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.