A taste of Wee Britain
In tourism magazines and Clipper brochures, Victoria BC likes to tout itself as a foodie destination. But we were suspicious that the culinary scene was nothing but a tourism trap, where the restaurants are boring and unimaginative in order to pacify the blue-hair tourists after tea at the Empress.
But on our last two trips to Vancouver Island, we’re slowly coming away with the fact there are some hidden gems in Victoria. None more so than our last trip this past weekend, where we savored one of the better meals we’ve eaten in the 14 months we’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest.
The entire trip was made possible by a ridiculous Clipper-and-hotel offseason package deal. In the summer months, the Victoria Clipper is comparable to a plane ticket, but in January they’re practically begging you to take the two-and-a-half hour ferry ride up the Strait of Juan de Fuca. So early on a Saturday morning we took the Clipper to Victoria and checked into a swanky boutique hotel.
Breakfast, or brunch by the time we arrived, was at Mo:Le Restaurant, near Chinatown. It was packed with a mix of hipsters, tourists and vegans even close to noon, so they sent us next door to Habit, a coffee shop that wouldn’t be out of place in Seattle. We enjoyed loose leaf teas with names like “Tea for Sad People” and read free copies of Cook’s Illustrated and Meatpaper while we waited.
People, if you’re in Victoria, go to Mo:Le. The reputation is that of a veggie-friendly spot, and they can certainly make most things vegan, but there’s a burger on the menu and sides like local lamb sausage and free-range chicken. The varieties of eggs benedict were enticing, but since we’re not eating dairy or grains right now (more on that in another blog post) we kept it simple. Jeremy had the special omelet with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach both days we went (yes, we went there both mornings) while Lisa ordered a yam and onion omelet that may have sounded weird but tasted out of this world. The omelets were the lightest we’ve ever had, nothing like the leaden, overcooked eggs you get at so many breakfast places. Their housemade hot sauce, which we should have purchased to take home but inexplicably didn’t, tasted like it was made from tomatoes picked yesterday.
In between touring Victoria, helping out the Canadian economy with our hard-earned American dollars and catching a film at the Victoria Film Festival (the Danes are a dark, dark people) we discovered another outstanding local restaurant called Stage Wine Bar. It’s away the tourist center of the Inner Harbor in the Fernwood neighborhood, a good 20-minute walk from downtown. The little retail intersection has a few above-average restaurants, but Stage really blew us away. They serve small plates and both tastes and glasses of wine, several from Vancouver Island wineries. We started off trying to be restrained (we had just polished off a dozen oysters at Ferris Oyster Bar) but were unable to control ourselves once the first few plates started coming out of the kitchen.
We ordered smoked ham from the selection of local charcuterie; a salad of marinated white anchovies, celery, fennel, marcona almonds; crispy fried local octopus & lemon; duck confit with caramelized caraway cabbage and wine syrup; and then chicken curry with apple apricot chutney, because we couldn’t help ourselves.
Everything was delicious, but the standouts were the octopus and duck confit. The octopus was like the best calamari you’ve ever had, but lighter and more flavorful, with the perfect amount of crispness on the outside. The duck confit was rich and balanced by the caramelized caraway cabbage, which was braised until almost dissolving. This is another must-visit if you’re visiting Victoria, especially if you want to avoid the overpriced tourist slop closer to the harbor.
The memories of the best dishes we had (seriously, Lisa woke up the next morning still thinking about that octopus) made up for the fact that our return Clipper boat was canceled because of mechanical problems and we ended up getting bused 7 hours home to Seattle, via the BC Ferries, arriving home at 12:30am. The good news: they gave us 50% off coupons for a future Clipper trip, so we can return and revisit some of our favorite tastes.
Lisa
Jeremy
