Origin Bakery

I've had some snacks at this bakery before, as my wife gets her dry cleaning done nearby at the big clock. Origin Bakery is a gluten-free place that makes tasty items, which is hard to do gluten free. Even their turkey, edam and cranberry sandwich is tasty. I've only been to their Pandora location but they have another in Colwood.

Lotus Pond

We were treated to a supper at the Lotus Pond Buddhist restaurant by a friend as a Christmas present. We have eaten here since shortly after it opened in the late 1990's. I always have a fantastic meal here, except for the buffet. Don't have the buffet. If you want to eat cheaply, have the Buddah's Feast Soup and it will fill you up with tasty goodness for $5.95 plus tax and tip. Their Szechuan Ginger B is the best and yet its not meat. Their hot pots are also very good.

Expand your horizons and give a vegetarian restaurant a try.

Out of Town and Out of Touch

I will be out of town and out of blog communication (love those work firewalls) until the 20th of December.

Once Back I will be posting about my trip to Tofino on Remembrance day weekend and other things. Stay tuned.

Helping Someone in Need and Good Communities

I received an interesting call this morning that shaped my day. It was my work letting me know that one of my subordinates was missing in the woods and that more help was being obtained to form a larger search party.

I was not surprised at the amount of people I showed up. Good workplaces instill a sense of family and camaraderie that create a group of people willing to help others because that's the thing to do. Its done for people that may be your best bud or "that guy down the hall". Its a great feeling when a crisis happens that prove the validity humanities basic nature in helping others.

Good communities can do that as well, which lead to good nations and hopefully...eventually to a great planet.

The fellow was found by the time I got to the police station used as the hub of the search, which is always a good result. Even better he was none the worse for wear for staying overnight in the woods. He'll get a ribbing tomorrow at work but it will be in good fun.

Pizzeria Prima Strada

Pizzeria Prima Strada is a wonderful little chain of local pizza places that use wood fired ovens and delicious ingredients. It comes close to the original Italian style that my wife and I remember.

They have two locations on Bridge street and Cook street and we've tried both. This time I ordered the Napoletana (tomato, garlic, anchovies, oregano, olive oil) and added arugula. It was delicious. Highly recommended.

Ca Va Bistro Moderne

As part of a gastronomic club of five persons, we went to Ca Va Bistro Moderne. It is new within the last year and my wife's bosses raved about it. It fuses classic French, modern Australian and Westcoast cuisines. The interior is nicely decorated and one side of the room is a chalk board which has the entirety of the menu.

I ordered warm sourdough bread, olive oil, zatar with the extra of creton and pickles for everyone. The creton had allspice added, which is different than other creton I have tried in the past and added a nice little zip (creton is ground pork slowly sauteed in milk or cream with pickling spices which is then refrigerated and served with toast or crackers. It freezes for a long time too.).

For an appetizer I had butternut squash ravioli with truffle oil and a warm fig with slivers of manchego cheese. Not as good as Zambri's butternut squash ravioli but very tasty.

For my main it was duck confit with pureed fennel, beans with chizoro and olive oil which was very delicious and filling.

For dessert, my wife and I shared a chocolate puree with pinot noir sorbet and fresh raspberries with a berry coulee. Very dense, intense and filled the last bit of my stomach up.

For a wine the others had wine from the tap. Its a relatively new thing and it provides wine by the glass, half-liter or full liter. The wine was a Pinot Noir, from the Eau Vivre winery in Similkameen Valley, BC.

As a note, they use as much local and fresh ingredients that they can, so the good stuff does not last long. They are also open for brunch and lunch. My wife and I would come back again.

Clay Pigeon Restaurant

The Clay Pigeon restaurant is a tiny little eatery that makes very good meals. It has Northwest style decor and is open seven days a week.

I started with the escargot in pernod garlic butter. They are harvested in Quebec and come in their shells, which reminded me of my trip to France earlier this year. Delicious. My friend had the fried pigs ear with sweet chili sauce and he enjoyed it.

For a main I had Chive Gnocci with eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and red pepper ratatou. It was very tasty but a little small. My friend had the Chicken Confit with orange , onion and star anise marmalade, grilled zucchini and parme. He also enjoyed it and it was a very healthy size.

I would come back again.