Part and Parcel, Quadra Street Village, Victoria

A good week.  I am off on vacation right now (so you can expect reviews of places outside Victoria), and when I comeback, I'll be in full swing on my own start up, Enigmatic Events.  This may mean less dining out, or at possibly more taking advantage of early bird, happy hour deals.  But before all that, I promised the lovely Brunette of my Acquaintance a meal out before she drove me to catch a flight to Scotland.  Asking for recommendations, Rayna@QuenchWines mentioned both Hanks BBQ and Part and Parcel.

I love Hanks.  But I love new as well.

So we trooped off to get their at opening time. We were fourth in line, just behind local radio celebrity Pol Plastino.  At 11.30am, and there's a line up, sounds good.  Inside, it's a very simple layout, with a couple of booths, some high tables and bench seating along one wall.  You can see into the kitchen beyond the wooden serving counter, above which are listed the dozen or so options.  They'll hand you list with more details on, but they basically had me at 'fried chicken sandwich'.  

We took our menus back to a booth, slid in and read the details.  The fried Kamut Chicken came with bread and butter, bacon and pickles.  There was a raw albacore tuna sandwich.  Two great looking salads, one boasting rhubarb and chamomile.  The 'etc' section led off with falafel and hummus, but the beef tongue tartine with a cabbage and peanut slaw almost defeated my lust for chicken.  There's a lot of North African influences across the menu.  Whether that was the mood of the kitchen on the day, or a more general twist on the food, I don't know.  

We did quiz the lady taking orders on the providence of the meat, as the Brunette will only eat chicken raised carefully and not fed with hormones and pieces of gruel. No hens that have been sent to work for fifteen hours down the nearest coal mine.  Her poultry must have rested on silk lined cages, been cosseted and told what clever chooks they are.  The report from the kitchen was all clear, with a couple of central BC farms named as the source of both pig and poultry. So we both got the chicken sandwich with a side of 'ras el hanout' french fries to share.

We got a large rectangular bun stuffed with a crisp fillet, with a slice of bacon on top and a big pile of pickled cabbage.  The bun is sliced in two, just the right size to pick up and take a big fat bite.  I asked the Brunette to take a moment for the reverence this first taste deserved.  The chicken was juicy, full of flavour and with a firm crunch  on the outside.  The bun was soft yet firm, and the pickles crispy, tangy and offset the oiliness of the meat.  Kamut is a type of grain, a fact I just looked up.  This must have been used in the crispy breading on the chicken.  I asked for a second moment of reverence.  We ate for a while in silence.

The fries were well cooked, crispy enough on outsides, with the soft, fluffy potato pile inside you want. The spices on them were fine, but not to my taste. Too much cumin and cardamom. Flavours I like in general, but not on my fries, it seems. The 'ras el hanout' is a mix of spices used in Moroccan cooking (also looked that up just now), as a general flavour-all for the meat.  Don't get me wrong, I like how it was cooked, the mixing up of flavours and traditions.  It just wasn't for my taste buds. Because not every thing can be.

So, a very pleasant meal, in the corner of a very busy spot.  The cafe-style ordering at counter, and also setting up your own placements works well here.  It is fast-ish food, not long dining.  Get in, eat, enjoy and then leave.  The toilets were impeccably clean.  A sign that the kitchen will be too. They were also kitted out with some art and crafts, and I think I recall some fresh flowers.  I can also report, in the four days since I left Canada, the Brunette has been back once already, and plans another trip before eight days of my absence.  This is high praise.

So, thanks for the recommendation Rayna, I suspect I'll be back again... and again... and again.