Fast Food/Chain | Eating Victoria- Food Blog and Eating Guide

Big Wheel Burger

18 02 2013

Big Wheel Burger
341 Cook St.
250-381-0050

Big Wheel is a departure from the gourmet burger movement. It’s a slap in the face to the artisanal cheeses and ancient grain buns adorning burgers in Victoria at an alarmingly and annoying rate. I like toppings but reading some menus it becomes frustrating seeing all the combinations. For that, I give Big Wheel props. It’s doing simple burgers, well-sourced meat and an overall ethical mission with waste disposal. Sauce, lettuce, tomato is really all you need on a burger. Sliced cheese not triple cream brie. The buns are soft and large, so the bun to burger ratio is off. The interior is clean and staffed with friendly burger slingers. A lot of people complain about the prices, and they will continue to complain. The restaurant concept is consistent with other “back-to-basics” fast-food chains. I wish them all the best.

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Categories : Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Fatburger

6 06 2012

Fatburger
1209 Douglas St.
250-590-4142

I was not familiar with the Fatburger chain, so I checked out their website. It looked interesting, a step-up from most chain fast-food. Unfortunately I didn’t feel that way when I left.

The ordering process was confusing due to a lack of useful signage. For a simple burger, fries and drink , it came to over 13 dollars. There also seemed to be more staff working than the restaurant needed. The busser was floating around the small eating area and it was painful to watch, over-interacting with customers out of sheer boredom. The food took a while to get to me, enough time for my expectations to be high. The meat had a strange seasoning on it, leaving me with a strange aftertaste in my mouth. Nothing stood out, pretty standard food that is more expensive and takes longer to make. Not exactly successful selling features. I won’t be going back.

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Categories : Canadian/American chain, Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Marble Arch Fish and Chips

7 12 2011

Marble Arch Fish and Chips
3468 Tillicum Road
250-386-7141

I thought I had tried all of the restaurants in the Tillicum area until a friend mentioned Marble Arch. She said it’s mostly a fish and chip shop, with burgers and other diner items, but the owners are Chinese. I was curious what kind of Chinese food they would have, so I went with a colleague for lunch.

The interior of the restaurant looks very dated, but I guess some would see that as its charm. The owners were friendly, and it seemed that there were a lot of regulars. Everything on the menu is very cheap(everything under 10 dollars), so I could see why a lot of people would come here for lunch.

I had the only vegetarian option on the menu, which was a vegetable chop suey, and my friend had some fried rice. The portions were huge and fast. Mine had lots of vegetables and rice, and they were cooked well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce, I would have preferred the vegetables steamed on rice with the sauce on the side. I think the corn starch in the sauce gave me a stomach ache later on. The fried rice looked very plain, and she said it wasn’t very flavourful. It’s unfortunate because they serve Westernized “Chinese” food like so many other restaurants in town. Anyways, I’m glad I went for curiosity sake. The price is as low as you can get, and it was filling. The burgers and other diner stuff looks decent.

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Categories : Breakfast/Diner, Chinese, Deli/Lunch on the Go/Street Food, Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Whitespot- Fort St.- Good Veggie burger

26 07 2011

Whitespot- Fort Street
1871 Fort Street
250-595-4442

This family restaurant is just around the way from me, so it’s a convenient place for a quick bite. They have decent breakfast, but recently I had their veggie burger. I complain a lot about every restaurant only having a veggie burger for vegetarians, with varying degrees of success. There were a few different dishes that were veggie-friendly but the burger sounded good. It was on a multi-grain bun with a basil aioli, grilled veggies and mushrooms and provolone cheese. It was stacked, so I underestimated how filling it would be. The yam fries here are good too, but I needed to basically roll myself out. I’ve had other food here and it’s pretty consistent. The service is quick and the staff seem to work well together. The food is somewhat over-priced I feel, but maybe prices are going up everywhere?

Cheers

-Eating Victoria

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Categories : Breakfast/Diner, Canadian/American chain, Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

La Belle Patate- La Belle Crise Cardiaque

20 02 2011

La Belle Patate
1215 Esquimalt Rd.
250-220-8427

A few nights ago, JB and I were in need for some quick, greasy shameful take-out. I had read a few reviews about La Belle Patate, and in that moment it seemed like a great idea to get some poutine. We walked into the small little restaurant and placed our order for two burgers(5 bucks a piece) and a medium size of classic poutine($7.50).There are lots of variations on the poutine, with some featuring jalapenos or Montreal smoked meat. Everything was made to order in front of us, and it was probably less than 10 minutes. We admired some of the Quebecois paraphernalia and our food came up piping hot. The poutine was huge, filled to the brim with a dark gravy and heaps of cheese curds. The burgers were pretty pedestrian, but the patties were definitely homemade, just straight-up beef. It was good for the craving we were having, but I don’t think I could have this often. The poutine is crazy salty, so make sure you share it with someone. But next time I’m in Esquimalt and I have the pangs for a salty fry, I know where to go.

