Refiner Diner - trucking in good food

Update (May 2014)
Unfortunately the Refiner Diner Food Truck is no more :-(
But....I saw it being reimagined as a new food truck....currently parked in the same space (beside Shatterbox Coffee on Yates St.).
I'll be waiting to visit them when they open.



Food-trucks - I love 'em.

Wish we had more of them here in Victoria - and hopefully, one day, zoning and permit requirements will allow more of these fun and interesting mobile kitchens in town.  Talk to anyone about a great food-truck scene and Portland is usually the first answer (and it's fabulous - the worst part is having to make a choice from so many when you have limited meals while in town).  We may not get to that point in Victoria - but a few more around the garden city would be awesome.

...but I'm loving the ones we have already.

We finally had a chance to try Refiner Diner.  They have recently moved to their new location at 950 Yates St, nestled up to Shatterbox coffee (across from the London Drugs complex).

Look for the diner-sign...

The truck is tucked in from the street...

Argyle Attic - Canadiana Breakfast

On the advice of a friend - we visited the Argyle Attic restaurant this past weekend. We love eating breakfast out....and they were open....the equation worked.

The restaurant is situated above Smith's pub on Courtney Street and can also be accessed through the Quality Inn Hotel on the corner of Blanshard Street. Decorated in rustic Canadiana - it was a comfortable setting of folk-art pictures, 70's table lamps, Hudson Bay blankets and a scarf-wearing mounted stag's head. Nice mix of music playing too.

Breakfast pricing is simple - $12 for everything - and includes a tea or coffee. The menu includes waffles, pancakes, omelettes, traditional eggs & bacon/sausage, and poutine. Our table chose the poutine, an omelette and the pancakes.

The poutine came with a choice of red curry or sausage gravy (the former was opted for). Two perfectly soft-poached eggs were set atop a great amount of cheese, chopped bacon and hash browns, all covered in a lightly spiced curry gravy.

Poutine with red curry gravy & poached eggs

And then the hotcakes and ommy.....

Tartan Toque - Winging It

The Tartan Toque, located in the Stadacona Centre (Pandora St. side) is a newer restaurant on the scene in Victoria - opened by the great people from the Shine cafes.  This time they're doing lunch and dinner (because their former places cover breakfast quite nicely).

The Tartan Toque focuses on chicken wings - with twenty (20!) different types of wings - including candied bacon, chipotle maple, dry maple and the list goes on.  But - they also do these sauces with fried tofu sticks!  So if you feel like tofu instead of chicken - they have you taken care of.

Candied bacon chicken wings

Sweet chill tofu sticks

But there's more than wings...

Culinaire Bites of 2013

It seems odd to do a review of a one-time event that you'll have to wait 364 more days to get to experience - but I think the intent of Culinaire (and Dine-Around and Feast of Fields and other food events) is to raise money for a cause and awareness of the incredible restaurants we have here in Victoria.

At Culinaire, they are out in force, trying to entice you into their restaurant....all in one bite.

Bring it on.

This is in no way an exhaustive (or National Geographic photography level) example of what was served at the Crystal Gardens tonight - but it was some of the bites that I thought were extra-tasty.

Housemate lamb sausage with mango dressing wrapped in naan bread.....from the Butchart Gardens, yes, the Butchart Gardens! Not my first thought for a dinner destination (when I'm doing the mental "drive-around" Victoria thinking of places to go) - this bite was really great - sausage was flavourful and nicely spiced.

And then the next bite....

Dunlop House - part deux

Another chance to dine at Camosun College’s Dunlop House with the Hospitality Management students taking care of everything.  You can check out our first visit here.

Again we were greeted at the door, our coats taken and led, this time, into the main dining room. Here’s a quick snap of it as we were leaving (as it was shutting for the evening) – a really bright, beautiful room with comfortable chairs.

And then the food choices...

Aura - putting the 'special' in occasion

We are out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday- a milestone one - so we're pulling out all the stops. We don't do this all the time (read: once before), but it's nice to pretend to be rich and famous once and a while. This blog will include extensive food-porn shots - I hope you enjoy.

We booked a chef's tasting menu at Aura Restaurant at the Laurel Pointe Inn. The restaurant itself has a stunning view of the inner harbour, right from the Legistlative buildings over to the Songhees. As an unexpected bonus, our table has been set-up in the private dining room (which looks to hold up to twelve comfortably). Printed menus lay out the meal we're about to experience - complete with wine pairings with each course.

Feeling like Rock-Stars already...

Table in the private dining room

Menu for our meal.

Bring it on.....

Italian Brunch at Zambri's

I really love heading out for breakfast/brunch. I’m not in the minority in that love as most breakfast restaurants around Victoria suddenly spring line-ups on weekends (and the really good ones have line-ups DURING the week!). Whether our timing was right or not many know about it yet – we were able to waltz right into Zambri’s and grab a lovely table for two just before 11am on a Sunday for their brunch.

As with any meal at Zambri’s, the setting, service and food are really great.

