Ottavio Italian Bakery, Deli, and Cafe- Oak Bay

23 03 2011

Ottavio’s Cafe
2272 Oak Bay Ave.
250-592-4080
www.ottaviovictoria.com

As I settle into my digs in Oak Bay, I find myself wandering  Oak Bay Avenue admiring all the shops and eats along the way. Oak Bay has a rich suburbia feeling, but with that comes some interesting and high-quality places to shop and eat. I have been to Ottavio’s in the past, so banking on those experiences, I made a stop by there a few weeks ago to grab some ingredients. The cheese selection is impressive, their charcuterie is decent, and the baked goods look great. I picked up some olives, and cheese and greek oregano. I was hoping they would have some pizza dough, but it sold out by the time I got there. The staff member that aided me gave me the courage to give the dough a go by myself. I ended up making one of the best pizzas( actually the first pizza dough I’ve made from scratch) I’ve had in a long time. I had some andouille sausage, tomato sauce, onions, peppers and salami on the meat pizza. I also made a greek vegetarian pizza with a kale and onion sauce, goats feta, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives. Tasty!

JB and I went to Ottavio’s a couple days ago for a lunch. As many of you may have noticed, I have been cutting back on my reviews. I’m in employment limbo at the moment, so I have been pinching pennies and cooking most of my meals at home. Not having to make lunch that day was a real treat. Ottavio’s is definitely the buzz of Oak Bay around lunch time, the whole place is packed, especially because it was sunny outside on the patio. I had a chorizo panini, and JB had the fusili with beef ragu. The pasta was homemade and the sauce was definitely from scratch too. The flavours with delicate and served with a simple( and forgettable) green salad. The pasta was overcooked for my liking, but it was a baked pasta with a bechamel sauce on top. My panini was good, the bread made it. The prices are higher than your average deli, but you’re getting access to higher than average ingredients. If I ever need cheese, or cured meats, or nice crusty bread, Ottavio’s will be at the top of my list. I’m taking a breakmaking course right now, so who knows I might be able to make my own artisan loaf sooner than I thought( I’m letting my dough rest for baking first thing in the morning!)

Cheers

-Eating Victoria

Ottavio Italian Bakery, Delicatessen & Cafe on Urbanspoon


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Categories : Bistro/Cafe, Deli/Lunch on the Go/Street Food, Italian, Reviews

Groupon

9 03 2011

There have been some great Groupons lately! If you haven’t tried Groupon yet, click on my link!

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu9392370

Cheers

-Eating Victoria


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Categories : Notes

Dine Around Victoria- Glo Europub & Grill

9 03 2011

Glo Europub and Grill
104-2940 Jutland Rd.
250-385-5643

My wishlist for Dine Around this year was long, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to many restaurants. My third Dine Around experience was at Glo Europub, down in the Selkirk complex ( go down the Gorge, turn left at Jutland, and Glo is down by the water). I have been to Glo a long time ago for a late-night dessert and some drinks, but this was my first time having a dinner there. Glo has a reputation swirling around its patio, arguably one of the best in Victoria for a summer afternoon/evening.

I ordered the hazelnut and goat cheese salad to start, the steak, and banana cake for dessert($20 for all three courses on Dine Around). The salad was simple but nice. The steak wasn’t the greatest cut of meat, and was a bit undercooked( it came rare-medium-rare and I ordered it medium), the veggies were good, and the blue cheese croquette was a nice consistency. It was crunchy on the outside, and creamy on the inside. It could have been seasoned a bit more, salt and pepper, as I found it a bit on the bland side. I enjoyed the banana cake, warm gooey and delicious. JP had the caesar salad, the duck with spaetzle and cabbage, and the chocolate fondant cake($30 for the three). He enjoyed them all. The spaetzle had some type of sauce on them, I tasted something like sour cream in it. Interesting combination of flavours. The chocolate cake was moist, but a true chocolate fondant will be a bit runny/souffle-like in the centre. The food was decent, but I would come back more for ambience. They had some live music on Saturday night which was nice, and there is a nice buzz in the air.

Cheers

Glo Euro Pub & Grill on Urbanspoon


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Categories : Canadian/American chain, Pub food, Reviews

Heckler’s Bar and Grill-Heck of a time

6 03 2011

Heckler’s Bar and Grill
123 Gorge Road East
250-386-9207

LF invited me out to Heckler’s a few weekends ago for their stand-up comedy night. I’ll focus on the food and service, but I will consider the comedians as part of the ambience. She called in to make reservations for a table. The place got full by 9 o’clock for the comics. We had some drinks, but I was feeling peckish so I got a hot dog with salad. The bun was nice and toasted, but the problem was there was a lot of it, got doughy pretty fast. The frank was good quality, Coney Island style, with lots of condiments on the side. Later on we had the deep fried Mars bar, why not? It wasn’t as warm as I expected, but the deep-fried treatment made the bar melt into a very pleasing texture. Coupled with whipped cream, this dessert is easily packing upwards of 600 calories, c’est la vie.

The server we had was a very nice and attentive young lady. She gave the best service I’ve had in a pub for a long time. The customer service all around us was to a high standard. I saw another server deal with a customer complaint/order mix-up very professionally, and the manager got involved too, they obviously care.

The place gets loud, but I really enjoyed the energy. The comics were a bit hit and miss, but I enjoyed the variety. Crass, poking fun at anything they could, definitely not for the faint of heart. For 10 bucks, I thought the entertainment was well worth it.

Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 7/10

Cheers!

