Ver Jus - 1951 Oak Bay Ave, 595-1112

Located only meters away from my house, I'm quite excited about VerJus. For those readers who don't know my home address, Ver Jus is located in the former Daniellie's location on Oak Bay Ave near Foul Bay Rd. I liked Danielli's, but I also thought they had some serious issues. Ver Jus is a much better restaurant, but has a few of the same problems.

Most important - the food was tasty. The stuffed squid first course was tender and flavourful. I had a rib eye steak, that was portioned well, cooked perfectly and served with a rich sauce and good quality seasonal vegetables. Patty had the osso bucco, which was tender and rich and similarly well garnished (although I'm a purist and prefer my osso busso with risotto milanese.)

The menu wasn't terribly exciting,  but nonetheless I had no problem making a selection and I presume it's designed to encourage new customers, while maintaining the cash flow provided by the regular old folks.

The wine list was short, but decent and well paired and priced appropriately. No wower's here either, but nothing to balk at.

The service was friendly and  professional. That said, the server did break my cardinal rule of offering Patty the wine taster, despite the fact that I ordered it; and Patty complained that while I was in the washroom he had to listen to a noisy  conversation coming from the kitchen (I challenged this one, since he does it all the time in our shop). More importantly however, the staff seemed to legitimately care about the restaurant, providing service and the quality of the food.

The problem - they have made virtually no interior physical changes from the old Danielli's. It's ugly. I know it's expensive and time consuming, but I swear for about $1000 and a couple Sunday afternoons could make a huge difference.

• Put in a screen concealing the rear of the front of house, creating intimacy and hiding those hideous circa 1986 white high back chairs with floral upholstery.
• Take the remaining chairs into the parking lot and spray paint them black.
• Paint every surface using a contemporary colour scheme.
• Remove all plastic foliage and artwork depicting bottles of wine.

It'd be nice to see the carpet removed too, but beggars can't be choosers.

The decor is nothing that would keep me away from Ver Jus, but if the ambiance was a little more sophisticated, I'd be apt to add Ver Jus to my circuit of regular restaurant destinations.

Wren - 2583 Cadboro Bay Road tel: 598-9736

Located in the former Kyoto Restaurant space, across the street from Pure Vanilla, Wren was a nice surprise on a Sunday evening. First of all they were open on a Sunday, and that makes Patty and I happy.

It's a really small restaurant, but a interior reno has made for a lovely and sophisticated space. Pricing is reasonable considering the neighbourhood, albeit in the higher range (upper $20's low $30's for main courses $6-9 for tapas). Service was excellent, with experienced servers manning the front of house, even on a Sunday.

The wine list is fairly short, but the selection is good and practically everything is available by the glass, prices and selection are well matched with the menu.

Patty and I shared three tapas plates and split a main course and dessert. We were well filled, but not overstuffed. Everything was tasty, and the only minor clunker of a dish was a feature tapas plate, that was ambitious, but difficult to execute.

The tapas menu is note worthy, almost all the dishes are priced under $10 and the portion is just right for me - small, but split'able.

A little swanky for an every day restaurant, I will however, be back.

Oct 21, 2007

Stage - 1307 Gladstone Ave (21/07/07)

I've longed for someone to take over the former Soho Bistro space on Gladstone Ave for years, and finally George and Linda Szasz of Paprika Bistro have come to my rescue. Thank-you.

No reservations - we got a table with a short wait on Saturday night. They were busy and the service was a little un-coordinated, but for the most part was professional and well executed.

A small plate menu that is actually small plates - what a relief! Not a bargain basement menu, the prices are reasonable for some fairly labour intensive dishes, including a lot of George's famous charcuterie plates.  The vegetable section needs some work, but all round it was a workable menu for me.

Not that I have the patience for ordering wine by the glass, I do respect the option. Stage features a good-looking by the glass menu. Once they work out the service kinks, I'll be more likely to use this option.

I'm keen on the concept and the location.

Bon Rouge - 611 Courtney St (07/07/07)

A new face for Julia's Place, a restaurant that previously made it's living fairly exclusively from gouging tourists. It's a big improvement and I like the concept of French 'bistro' dinning. . There was a good selection of first courses, but the a la carte entrees were a little boring - nothing terribly innovative, but not unappealing. The interesting items appeared to be in the plat du jour section, but they were sold out at 730pm. On this visit everyone opted for steaks, of which there are three on the menu. All but mine were cooked perfectly (I accept it, I'm cursed). We also had the escargot and the pate, which were both somewhat average, but they were presented nicely. I look forward to trying the first course seafood and salad options next time - they looked promising. The server struggled with the wine service and when the floor manager saw us cringe when the server spilt a glass's worth of sparkling on the floor - he comped the bottle and assisted with the wine service for the rest of the evening. What the server lacked it experience, was compensated by some professional management. We had crepe suzette for dessert - don't get excited, there was no tableside flambé, I was disappointed. The crepe was chewy and there was too many orange chunks on top.

