco.

Oil
1 pack stewing beef, cut into small cubes
Salt and pepper
2-3 sweet onions cut up, not sliced
1 head of garlic, each clove smashed and pealed
brown sugar, about a table spoon
1-2 TBS flour
bay leaf
thyme
1 biggish bottle of beer, something like a honey brown or maple something is nice. Nothing bitter or too crappy
1 carton of beef stock
1 splash malt or cider vinegar
3 boiling potatoes, cubed
1 big carrot, pealed and cubed
6 white or brown mushrooms, quartered
4 ribs celery


Ok, so first season the meat. Get it all tossed in with the salt and pepper. I like to use a little steak spice too, but i love steak spice so maybe that's just me. Now heat the oil in a big ass pot and brown the meat. the trick here is to do it in small batches and actually let the meat brown. Don't get impatient and take it out when it's kinda brown/gray. You want that browned flavour, so wait it out. When all the meat has been browned, put it in a bowl and leave it somewhere in the kitchen. Now toss the onions in the pot, put on the lid, put the heat to med.low and let them wilt a little. When I say cut up onion I don't mean chopped. i mean cubed it that were possible with an onion. You want the to have some size since they are gonna get melty and delicious. Yummm! Stir the onions every few minutes or so until they start to brown. Now throw in the whole smashed garlic gloves. Like the onions, the garlic will get all melty too, so don't chop them up. Stew is all about big yummy chunks of stuff in an amazing broth. let the ingredients be big enough to stand up for themselves!
Ok after a few more minutes of this, you can take the lid off and check it out. Smell good? Yes, yess it does. So now, add the sugar and give it a stir. this will help brown and caramelize the onions after a minute of stirring this, add the flour. How much? I don't know, go with your gut on this one.stir it in and let it cook for a few minutes. you want some of the flouryness to cook out of it, so don't skip this part. When the flour start to cook, add the beer. Oh man, that first sizzle when the beer hit the pot is magic! Stir it as you poor making sure to scrape all the yummy parts off the bottom. Now put the meat back in. Add the vinegar and about half the carton of stock. Now toss is the thyme and bay leaf and step away from the pot. for the next hour and a half to two hours you should only go near the pot for stirring. Nothing else.Yes this takes awhile. go watch a movie or something. ok, 2 hours are up. How is the liquid holding out? not enough? Add some more stock. Now is the time for the other veggies. Toss in the potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Hold of about 15 minutes on the celery because nothing is grosser than soggy celery!.
ok, cook another 30 minutes or so, let sit for ten off the heat and eat it!!!
Yes, you can use turnips and parsnips and any other crazy veg you want. I've made a really good veggie stew using veg broth and tons of odd ones and barley. the main thing is the herds, onions and a fair amount of time.
Now, go eat stew!!

High class with a toddler

We went to Vancouver this weekend for my sister's engagement party. I love my sister very much, and that is the only reason why i would put myself through all that travel over a long weekend. I think, the less said about it, the better.
The day after we got back, we decided to go out for lunch. My darling toddler wanted to go for wonton noodle at Wah Lai Yuen but they are closed on Mondays. My boyfriend suggested Santiago's, which i was all for, but mid way there I got this intense craving fro the macaroni grill. That's pretty odd as I have only actually been there once and that was many years ago for my grandma's birthday. But when a pregnant women wants something and happens to be behind the wheel of a car, there is very little that can stop her. I was a little scared as this seemed like an actual restaurant, not the Red Robbin kind with cheesy music and balloons and plastic cups and food in baskets.
So we walk in and the first thing i notice is kids. There are a ton of kids in this place! i swear every other table was a family with a young child! I started to relax a little. My toddler had to go to the bathroom and fell in love with it. There was a bench with pillows on it and she thought that was amazing. She wanted to just hang out there, lounging, and have out food brought to us here. Oh silly toddler! At the table, there were tall wine glasses and actual linen napkins. Bliss! I have gotten so used to paper napkins and cutlery and glasses only brought out with an order. They have a paper table topper over the table cloth and crayons on every table, regardless of children present. We spent a lot of time drawing pictures and writing notes over the course of our hour lunch. They have a kids menu and it was decent, the only problem was the it didn't list prices.
All in all, it was a great spot for lunch. i had the Pasta Milano. Not the greatest, will try something else next time for sure, but in no way offensive. I am very picky so I try not to hold people up to the standards i hold myself up to when i cook. My boyfriend really enjoyed the sweet pepper and sausage pasta and the toddler devoured the pizza.  We all left full and satisfied, and I left happy to have found somewhere a little fancier where we could come for a family date.

