The Village, Royal Oak

The Village has two locations, one in Estevan Village, the other up near Royal Oak.  I've eaten breakfast at both.  But this about going for a lunch with work colleagues in Royal Oak trying the lunch menu.

One of our out of town colleagues was in town, so we trooped off to our reserved table in the corner of the restaurant.  The place was doing a decent trade, but not so busy that we had to wait at all.  Some folks had hit the patio, as even early April in Victoria can be outdoor eating weather.
There's a whole lot of space in there, and the big round table we sat is is a perfect corner for a business lunch.  It's slightly out of the main bustle, so we could talk easily, and little bit private as well.  It also has this awesome dodecahedron lamp shade hanging above it.  If your a nerd like me, you'll think of a twenty-sided dice.

We got served water and drinks quickly and set about the menu.  There's an all-day breakfast side, couple with lunch options that are fancy sandwiches and salads.  Half of the group went for the benny's, choosing to mix and match between the classic Canadian and the West Coast (with salmon). They said most of the time, they couldn't do this at the breakfast rush.  The Benedict eaters reported a high level of satisfaction.

I went for the hot chicken sandwich special.  This was a slice of chicken fillet, with a spicy hot sauce, folded into a soft white bun.  There was cheese involved too, and some salad prepped on the side.  This combined very well, the soft white bread soaking up the hot sauce, with the cheese ameliorating the heat.  I'm drooling a little, and slightly disappointed to know it was a one off.

On the plus side, knowing the sandwiches are this good in general, I'd happily go back again for a small team lunch, and hit up the Red Barn Special.  This the Village's souped-up take on the BLT, adding in avocado. Or there is the meal share Royal Oak, combining Cowichan chicken, chutney and cheese.  Mealshare means that The Village then provides another meal to a person in need of good food.

James Bay Inn, James Bay

Back during Tourist in your Hometown, I spent the night at the James Bay Inn.  I had an enjoyable enough evening with good friends in the JBI Pub, located underneath the hotel, drinking many fine beers.  It's always nice to take the stairs home.

The pub itself is a maze of tables and booths and spaces, with a dart board perilously close to the two main entrances. There is a big round bar stuck in the middle, that makes it not quite fit in with the seating around it.  This is the replacement for any charm in the surroundings.  There is no massive chalkboard of  rare Oregon beers, or the pinewood polished fixings, or deep plush couches, or 10 mile organic grass fed menus.  The JBI has none of these things.

It doesn't need them.

The point of the JBI is drinking a decent beer with folks you enjoy the company with.  There was music, I couldn't tell you what it was, but probably wasn't country music, as no-one in our group walked out screaming.  The beer menu had a good selection of local brews.  Or you can get a pale American lager in one of the mainstream flavours.

The menu is bar food.  There are burgers, wraps and sandwiches.  I got an open faced new york steak sandwich.  It was cooked nice and rare, just like I wanted it.  Piled up on a wedge of french bread, the juices flowed into the dough.  It was good.   One of my friends had the liver and onions.  The liver was a big, thin slab of protein, cooked, he said, just right, possibly the best he had in town for a while.

We sat a while and had a good time catching up, talking about all the things good friends do that are of little interest to anyone outside.  I believe we plotted about three major crimes, two spirited high jinks, and the eulogy at my funeral. I think. I remember laughing and smiling, so maybe the eulogy is a faulty memory after the second pint of Phillips Kaleidoscope IPA.

That's a good night out if it's very slightly hazy and my jaw muscles hurt from smiling.



The hotel room I got was a comfortable, clean and well appointed.  Except finding a makeshift desk space to type a journal entry was not easy. A chair couldn't fit between the bed and the chest of drawers. The bathroom was as big as the room itself.  I moved the bed into the bathroom to check my measurements, and it fitted between the sink, bath and toilet.  So I slept there.  I figured it would be an interesting change to sleep in a bathroom, but actually on a real mattress. Instead of using the bath mat as a cover (Mum, this only happened once, at University).

I woke up refreshed, reassembled the bedroom, and headed down to the breakfast room.

I went for the big fat breakfast, which had two of everything.  If you have the chance to stay at the James Bay Inn, and get a $10 voucher for breakfast, I recommend passing on this part of the stay. Over-cooked eggs, charred toast and coffee that was partly ground.  Good, old fashioned Vancouver Island dirt. Bleh.

The dinner was great, breakfast was not.  The room was fine. For the rate I paid, I'll not find a better deal within a walk of downtown in Victoria.

Improv and Room Escapes

No food this week, no drink, just a couple of things I've done in town recently that I've enjoyed, and figure other people might too.

Improv Classes

Hosted at Paper Street Theatre's studios on Fort Street, here you can learn how to improvise.  Dave Morris runs classes for beginners upwards, giving basic skills in the art of improv acting.  I went on the level one course for four weeks and had a great time.  I'm not an actor and do not play one of TV. I went just to see what it was like and with the offer of it being 'like Yoga, but funnier', I just said 'yes, and....'.