I'll try Bon Rouge again, I think it has promise as a bottle of wine and small plates destination..

Niche (16/03/07)

Previously Pablo's Dining Lounge, Niche draws on a winner location and an interesting space, while trying to attract new clientele.

Pablo's was know for classic, somewhat overpriced French cuisine. Niche is scaling back the prices and gone with a very contemporary approach. The  prices seem unnaturally low for this tourist central neighborhood. Similarly, the design and culinary concept seems unorthodox for the location and price point.

The portions are large like you'd expect in a tourist restaurant, but the complexity of the dishes makes you think that tourists are not the target market. We were a little confused. With regard progressiveness of menu and restaurant style, it looks like they're going for locals and high-end visitors, but the portions seem weirdly large for the style of dinning.

The menu is designed to invoke thought and questions in its simplicity, but supporting those questions with information is a taxing role for any but the most skilled servers - not only with respect to culinary knowledge, but also their time available at any given table. Our server made a noble attempt, but the menu itself undermined her best effort. Furthermore,  a demure or novice diner who didn't feel comfortable asking a lot of questions could be put out by this style of menu presentation.

It's definitely worth checking Niche out, but be prepared to work with the opening service kinks. The main course portions were huge - so share. The first courses were fantastic in concept and bargain priced, so check those out. The wine and cocktail list are thoughtful and fun, without being overly complicated.

I look forward to returning in a couple of months to see how they've reconciled the tourist location with a clear desire to embrace culinary complexity and design sophistication .

Update - 10/06/07

We tried to execute a full review, but I knew the server from school, so we had to abort the exercise. That said, we had the tasting menu this time and the portions were much more what I expected. While I found a couple of the courses to be less than inspiring, generally it wasn't bad for the price. The service staff was however, completely over run. They were swamped with what appeared to be overbooking in the 7-730pm seating - so, when we arrived at 8pm we had to wait for a lot of food to be delivered before our server could devote much time to us.

I'll try again to get this review...

The Fernwood Inn is Open  (27/10/06)

Out with the old and in with the new, the George and Dragon is gone the Fernwood Inn is now.

While many people have fond memories of the George and Dragon, in recent years it had been allowed to decay into a facility where neither eating or drinking could be conducted at a satisfactory level. The beer lines were always filthy and the kitchen horrifying. That said, other than the carpet stinking like mildew it was, if nothing else, a good location.

That's where the Fernwood Inn steps in - great location, but needs a total overhaul. They've gutted the place, re-oriented the space and changed virtually everything. It's a major improvement. While, they're in a growing pain phase, the new menu looks good with a lot of contemporary fare (I had the duck breast entree last night and they managed to keep it medium-rare as per my request - woohoo!!)  That's all of the food review I'm going to give for now - they have some opening kinks to work out before I go in for full fledged analysis.

The wine list is reasonably priced, with some interesting selections and is better than I expect from a pub, albeit heavy on new world choices.

The service was well trained, pleasant and responsive. Unfortunately for our server, she seemed to be under stress from other departments (bar, kitchen...)

My one big complaint at this point - the music. It was really bad. We told the staff that we hated it and it promptly changed (kudos for the effort), but they put on something very similar in its place. I think they've mis-read their demographic on this one. While 80s pop may feel like the right thing to do - it's not. This is a thirty'something crowd and while retro 80s can be fun, it had to have been good music to start with - if it sucked then, it still sucks now (i.e. the Pointer Sisters, WHAM).

Specials:

• Monday - pasta night, 7 choices for $7.95 ea.
• Tuesday - burger night - $7.95
• Wednesday - wine night, bottles $6 over cost
• Thursday - Blues night (live music with the Elmer's)
• Friday - Prime Rib night $15.95 (which of my guests last night ordered and praised its deliciousness)
• Upcoming - Sat/Sun brunch

Keep your eye out for a full review coming soon...

Old Bailey reopens as Smith's Pub (31/08/06)

Upon hearing the news that the Old Bailey Pub, one of my most favourite places in the whole world was reopening under new ownership and a new name, I was both excited and suspicious.