We ordered the meatballs & eggs and Italian scramble. The meatballs were sliced, sitting on two solid pieces of polenta and topped with soft poached eggs. The polenta was sitting on a delicious, fresh tomato sauce with a lovely drizzle of olive oil. Beautiful, tasty, but watch out for errant pieces falling off your fork and into the sauce. I may have splattered a tiny bit of sauce….around the plate…and onto my teapot…and cup…but my napkin remained pristine and white!

Meatballs and Eggs (before sauce disbursement)

The other dish wasn't as napkin challenging.....

Dine-Around - Harbour House

Dining out.

Old school.

Our final dine-around experience was the Harbour House Restaurant located on Oswego Street, just off the inner harbour.  One side of the dining room looks over a small corner park which gives a nice protected view.  The restaurant (per the menu) has been around for 30 years - and if you want a classic dining experience - this is the place to come.  Do they constantly reinvent their menu for dining trends? No.  Do they continue to serve well prepared steak and seafood meals that have been around for decades?  You bet.  This is not the place to come for a deconstructed salad nicoise or an ancho-powder rubbed pork belly.  Here, the waiters are in tuxedos, the cocktails include chi chi's and gimlets and the tables are covered with white clothes.  I should say here that I have a soft spot in my heart for this type of restaurant - having grown up around them in Victoria (but not having worked in any) and been lucky enough to enjoy "special-occasion" family dinners out at them.

And adhering to the "when-in-Rome" mantra - our table of four leisurely perused the menu over a Tom Collins, Caesar, Harvey Wallbanger and a ginger-ale (for our DD).  In the end, we all opted for the $40 dine-around menu.  As our reservation was later, there was only one prawn cocktail left, so the other prawn-seeker requested the lobster bisque off the $20 menu.  The other two diners opted for escargot.  The bisque was very flavourful, the prawns large and plump, and the escargots small, tasty and sitting in a generous amount of melted butter.  Thank goodness for the basket of warm whole-wheat rolls on the table (which, by the way, all FOUR diners took turns dunking in said butter).

Lobster bisque

Prawn cocktail (one more is hiding behind the sauce)

Escargot with butterrrrrrrrr

And then onto the main courses:

Dunlop House - learning it right.

Dunlop House is located at the Lansdowne campus of Camosun College. The restaurant is run by the Hospitality Management students (and who will probably be gracing the Fairmonts and Four Seasons of the world soon) – and each of them rotates through the various jobs – so last week’s sous chef, may be this week’s hostess and next week’s dishwasher. We were greeted in the parking lot upon arrival by a very cheerful girl (and reminded that we have to pay for parking). Held in Dunlop House, a Samuel Maclure designed house at the corner of Lansdowne and Henderson, you’re seated in either the main dining room, decorated in soft greys or the smaller, dark-paneled, side dining room. We were lucky enough to sit in the more cozy, paneled room, right at the bay window.

The style of menu is rotating as well. This was the first week of a five-course meal, with choice of main. Last week diners made a three course selection from 3-4 choices in each category. The instructor also explained to us that in upcoming weeks, one menu will be hundred-mile focused – with most food and wine selections coming from the peninsula and Salt Spring Island.

And onto the food – no shots of the homemade bread we were offered (French, potato and a roll), but the butter was beautiful – sun-dried tomato and herbed butter – artfully displayed. The bread was no slouch either – all made in-house and devoured rapidly by our table.

Sun-dried tomato & herb butter

Bread. Check. First course next:

Dine-Around - Fiamo Italian Kitchen

Next stop : Fiamo Italian Kitchen near the bottom of Yates Street.

The restaurant was offering both a $20 and $30 menu for Dine-Around - and we obviously weren’t the only people who thought the options sounded interesting – the restaurant was packed – albeit we were there at prime time (7pm) on a prime night (Friday). We weren’t surprised by having to put our name on a long waiting list and then stroll down the block for a drink. As a small, side review – we quite enjoyed a red wine and an on-tap gin-and (locally-made) tonic from Sauce Restaurant.

Back at Fiamo’s, we returned just as our name was up next on the wait-list – and settled into a cozy table tucked up against the brick wall in the main dining room. And now we got down to the business of deciding which menu to try and which options to choose (helped by a glass of prosecco…..conveniently on-tap here – hmmm, apparently I have a theme going with this). We both opted for the $30 menu and agreed to swap half-way through each course (our parents and Sesame Street would be proud).

First courses: tempura soft-shelled crab and bruschetta three-ways. The tempura crab was excellent – a nice, light batter on the crab, served with a tasty aioli. The bruschetta was equally as tasty – the tomato one was a little bite of summer, the smoked tuna was, well, nicely smoky and the Italian sausage was flavourful without being too spicy or greasy (and the bread was firm enough to hold the topping, but not shred your mouth). An cleaned plate and empty cutting board were returned to the kitchen.

Tempura soft-shelled crab

Bruschetta Trio

And next up, the main courses:

Dine-Around - Flying Otter Grill

I love Dine Around (DA) in Victoria - trying restaurants I haven't been to in a while and dropping in on places that I already love - to try something new. The Flying Otter Grill was last year's DA find - a new-to-me restaurant that surprised and delighted our group. The experience was so great, it caused us to return to the restaurant post-DA (which is the entire point of the promotion).