The class reminded me of Theatre Studies I did when I was thirteen. You go into a big open space and leave behind the days work.  You do some stuff that uses you imagination and your body and sense of let's pretend.  Then you walk out back to the real world, a little refreshed.

There are aspects of play, such as passing around an imaginary ball while chanting an inane rhythm.  There are aspects of learning, where you try to build on the simple ideas Dave has taught to get better at removing your natural reaction to say 'no'.  And there are aspects of acting and using your body to portray a character.

It's a lot of fun, and a lot of mental work.  Learning to listen, react and do -all at the same time- is hard.  But somehow rewarding when you and your partners form something that's bigger than the small parts each of you added.  I got some confidence out of it, and also a lesson in learning that maybe I am not as good at listening as I thought. I really enjoyed being aware of the now.  Not in a passive way of meditation. But an active way, of hearing and doing, and trying not to over think, and learning the art of saying 'Yes, and....'.


Epic Escape

Escape rooms started from a computer game trope.  A text adventure where there was just one room, and you had to collect and find items in order to get out.  So in a reversal virtual reality mirroring the real world, someone came up with the idea of locking people in a real room and challenging them to escape. In under sixty minutes.

I've been fascinated by this idea since I read about ones in London, going as far as planning a trip to Vancouver this year to try one out.  So when I heard about an escape room opening in Victoria, I booked my session for 48 hours later, and then convinced people to come and join me.

Five of us got together to the venue on the top floor of an old brick building in Bastion Square and were welcomed by the owners and inventors.  They briefed us on our task (get out of the room, the key is in that electronic safe, and no... you can't just punch in numbers and hope), told us not to rip up the sofa cushions or stick our fingers in the plug sockets, locked the door and let us get on with it.

I can't really say what we had to do, to avoid spoiling it for other people. But the room was smaller and emptier than I expected, but there was a lot of things to solve in there.  Some were obvious what the puzzle was, even if the solution was not. Others it was not clear what the puzzle was at all or at least not yet.

Everything made logical sense when we did solve it. There was much frowning when we got stuck and when progress was slow. But this had the flip side of the elation and cheers when we did find the next step, solve a puzzle and get rewarded with new parts to play with.  You can get a clue from the people running the game, who keep watch on you via a camera.  We needed it after being stumped for several minutes.

The five of us were kept entertained throughout, and we got close to getting out in the last seconds, but the pressure of time made us hurry too much to really step back for a second and think about it.  The puzzles ranged all over the map and were not of any one type, so don't expect to have to know a lot about everything.  The room was small so for five of us we did trip over each other a little bit, and it did get hot in there.  But otherwise, everyone had a great time.

My only disappointment is that they only have one scenario set up right now, as I really would like to go again sooner rather than later.

Ruby, near Mayfair Mall

Saturday was the Esquimalt 5km.  The Brunette, her daughter, Andrea and I entered for a casual fun run.  I managed to keep a reasonable pace up, better than I expected, with many thanks to the Andrea for keeping me going. Mavymag and the Brunette took a walk and stopped to smell the roses along the route, which has some good views along the seafront at Macauley point.

The run is very friendly and laid back, for kids and families mainly than the ultra-serious runners. Everyone under 13 who did the full run got a certificate and a water bottle and a family pass to the leisure centre.  There was a tonne of give-aways for shoes and gift baskets and massage therapy sessions.  A good morning, and one which worked up some hunger.

So off to the Ruby on Victoria's Chicken Belt (the 3100 block of Douglas Street).  The restaurant specialises in rotisserie chicken.  And I love good roasted or fried chicken.  Next door, there's KFC.  Which does terrible fried chicken, and coleslaw that looks like green marsh clippings mixed with half pasteurised mayonnaise that's been left in the sun too long... and it tastes much the same.

The Ruby is in the forecourt of Hotel Zed, where Accent Inns have refurbished a tired old Motel into a bright 70's throwback affair, replete with Camper Van as a shuttle bus and big bold blocks of colour.  The restaurant spills over into the hotel reception, so confusing us where to get seating, but a friendly concierge directed us along to the maitre d' who got us seated right away, onto a corner table.

The restaurant echoes the rest of the location.  There's a big tiled wall with a Chicken on it.  The Chicken has been divided into four parts: Leg, wing, breast and thigh.  I was not aware that chicken thighs came from the egg-laying part of a hen, though.  There's a small retro table with a record player on it, pumping out music.  Very kitsch, but as it was Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, I will not only give it a pass, but a thumbs up.

We got the simple menu, which offers an array of breakfast choices, chicken rotisserie main courses and other entrées. But I knew what I wanted. Chicken and Waffles.

Hmm.  Problem. There are no Chicken and Waffles.

There are duck confit and waffles.  There are waffles and banana and toasted pecans.  There are waffles and  mixed berries.  There's shredded chicken eggs benedict and Mexican eggs topped with chicken.  But no chicken and waffles.

However, a quick request with the server, and he tells us the kitchen can prep up three plates of roasted chicken with waffles.  My day is complete and I have a new favourite person for the next thirty minutes, as I sit in anticipation.  Everyone bar the Brunette follows me with this choice.  Her loveliness goes for the skinny eggs breakfast.