Where did they come up with the name Alzu's?

You know what's a fun thing to do on a Wednesday? Well I'll tell you! My fav thing to do is to pick up my darling toddler from Daycare, get her a quick snack and then head over to the pool. It's a block away and a super awesome fun time! I'm pregnant so I really like to float around at the moment and she is a toddler, so splashing never goes out of fashion. Actually, her main focus is something she calls Water Ballet. She hums to herself while dancing in the kids pool and making dramatic arm gestures. It's one of the awesomest displays of toddler cool I've ever seen. And the great thing about the pool is it keeps her entertained for a good hour at least so that means I float for an hour and we all end up happy and with slightly dried out skin.
And what better way to celebrate an awesome time at the pool? Dinner at Alzu's of course! Have you been to this place? It's open all night so the clientele at any given time is hilarious. I'm am especially partial to the people who wear sunglasses inside at night and go to the bathroom at lot (it's 8pm and this is not Hush, what are you thinking?). Also, last night there was a table of four. i kid you not, they all had their lap tops and they were all on facebook! It was amazing. I actually looked at their table after they left to see if they left some kind of clue about their existence!
Ok, the food. They serve breakfast 24/7. I don't eat breakfast, so i don't care that much except for one thing: Toddlers love pancakes for dinner. It drives them insane! the idea of having for dinner on a week night something you only ever get in the morning on the weekend is just mind boggling to them!
For me, it's all about the curly fires. They have them and I want them. I usually go with a chicken wrap, your usual chicken Caesar. I dont' really like the fact that sometimes the person in the kitchen tries to get fancy and grill the wrap after it is wrapped. There is lettuce in there buddy, have some respect! I went with Michelle last night and she got the quesadilla. I've never been a quesadilla person, just not into all that melted cheese (insane, right?) but she seemed into it. One icky moment for me was when she asked if there was guacamole the server (I'll get into him in a second) said that there might be some and he would look around. Her guac came but is it really something you want if people don't even know if it's there? Where did he find it?
Ok, the server is this little Hobbit guy, total reformed biker look (or maybe not reformed) who i really want to call Alzu. He could be the guy! Anyway, he is awesome. understands that we rolled in with two toddlers and seated us closest to the bathroom and farthest from EVERYONE ELSE! This guy knows the deal and I appreciated it. he told us on our way out that he has five kids. Ya, i liked being served by someones dad. Dad's don't take any crap from anyone and they are honest (hence the look for the guac comment).
This place is serving ok food, but I still like it because it's comfortable and cheap and totally unpretentious.
YAy!

Oh Siam...

I had lunch with the ever lovely Jeffy today at Siam. We both seem to agree on this place as a lunch destination and I'm pretty sure i know why: Chicken Noodle Delight.
Chicken Noodle Delight is the terrible name they use for something bordering on the sublime. It's this saucy, peanuty, noodly goodness. I'm full but I would still eat more. no one who I have taken there has ever complained about the taste or quality of this dish. My other Favorites would have to be their vegetarian green curry (Spicy!) and their spinach with tofu in chili sauce. The Spinach is so tender and juicy and the light sauce just screams for rice to drench it in. Jeff actually suggested not getting rice. Lo and behold he was the first one going back for seconds of it just so he could have some more of the amazing sauce from the spinach. See, it's that kind of good.
So yes, this place is good. The service is usually awesome, but we had a new girl today and she was a little off her game. it's cool, we all need to learn, right? The guy who seems to work most of the week day lunches is awesome, always smiling and ready to help or just stay out of your way if you're in the middle of something.
So thank you Siam Thai on Fort street for being an awesome Victoria Restaurant!

I hate you Walmart, PLUS the Best Chinese place that I don't want to tell you about!

