Qoola Frozen Yogurt - Thumbs up!

Homepage of Qoola


I heard about Qoola from some friends and was a little sceptical about frozen yogurt in the winter. Boy, was I wrong! Located in Uptown Mall, Qoola is on the main floor, diagonally across from Futureshop and visible from Saanich Rd. Like many of the vendors in Uptown, the decor is bright and lively and the staff was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about their products.

One of the cool things about Qoola is that the customer can choose any combination of flavours and toppings  because you pay-per-gram. So there are various flavours in self-serve machines, much like Slurpees at the convenience store. I believe the flavours were: Peach mango, raspberry pomegranate, regular yogurt, green tea, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry banana,and blueberry acai. Toppings ranged from fruits, nuts, candies, granola, to sauces. When your paper bowl is loaded to your liking, you just take it to the cashier and weigh your container to figure out how much you owe. For $5, you can get a generous portion with lots of toppings. Filling up the entire container goes for about $8 I believe.

Wannawafel

Wannawafel

 After hearing so much about this place with it's recent stint on Dragons' Den, I just had to check it out! Wannawafel is a small Belgian waffle shop located on the perimeter of Market Square (Johnson St. side). Soon as I turned the corner to enter Market Square, there was a lineup outside the restaurant. The aroma pumped out of this little place is divine, so the lineup was no deterrent whatsoever. When I finally got inside the restaurant, they have a large menu board posted right above the till. One can order either a Brussels waffle, or a Liege waffle, with various toppings available. The toppings available are: icing (free with your waffle), whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and fruit compote. Waffles are $3.50 and toppings range from $1.00 to $2.00.

Pig revisited

Sorry it has been so long since our last update. We've definitely got some catching up to do!
Many of you may already know, but Pig BBQ Joint (formerly on View St.) has moved to The Atrium on Blanchard St. Immediately, the face-lift Pig has had is apparent. The restaurant has upgraded from a little hole in the wall to a corner location that can seat 20+ diners, and has extended their hours 11am to 10pm, 7 days a week.

The menu has expanded beyond their 3 sandwiches and sides, offering mains, daily specials, and is now licensed to sell alcohol. I can't remember if the prices have gone up, but currently their delicious pulled pork sandwich is $6, while their pulled brisket and chicken sandwiches are $6.50.

On my last visit, I was ecstatic to learn I could get an evening snack from them, as they used to close much earlier in the day. That evening, they also had deep fried twinkies, and BBQ spaghetti on special. As tempted as I was, I went for the tried-and-true pulled pork sandwich, remembering it as one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. The service was friendly, and it didn't take too long to get my order.

But how did the sandwich hold up to memory? It should be said upfront that I went home before eating the sandwich (about 20 minutes), but the sandwich was less tender and less flavourful than I remember. It should also be mentioned that the restaurant had only been in their new kitchen for a few weeks, so perhaps they were still working out the kinks of the new environment and the extended hours. I suspect having the restaurant open later and the larger location may have forced them to increase production, sacrificing some of the quality.

Pig is still a great place for a delicious pulled-pork/brisket/chicken sandwich for an affordable price. I just hope that that first amazing sandwich I had from them is confined to just my memories.

- Mr. Pink