We eagerly anticipated their DA menu for 2013. Both the indoor and 'patio' seating are toasty warm and comfortable, thanks to heaters and a large corner fireplace (which the staff happily informed us could be turned off when we got too warm...which we eventually did).

The Flying Otter has drink specials almost everyday - so in addition to a great meal-deal - we added some well priced mojitos and beer sleeves (and a nice large soda for the DD). We split the difference at our table of four ordering two $20 and two $30 menus. Starters off the $20 menu included a wild mushroom tart. It was a nice starter size, flaky pastry filled with mixed mushrooms and the perfect amount of goat cheese. And French onion soup - piping hot, filled with soft onions and a topped with a large broiled, cheese crouton.

Mushroom & goatcheese tart

French onion soup

Onto the other starters:

You should do a blog....um, OK.

OK, so I will.

After getting my blog-feet wet while taking a leave from work (and life...and Victoria...and writing about what we saw and ate) - I feel experienced enough to try a food-blog. Because, you know, there's not enough of those in this city (and my first thought is, does my sarcasm come across in my blog? I hope so).

Anyway - I love food, dining out, and finding great little stores with interesting foodie items to buy (sometimes for others).  And I like to tell people about it (whether their eyes roll, gloss over or sparkle - I'll still blab endlessly). So now I'll just be writing endlessly. Well, maybe not endlessly - let's try for every few days and see how that goes.

Thanks for reading and scrolling through my food porn.

Food Stores

Jubilee Pharmacy & Market

Victoria (all: alphabetically)

Argyle Attic
Aura Bistro
AYO eat
Bengal Lounge (Empress Hotel)
Black Hat Bistro
Ca Va Bistro
Catalano Restaurant & Cicchetti Bar
Charelli's & Co.
Chorizo & Co.
Clay Pigeon
Culinaire (2013)
Devour
Doughboy Donuts
Dunlop Hours (Dinner 1)
Dunlop House (Dinner 2)
Empress Hotel Curry Buffet
Empress Hotel Tea
Fan Tan Cafe
Fiamo Italian Kitchen (dine-around 2013)
Fiamo Italian Kitchen (dine-around 2014)
Finest at Sea Food Cart
The Fish Store (Fisherman's Wharf)
Flying Otter Grill
Foo Asian Street Food
Harbour House Restaurant
Hot & Cold Cafe
India Bistro
Jubilee Pharmacy & Market
La Taquisa
Melt Truck
MOMO Sushi To Go
Mosi Bakery, Cafe & Gelateria 
Norte Street Food
North 48
Padella Italian Bistro
Paul's Restaurant
PiCNiC
R n R Diner 
Refiner Diner Food Truck
Relish Cafe
Stage Wine Bar
Taco Justice League
Tacofino Food Truck
Tartan Toque
tetote
Tre Fantastico
Village Cafe
West Coast Waffles
Wheelies Motorcycle Cafe
Yonni's Doughnuts
Zambri's (brunch)

Vancouver (YVR)

Bestie

Dinesty (Robson Street)

Kishimoto

Mamie Taylor's (brunch)

Red Wagon Diner

Seattle (SEA) places

Crow Bistro

Flair Taco Truck

Serious Biscuit

Theo Chocolate Factory

Toulouse Petit

Portland (PDX) places :

Toro Bravo

Pine State Biscuits

Blue Star Doughnuts

Dogfeathers

Miss Kate's Southern

Food Trucks in Victoria :

Finest at Sea Food Cart

Melt Truck

Refiner Diner

Taco Justice League

Tacofino

Dinner reviews for :

Aura

Bengal Lounge (Empress Hotel, curry buffet)

Black Hat Bistro

Chorizo & Co.

Dinesty (Vancouver, Robson St.)

Dunlop House I

Dunlop House II

Empress Hotel - Bengal Lounge

Fan Tan Cafe

Fiamo Italian Kitchen

Flying Otter Grill

Foo Asian Street Food

Harbour House

India Bistro

La Taquisa

MOMO Sushi To Go

North 48

Padella Italian Bistro

Stage Wine Bar

Zambri's

Lunch reviews for :

AYO eat

Bengal Lounge (Empress Hotel)

Ca Va Bistro Moderne

Charelli's & Co.

de'lish

Devour Bistro

Empress Hotel Curry Buffet

Empress Hotel Tea

Finest at Sea Food Cart

The Fish Store

Foo Asian Street Food

Hot & Cold Cafe

La Taquisa

Melt Truck

MOMO Sushi To Go

Norte Street Food

PiCNiC

Refiner Diner

Relish Cafe

Taco Justice League

Tacofino

tetote

Village

West Coast Waffles

Wheelies Motorcycle Cafe

Zambri's

Breakfast reviews for :

Argyle Attic

Catalano Restaurant & Cicchetti Bar

Clay Pigeon

Jam Cafe

Melt Truck

Mosi Bakery, Cafe & Gelateria

Paul's Restaurant

R n R Diner

Red Wagon Diner (Vancouver, East Hastings)

Relish Cafe

Tre Fantastico

Village (Royal Oak)

Zambri's