Heckler's Bar and Grill on Urbanspoon


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Categories : Pub food, Reviews

Re-visits- Updated experiences

5 03 2011

Here are a couple of restaurants I’ve re-visited in the last month. Short and Sweet

The Reef on Yates Street- A couple of friends were visiting from Vancouver and they wanted to go for brunch on Sunday. I’m not a huge fan of waiting in line for hours for breakfast, so I took a tip I heard recently, that the Reef has good brunch on weekends. The legends were true, no line-ups! The food was decent. I had eggs with potatoes, toast, and chorizo. The chorizo was a bit burnt, but everything else was good. This is a good option if you don’t want to wait for Blue Fox or Shine.

Nando’s on Government- I went here last week, my fourth or so time since it opened. I had the chicken kebabs with rice. The rice had good flavour but it was a mushy/overcooked. The chicken tasted good. I find the food can be a bit on the salty side.

Moxies on Yates St.- A few of my friends and I went to Moxies last week. We had some wine, and a few appies. The food is predictable, but it’s consistent.

Brown’s Social House on Douglas St.- They were doing Dine Around, but I wasn’t hungry enough to have three courses. The atmosphere in Brown’s is fun and youthful. The drinks are reasonably priced and the food is better than most chain food I’ve tried. I had the Chiva Som which consisted of “blackened” chicken( a bit salty) and a spicy tomato sauce with a salad and almond rice. I could have used a bit more kick to the tomato sauce. But I was content with the dish, it was on the healthier side which I appreciate. The rice was delicious. It’s weird that it’s the rice that is so vivid in my mind after that meal. It was perfectly cooked, crunchy almonds, and a garlic flavour that permeated so deeply. I would honestly go back just because of that rice..haha..

Cheers!


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Categories : Reviews

Dine Around Victoria- Veneto Lounge

5 03 2011

Veneto Lounge
1450 Douglas Street.
250-383-7310

JB and I went over to Veneto to try out their $30, 3 course Dine Around menu. I’ve been to Veneto over five times now, and they have consistently delivered great food, and generally good service. We ordered a couple of beers and rattled off our orders. For the first course I went for the duck poutine, and JB went for the creole onion soup. The poutine was nice, not a heavy gravy, more of a jus or broth. The onion soup was outstanding, almost like it had been thickened a bit, but the flavours were singing. I would order a big bowl of that.

For the second course , I had the pepper-crusted New York strip steak with a brandy demiglace and frites, and JB had the chicken with blackberry ancho sauce with yam mash. The steak was cooked exactly how I like it, but I found the peppercorns a bit overwhelming, and the portion on the small size. The veggies were nice and fresh, but they weren’t all cooked, some were still quite crunchy/raw. The chicken dish was a knock-out. I would never have thought ancho chipotle and blackberries would be a viable combination of flavours, but I was wrong. Verdict: Lip-smacking good!

For dessert I had the kahlua creme brulee with a Bailey’s glazed mini-doughnut. JB had the peanut butter brownie with bananas. Both desserts were tasty, but I found the doughnut a bit dry. The brownie was very moist. If I were to do the Dine Around again, I would order everything JB had. The onion soup, the chicken, and the brownie. For 30 dollars you get to try some fun combinations of flavours.

Service: 7.5/10
Food: 8/10
Ambience: 7.5/10

Veneto on Urbanspoon


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Categories : Fine Dining, Reviews

Dine Around Victoria- Sips Artisan Bistro

5 03 2011

Sips Artisan Bistro
425 Simcoe Street
250-590-3519

Thank you for your patience! I finally have some time to write some past due reviews of the last few weeks.

Sips was my first stop on my Dine Around experience this year. I went with my good friend JP, as it is so close to his apartment in James Bay. Sips Bistro is right next to the Spinnaker’s liquor store in the Thrifty’s complex of James Bay( just past Starbucks). I was shocked when I walked inside, the space is quite small, well long I should say. We went on a Sunday, which turned out to be for the best, cheap wine night! Our server was quick, relaxed, and seemed to enjoy her job. JP ordered the $30 dine around 3 course menu, and I ordered the $20 option. My first course was a beet carpaccio with fennel and goat cheese, and JP got the duck prosciutto soup. The beets were beautiful in appearance and subtle and sweet in taste. The raw fennel paired with a fennel vinaigrette was a nice touch, including some of the fronds. I thought it was the perfect way to start off the meal, cleansed my palate. I tried the soup too, I couldn’t pick out the duck prosciutto taste specifically, but it tasted good.

I was stoked to see pork belly on the menu, I can only think of a few menus in town that I have seen it on. Genevieve( the masterful chef who managed to execute high quality food from a tiny little kitchen!), served the lacquered pork belly with braised red cabbage and star anise, with some mashed potatoes. I was blown away, it was easily the best pork and combination of flavours I’ve had in a long time. When I think of a bistro, I think of comfort food prepared in interesting ways, so Sips has it down. JP had the brisket, and it was delicious too!

For dessert I had the Peanut and honey cheesecake, and JP had the Grand Marnier creme brulee. Both were perfectly-sized.

I am very excited to return for more dinners at Sips. I felt the quality of the food exceeded the price, I was very impressed. The staff were quick, and the food is a real treat. I’m jealous of James Bay.

[check the Sips Bistro link, I added two pictures from my meal, the beets and the pork belly, http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/317/1492297/restaurant/Sips-Artisan-Bistro-Victoria]

Sips Artisan Bistro on Urbanspoon


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Categories : Bistro/Cafe, Reviews

M.I.A- Updates and new posts on their way!

3 03 2011

Greetings all!

I have been in the process of moving into a new house, so I haven’t had the time or internet to be blogging.

Updates on their way for… Nando’s, Moxies, and The Reef [I'll post the updated visit at the top of the original post for each restaurant]

and also,

Dine around Victoria reviews for Sips Bistro in James Bay and Veneto

Cheers

-Eating Victoria


Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Notes


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