Cheers

Eating Victoria

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Categories : Deli/Lunch on the Go/Street Food, Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Qoola Frozen Yoghurt- Take a trip to the Qoola

19 02 2011

Qoola Frozen Yoghurt
Uptown Shopping Centre

I was really looking forward to having some frozen yoghurt at Qoola, and I left very satisfied. The whole experience is self-serve, starting with pouring your own yoghurt. There were quite a few flavours, pomegranate, chocolate, vanilla to name a few. I had a mixture of dulce de leche and country vanilla. JB had the chocolate. The next stage is the toppings bar, which has everything under the sun. I put on some oreos, crispy crunch bits, gummy bears, ginger snaps, and strawberries. At the end of the line you will find the till, and you put your creations on the scale. For two big servings of yoghurt with toppings, the bill came to around 11 dollars. I had a Groupon to use, and the staff were very quick and friendly. If I ever find myself at Uptown Centre again, I’ll definitely be picking up some frozen yoghurt, so tasty. It’s like the Marble Slab Creamery, without all the calories!

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Categories : Canadian/American chain, Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Nando’s- Chicken and sauce

18 12 2010

Nando’s Flame-Grilled Chicken
1600 Government St.
250-590-3239

The first time I ever tried Nando’s was in London, UK. I had never heard of it before, but my friends informed me that it originated in South Africa and takes inspiration from Portuguese flavours and African ingredients. I wasn’t blown away in the UK, but I was pleasantly surprised with the one we have here in Victoria, which I am guessing is a franchise. The interior is actually classier than I had expected for a chain, and the servers were quick and nice.

My parents were visiting Victoria, and we wanted to grab a quick bite before they left for the ferry. The food here is very generously priced, definitely on the lower side for dinner. We ordered a family sharing platter, which had half a chicken, some chicken skewers, chicken wings and two sides( we chose sweet potatoes and roasted veggies). You can choose the sauce you would like each chicken dish to be marinated in, but there is also a sauce wheel on each of the tables to add yourself too. The chicken was very moist, it had a lot of flavour, and the server we had was very sweet. I had a green tea, and I noticed it was a Kirkland teabag, does Nando’s have partnership with Costco or maybe they ran out of their regular tea? Haha…

Anyways, I recommend going here for a tasty, flavourful meal at a good price!

I think they also have desserts, definitely have to try one next time!

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Categories : Fast Food/Chain, Reviews

Edo Japan- Mall Stirfry with lethal spring-roll

28 10 2010

Edo Japan
3170 Tillicum Rd.
250-385-2100
www.edojapan.com

I usually avoid Sizzling Wok, Edo, and sushi/Asian chain restaurants inside mall food courts, so I tried Edo as a result of running out of places to eat on my lunch break. It’s located right next to Starbucks inside of Tillicum Mall( by the Silvercity complex). I tried the Sukiyaki Beef last week, and today I tried Chicken and Beef, both combos were served over rice with some veggies. The extent of my knowledge of Japanese food usually surrounds sushi and more traditional dishes/delicacies. Edo has some sushi but it looks dreadful, most likely with imitation crab. But, I’m going to turn down my harsh-meter, because it is what it is, it’s a mall food court. It’s not very expensive, it’s quick and it isn’t as unhealthy as some other options ( A&W… hmm… poutine and root beer). I find it humourous reflecting on my eating habits and my blog entries, because as time passes it hits me. I live a dichotomous existence. One is obcessed with food of exotic and luxurious nature, and the other loves greasy Americana classics. It’s an ongoing issue, but I’m happy with where I’m at with it. There is peace.

Let me break it down for you. The rice was actually cooked well( they have a massive rice cooker that I saw them scooping it out of). The beef and chicken were shredded into little strips, but they tasted good and they weren’t tough like I expected. Mushrooms were sauteed with some cabbage and mixed into the whole dish, along with some carrots. Both times I went here, I got maybe one or two carrots and they were discoloured, a novel grey colour I have yet to see on any other carrot I’ve eaten. Last week I ordered a spring roll with the sukiyaki for $1.29. It seemed like a good idea. Then I saw him retrieve a puny little dried up roll from the heating tray. It was truly unpleasant from first bite, dry and spongy, cold, no taste inside, just an oily tough flavourless roll. Single tear.

All in all, I would go back for the sukiyaki over rice. It beats the cafeteria at my work on some days. The sauce is sweet but not overly salty, and I like that you can add some chili paste or soy at your own taste. The guys that work there are quick and friendly. Get rid of those spring rolls or fry them to order, for reals.