Pig revisited for pulled pork poutine

Well, it's definitely not our first time to Pig restaurant for their pulled pork, nor will it be our last. The pulled pork at Pig sets the bar of competition for all pulled porks in Victoria... so why not pulled pork poutine while we're at it! Pulled pork -- good; poutine -- good; pulled pork + poutine must = good x 2?

So what did we think of it?

Well, the pulled pork as always is incredibly moist and full of homemade flavour. The pork itself falls apart on itself and is easy to shred. Soaked in its own gravy and lathered on top of mozzarella cheese curds and freshly fried fries (say that 3 times fast) and you've got yourselves a decadent pulled pork poutine! The juices flow from the pork and completely cover the french fries, however, not to the point where they are overly soggy unless you happen to leave it untouched for too long. However, as one might expect, putting a salty topping on top of salty fries will lead to extra saltiness. In our case, it did come out a bit much on the salty side hence why we decided to counter-balance our taste buds with a cold refrigerated old-fashioned cream soda. Ahhh, that hit the spot. Anyhow, even though the filling snack was a bit saltier as expected, we finished it all in rapid order and were fully warmed up on a brisk, cold evening. We'd do it again, but make sure you're ready for the sodium chloride.

-- Mr. Blue

-- Ms. Violet

The Office - dine around Victoria because that's what she said

The Office Lounge site

For our final destination of our Dine Around Chronicles, Mr. Blue, Ms. Violet and I got together to check out The Office. This has been an eagerly anticipated visit as our hopes to go last year for Dine Around were thwarted for some forgotten reason. Stepping into the restaurant, the ambience did not disappoint.

Greeted at the front by the hostess and a gentlemen reminiscent of Gordon Gekko, we were led to a large round table with high back chairs. The chairs are perfect to sit back in and lounge around in over a few drinks, but also suitable for dinner, not forcing diners to sit on the edge of the chairs just to reach the table.

Looking at the menu, we all decided on the $20 Dine Around options (listed below) and on a few drinks. Beer and cocktail prices were quite reasonable, featuring local and imported beers on tap ($4.75-$7.25) per sleeve, and cocktails around $8.50. Between the three of us, we had: the Wild Mushroom Risotto, the Grilled Chicken Mediterranean Penne, the Office Mac and Cheese, the Grilled NY Strip Sandwich, and the Warm Chocolate Chunk Brownie.

Dine Around Chronicles cont'd... Pizzeria Prima Strada (Bridge Street location)

Pizzeria Prima Strada website

Continuing on with our Dine Around Chronicles, we set out for Pizzeria Prima Strada on Bridge St. to check out their $20 three-course menu. At first, I didn’t even realize where the restaurant was in the plaza, as there are two garage doors on the side of the building; however, once entering, you are faced with the cashier countertop and a direct view into their open kitchen. I couldn’t help but be impressed with their wood-burning pizza oven, with actual piles of wood stocked along the walls at the ready. The feel of the restaurant was sort of a blend between garage and classy family restaurant – strange, but it works!

Once seated in our rickety, wicker chairs we all decided on the Dine Around menu. I decided on the Melanzane & Tonno (local tuna served on cubed roasted eggplant and other veggies), Salsiccia Piccante pizza (housemade fennel sausage, tomato, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers) and for dessert, a scoop of hazelnut ice cream with a vanilla ice cream centre, rolled in coco powder.

Aura - Taking Advantage of Dine Around

Aura website

Double Smoked Pork Belly Risotto

Taking advantage of Dine Around & Stay in Town, some friends and I decided to check out Aura restaurant located at the Laurel Point Inn. Arriving there, parking was a bit of an issue; we ended up parking a few hundred meters away on Montreal St. The atmosphere was elegant and refined - not something a BC Connoisseur would typically go for to hang out with friends, but it was something different. Greeted by the hostess, I was soon seated at a large round table, with comfortable chairs and a harbour-side view.
The restaurants Dine Around menu only had the $30 option which is as follows:

Kuma Noodle - Kind of Cool

Kuma Noodle Location

I happened to stumble on Kuma when I was meeting some friends for wing night at 1550s (still pretty good there, by the way). It's a fairly small Japanese noodle shop located on Cedar Hill X, right next to Brannigans family restaurant. It's funny, I was just thinking how Victoria didn't have any good Japanese noodle restaurants after the one downtown closed.

They operate Monday through Saturday from 11:00am-9:30pm. They did a great job renovating it from the printer ink store, showcasing a huge stainless steel cooking area behind the counter, some booth seating to the left, and a few smaller tables to the right of the entrance. They also have a pachinko machine if anyone knows how to play!

The menu is fairly basic with a selection of various ramen noodle dishes. They have soy flavoured ramen, salt flavoured ramen, miso ramen, miso bbq pork ramen, and vegetable ramen. There are also a few rice dishes such as: curry rice, pork cutlet don, chicken and egg don, steak don and bbq don. Side dishes included gyoza, rice, kimchi and fried rice. Drinks are pretty standard with soft drinks and green tea.

Bon Sushi 2 - Thumbs up!

Bon Sushi 2 (Royal Oak - Saanich)

Bon Sushi in Oak Bay has recently opened up another restaurant in the Royal Oak district in Saanich. Of course, after having such a great meal at the original Bon Sushi in Oak Bay it only made sense for us to try the new location afterwards. The menu is exactly the same, however, we don't have to drive nearly as far to get to it. There's also more available free parking, and well, it's new!

Empress Dining - Thumbs Up (if you've got money)

The Fairmont Empress Homepage

It's not everyday you get the chance to make a moment to dine in luxury... unless you're ridiculously rich or something! Mr. Blue and Miss Violet decided to make a night out of it and headed to The Empress for a fine dining dinner. The Empress is a landmark hotel and restaurant in Victoria, BC and has always upheld a high standard for its high tea, fine dining, ballroom events, and hotel service. The decor is of old English or British style and the building itself is located in the heart of the harbour area. A very beautiful setting, with every detail left in place or fully restored. The furniture themselves are kept in great condition and only further enhances the effect of traveling back in time.