Dear Walmart,
I hate you with a hatred that i didn't i know I could hold in my soul. Here is why:
The DVD player broke, but it's not just a dvd player. It the surround sound system, it's our entertainment unit. it's our cartoon to toddler delivery system! So we went to Walmart early one Friday morning. It's the new Walmart. It's one of those huge SuperStore type places that make me want to curl up in the fetal position. Too much Stuff!!!!
So we shop for awhile, being waited on by the poor AV staff who know nothing about anything. One of them doesn't actually speak much english and I felt super bad for him. And then we find our new system. It's on sale because it's the floor model, but they claim it works plus it is over 50% off!! It doesn't have a remote so they throw in a universal one for free!!! this all takes over an hour (they don't know how to ring it in. Sometimes they just stand there and stare at us.) But we get it and get out of that god forsaken place.
Ever hooked up a surround sounds system before? How about take one down. Ever done both in on evening while pregnant and icky feeling? Ya, don't. It's a stupid idea. I finally get it all set up and go to program the remote. Doesn't Fucking work! I spend more time on the remote than the actual set up! We ended up going to walmart two more times that week, once to get a new remote and then again to return the whole thing. They stole hours from my life and I want them back!

Alright, you waded through the venom in my soul, here is the Chinese review:

There is this place. I have been going there since I was to young to remember. It's one of those places that has hunks of dead animals hanging in the window. Until recently they only accepted cash ( I miss that, it really kept people out.) and no one there spoke English. It's called Wah Lai Yuen and it is the only place in town to get Wonton Noodle soup and BBQ Pork.
Yes, they have other things. They're buns are great. They have those combo plates that people like and they are insanely big. The $13 is a pretty clear indication but still, the portion size is big enough for two or three. But the wonton noodle makes me swoon. the broth is like an elixir that makes me feel light and happy. i don't want to know what's in the soup , that would probably ruin everything. And the service, well it's all about the love. The yelling Chinese women love. There is no formality, you walk in they gesture to a table (possibly clean) and drop off some menus. When you close your menus they ask what you want and then leave. After they bring your food, they don't check to see how it is, they just let you eat it. they drop off the bill when they clear your dishes, you pay and go. It is cheap and easy and has a homey feel that i crave almost weekly.

Please don't tell anyone about this place. It is one of Victoria's best Kept secrets.
And if you haven't yet, check out Urbanspoon Victoria! The link is below.
Urbanspoon Rocks!

The Name of my Blog

Ok, so just a quick note about the name of this blog and then I will share my awesome chicken recipe with you. (You? Who are you? Maybe you are just Michelle?)
The name of this blog is because i always get food in my shirt. This may be for a wealth of reasons. Maybe my shirts are too low cut. Maybe I am a very messy eater. It's probably the first one, but i didn't want you all to think I'm some kind of skank. I'm not! That's just how shirts ride on me. I can't help the fullness of my bust. I admit, i kinda like it. But there you go, after almost every meal, i will find something in my shirt. Kinda gross.

Easy Yummy Thai Chicken

Ever had the spicy Thai Peanut Noodle at Noodle Box? This is better, Cheaper and sooo easy! Thanks for the base recipe that became this Michelle ( Michelle is getting so many shout outs in here, i should get paid for ad space!)

You will need:
Chicken ( you can use breasts or bone in pieces. I like pieces because they are cheap and the bone adds flavour and thickness to the sauce. Yum!)
oil
onion
garlic
ginger
shitake mushrooms (just 4 or so, don't want to break the bank)
chicken stock (one cheap can of the Asian stuff works well)
coconut milk (same as above)
peanut butter (what ever you got, smooth, crunchy, natural, insane Skippy sweetened)
Fish Sauce (this is Thai people! Fish sauce is a must!)Asian condiments ( I love the fridge forage! What do you have? Hoisin, soy sauce, mirin, sweet chili, spicy chili, oyster, sesame oil? get creative!!)
Veggies ( I like snow peas, sweet peppers and broccoli because they all cook at the same speed)
Lime (one for the sauce and one to cut up for garnish. fancy!)
Cilantro (Dear cilantro haters, you are silly. You actually like this stuff when you don't know it's there.)