It's a major undertaking - renovating a local institution without completely pissing off the former clientele.

We visited the pub earlier this week and while it smelt a little too fresh and clean for my preference, most of the changes seemed positive. There's more seating and the bar has been extended. The menu is shorter, a little more refined, but is still cheap and for the most part the food uncomplicated. Being a Monday night it was a little dead, but upon our Thursday night return (the grand opening), a larger crowd better related the vision for the space.

The owners, Five Eyed Jack, who own the Morrissey and Ginger 62 in Vancouver, seem to know what they're doing and are taking a legitimate interest in understanding the Victoria market and not duplicating a Vancouver concept. With core staff recruited from other Victoria hot spots (chef - from Hugo's and manager from the Mint), they've taken a step in the right direction.

 The name of the bar, is yes, a play on the band. That said, I did like the music. It was a little loud on the Thursday, but I was assured the volume would be nearer a conversational level in the future.

Only time will tell if the Smith's Pub can fill the shoes of my beloved Old Bailey, but I think they have a fighting chance. Fundamentally, it'll be the clientele that determines my enjoyment level - diversity is key (I can only handle so many boobie-girls and squeaky-clean boys).

So check it out, if nothing else, they need help breaking in the upholstery.

(photos: my camera battery died, so enjoy a vaguely related selection of photos.)

My brother Hew had been taunting me with his loot from the Red Barn for quite some time. Located on West Saanich Road, he drives by it everyday on his way from work. Patty and I on the other hand, never seem to drive by during business hours. So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, we made a special trip.

It was well worth the trouble. We loaded up on local produce and meats from their in-house butcher.

We were thoroughly impressed with the selection of both local and import fruits and veggies, including fresh figs, pickling cucumbers, lots of different kinds of peppers and stone fruit. 

At the butcher shop we picked up the famous smoked pork loin and some Italian sausages. The pork loin is awesome. Ready to eat, I struggled to get it into my choucroute (an Alsatian dish with sauerkraut, potatoes and a variety of pork products) without eating it all. The Italian sausage seemed like a boring choice, but Hew had assured me it was far superior to the other products available around town. Indeed, he was correct. Generally, the vast majority of the butchery products were locally sourced and scratch made. Local meats are not the easiest thing to come by, so I was delighted to see so much selection.

The Red Barn also carries a variety of other gourmet products, cheeses, and have a sandwich and ice cream bar. I couldn't believe how acceptably priced everything seemed. I suppose if you have to drive 30 min, that is a factor, but personally it seems worth a visit a least one in awhile. 

The Red Barn Market is located at 5550 West Saanich Road. There is another Red Barn at Mattick's Farm (5325 Cordova Bay Road) , but we haven't visited it.

On August 10, the Little Piggy headed off to the Rosemeade for a sampling of their fancy new cocktail list.

I'd bemoaning the snoozer cocktails available in Victoria and apparently earned myself an complimentary invite to the launch of a series of pretty cool and inventive libations. I'd been waiting to see the 'culinary' approach to cocktails pop up somewhere in Victoria and finally it has.

If you're like me, and dislike super sweet bevvies, you'll like these drinks. A 'culinary' approach, demands the use of fresh and scratch made ingredients and the thoughtful blending of sweet and savoury. Creator and cocktail superstar, Chad, has got his savoury and sweet balance down in all of his original concoctions.

While all of the drink were beautiful, some of our favourites were:

the pinktea - vodka with fresh rhubarb juice, earl grey iced tea, ginger and soda (the rhubarb juice was brilliant and I have since created my own version - thanks Chad;)

the cerise - vodka, guignolet d'angers, cherries and basil, with elderflower and soda

the cho cho - a sake martini with kiwi, cucumber juice and ginger

Christabel and Patty appeared the  Victoria Open Air Festival, Urban Feast Stage at Centennial Square on August 13, 2006. Looking for the recipes from their cooking demos? Click here

Patty entertained on the food stage yesterday at Folkfest. With the help of his crew from the Marriott, Nick LeBlanc and Matt Thomson, they made a chevre stuffed zucchini flower, with a tomato and basil salad; ling cod with snow pea risotto, green beans and a sorrel beurre blanc; and for dessert - orange, chantilly cream in a chocolate cage with logan and raspberries and red wine syrup. The produce was courtesy of Dan's Farm and Patty served up the meal to four members of the audience, including the two nice ladies featured in the photos.