The plates arrive, fresh from the kitchen, with a pile of chicken arranged on four large, fresh waffles, topped with an over-easy egg and a crack up rasher of bacon, crumbled and mixed in with the works.  I slice the egg open, letting a cascade of the runny yolk flow over the crisp chicken skins.  I daub on the house hot sauce, and then carve off a section of the waffles.

Oh boy.  These are light, fluffy clouds.  Sweet, yes, but not cloying.  There's some vanilla in there, I think, but just a hint.  I slice off more, with a bit of bacon and a morsel of chicken.  This combination works so well in my mouth, it has a little grin on it for the next 10 minutes as I work from one end of the plate to the other.  Stopping only occasionally to pause and let things sink in further.

The chicken is great.  It's tender and juicy throughout.  Cooked throughout, to a fall off the bones goodness. The skin is crispy, the insides aren't. The chicken grease covers my fingers as I gnaw on the bones, as I sully up a pile of serviettes to wipe my fingers and mouth.  I love it when you get chicken this good, that it leaves its mark.

The hot sauce they bring out is also wonder.  It has some heat, but also a spicy tang and sharpness from the vinegar too.  They told us it was a house recipe, but they did intend to start bottling it to sell.  I will be ordering some. I know my hot sauces.  No egg can be eaten at Vic In-Person towers without a splash of something spicy. This sauce, with chicken and some simple carbs, would knock Nandos into a cocked hat.

I commented to the server these were the best waffles I'd had in years. He relayed this vocally across to the kitchen.  I think they were glad to know.

Andrea and Mavymag both agreed this was a great meal.  The Brunette had no envy though. Her sauteed kale was perfect, she tells me, and the bed of hashed browned potatoes was crisp on the outside and mashed soft inside, made even tastier with the addition of carrots into the combination.  I would have tried some, but I was filled to the gunnels with the meal I had.  Any more, and I'd have recreated Mr Creosote, and after the staff were so nice to us, I felt this was not a good way to repay them.

In short, my only complaint is that they should make this special Chicken and Waffles order a mainstay on the menu. I may take one for the team and check out the duck confit version next time.
 But I just can't see how it can be as good.



(I have had the Kaiser Chef's Ruby in my head throughout this review. The words aren't appropriate, but the tune is a great one.)

The Blue Fox, Downtown Victoria

Spoiler alert:  The Blue Fox does the best traditional breakfast in town.

A few weeks back, I became a Canadian, and to celebrate my first meal as a citizen, I went to the Blue Fox.  Because it's a city favourite, and because there'd be no lineup.  The line ups at the Fox are legendary in Victoria.  So any chance to eat there with little or no wait should be taken.

The Brunette and I headed over after the citizenship ceremony.  The ceremony was the end of a nine-year long process.  I got to shake hands with a Mountie and a Judge and sing the anthem NOT at a hockey game, I think that made it official.

Right at the end of the ceremony, the usher announces that we were all going to get a special gift to commemorate the day.  I half-expected the long arm of advertising to have reached this formal ceremony and end up with a $25 Timmies Card, or a fistful of Canadian Tire money. It wasn't.  A cultural access pass, which gets me free entry to a bunch of places across Canada... a half-priced rail ticket.  If anyone wants to sponsor a book....

So breaking fast at the Blue Fox I ordered up the HUGE 'Fox's Grill' and a mug of steaming hot coffee.  The Brunette went for the less huge Huevos Rancheros.  We chatted while we waited, sipping coffee that was as fresh as the water reserves in Canada... which holds one-fifth of the world's non-salinated H2O.

My plate arrived, piled as high as Mount William Logan.  We had bacon, as crisp as a plastic twenty dollar bill.  It was smoked with the scent of maple wood, reminiscent of a warm summers day in the New Brunswick forests.  The eggs were fresh with yolks that bring back memories of ten gold medals won by Team Canada at the Sochi Winter Olympics.  The toast was fresh and crisp, with oats and wheat that a Saskatchewan farmer would be proud of growing. The butter sat in its pores, melted and slightly salty.  Salty like the sea breeze on a fresh day on the tip of Vancouver Island.  The bread came with a homemade jam, tart but fruity.  Not too sweet, which Sir Frederick Banting would approve of, I am sure.

The potatoes were pan-fried, but still retained the hale earthiness that Matthew Cuthbert would have been proud to grow. The sausage links had porky goodness throughout.  Two links, reminding me of the two links across Canada forged by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways. To round things out, there was some hot, sauteed mushrooms.  Brown and black, like the thick tar sands of Northern Alberta.

Okay, that's one metaphor too far.

I also tried parts of the Huevos.  The salsa was one of the best tasting ones I have ever tried.

It's a great meal. Fresh local produce, cooked well with the minimum of messing around with it, the minimum of ceremony.  There's a reason the lines for this place at the weekend stretch longer than Wayne Gretzky's point scoring streak.