Cooking:

Ok, oil in Wok (woks are awesome. go get one if you don't have one) hear it and start browning the chicken. I like a medium brown, try not to burn the pan or yourself. This is just for flavour, don't try to do it until the chicken is cooked through. Take out the chicken and add the onions and let them cook for a few until they are softer than raw onions. Add garlic, ginger and mushrooms. How much garlic and ginger? I don't know, how much do you like? Ok, Cook until you get that nice shitake smell going or until the onions are browning and you are getting a little bored. this should be done over med low heat. Burnt onions taste gross. Add the chicken stock, almost the whole can. stir. add coconut milk, almost the whole can. stir. add peanut butter. stir a more until it's in there. How much peanut butter? Taste it and figure it out! there's no raw chicken in there right now, so don't be a pussy about it. Ok, enough of the peanut flavour is there so put the other flavour stuff in, just hold off on the lime and cilantro. Tasting good? put the chicken back in, put it on simmer and let it go. check it every five or ten, give it a stir, turn the chicken but no more tasting. Raw chicken is back on the scene. after about 30 minutes toss in the veggies. they will take about 5 or 10 minutes depending on if you have teeth or not. When it's all cooked squeeze in some lime, toss on some cilantro and serve it over rice or noodle.

Note: if you use breast pieces this whole process will go faster but you will have to thicken at the end with cornstarch and cold water.

Ok, go eat this!

Next blog, bitching about walmart!! yay!

A first post, an explanation and so much more!

Welcome to my first post. You may be wondering what kind of odd blog you've stumbled upon. This is a foodie blog, but also it is a mom blog, a pregnant chick blog, a hard working chick who likes to have fun blog. Can you dig it?
So, little background: I'm a mom and pregnant with my second child. i love to cook and I love to eat. I especially like to eat at amazing restaurants. Too bad I live in Victoria, hey? Ok, there are some and I will chronicle my yummy times in them. But here is the thing, I take a toddler out for food sometimes. Some of you really hate this. Too bad. You were a toddler once and the world put up with you. And my toddler is well behaved and a very nice and smart person, unlike many adults I know. So no, i don't care if I get dirty looks from you baby haters when I walk into a nice restaurant. Because, here is the thing, i get them at kid friendly places too. Why do you child haters go there? for the food??? Ok, that is my rant for today, but be warned, your looks will only make me more bold in my dinning.
So, my toddler came back from a little trip yesterday and to celebrate we took her to her favorite restaurant: Red Robbins. I don't hate RR's. Sometimes I even enjoy it. It's consistent and that's more than I can say for a lot of places in this city. But not this time! First of all, they tried to seat us at one of those really high tables around the bar area. with a toddler. do you see the issue here. One of two things could come of this. My child could fall or she could treat her chair and table like a jungle gym. Neither of those options make for a nice dinner. We had to wait another 15 minutes. Fine, busy night. I get it. So we get a seat and the hostess is very nice and everything is fine until... ok, how long does it take our server to take our drink orders? He has introduced himself. but not asked. 15 minutes. That's how long. Our drink orders (apple juice and two club sodas) then take another 20. We haven't even ordered yet! Again, i understand that when a place is busy things take time, but seriously?!?
OK, deep breath. We order. Since I am pregnant i decide that i HAVE TO HAVE POUTINE. that's just the way it is. I ask about it and the server is totally noncommittal. "ya, it's good. the cheese curds are real." all said with a shrug. I order it thinking maybe he just isn't a fan. 30 minutes later ( i kid you not) we get our food. THERE IS NO GRAVY ON MY POUTINE!!! what the hell is this? are they trying to fuck with my head. there are cheese curds so the knew i want some kind of fry addition. I want it to be know that the whole time this is going on i am calm and sweet. I don't get angry or admonish anyone. I simply ask for gravy. Our server (not the original, maybe he went on a break) returns quickly with gravy. ya, it's not great. I should have saved my craving for the Better Poutine places in town, but I'll take what i get.
The Bill comes and THEY CHARGE ME FOR GRAVY!
I didn't yell or scream or lose my mind. I pointed out the error and paid my bill. And then, known to the staff, I put a curse on the franchise. Just a little one. Maybe a bug problem, maybe a manager gets caught in a scandal that rocks the very foundation of their family restaurant.
And there we are, first blog done. More a rant. Sorry bout that.
Recipe for the yummiest chicken ever comming sooooooon!