Chicken 649 Stark white walls, Simple black lettering on the outside of the building. Looks and feels like a fried chicken joint. So what is all the fuss about? When D and I walked up to Chicken 649 which was a bit out of the way from our usual haunting pattern in Victoria, my first thought was… really? I have learned though never to judge, some of the best things I have eaten have come from very dingy little places. We took a table in the corner and I ordered the classic recipe 8 piece chicken with a corn salad, pickles, and a dipping sauce. First of all the chicken came in a pizza box presentation which I thought was really neat, pieces lined up in a row and below them the sauces and the salads, the pickles were Daikon!  This thrilled me as I have an unhealthy addiction to the stuff. It is hard to say much about fried chicken other than it is either good or its not, This was great. The batter was crunchy, had been fried for just the right amount of time as to be dark ...

  We had to use Google maps to find this place, and we were almost on top of the location when we noticed it. Hanks is a small (allegedly eighteen seats, but even that’s pretty tight) restaurant with a small sign and darkened windows. Hanks is hidden in plain sight right downtown Victoria on Douglas street.   When we walked in I was instantly delighted, I felt like I had discovered a private back room of an obscure watering hole. The thick aroma of deeply browned meat hit my nostrils immediately. The place looked completely full; that is to say there were a dozen or so patrons, mostly sitting on stools around the bar.  We inquired if it possible get seated, but I was thinking we would be turned away. Whiskey and I may have fit slotted in somewhere, but we were expecting a guest to join us as well.  The bubbly hostess/server told us they had one table near the back of the dining room, so she led us eleven steps towards the back where we were delighted see the large...

  You know when fate steps in? Well this is what happened the morning that D and I ended up at the Blue Fox Café . The plan had been to got to Floyd's for an astounding breakfast that I had only heard rumours about.   We were disappointed to find that Floyds had been permanently closed and we were sadly not going to be able to flip double or nothing for our breakfast.     Cold and still wanting breakfast we had to make a call, and I remembered The Blue Fox, a kitschy breakfast nook I had been ages ago with a friend, so we went searching.   The Blue Fox is unassuming from the outside, with small sign out front with the name of the restaurant and the simple statement of specials. We wandered in.     The dining room felt a lot like you were cramming into Gramma’s kitchen, red brick walls and tables were stuffed cheek by jowl. It was packed. We were given menus in the small waiting area, and we got the impression quickly that the ide...

Hello foodie fans,  It’s been a little while since you have heard anything from us, life gets busy and we have been no exception.  With the imminent return  of the sun , myself and Chef D are planning our return to society from our long winter sleep as well and we are looking forward to a few new places around home to eat and check out.  Spoiler alert Victoria BC is on our list in the next few weeks for our annual VF foodie getaway. Hope you have been enjoying Chef D and his beer of the week reviews. Planning on adding Wine Wednesday to that mix along with a few other food related pages that we have in the works.  So with much love and growling stomachs we will be seeing you very soon. Stay tuned  Whiskey G.

  I generally like most beers produced by Phillips Brewing, and this one is no exception.  Slightly sweet, and not strong tasting in the least despite its beautiful dark colour, this ale measures a moderate 5.3% alc. and 20 IBU.   This dark ale has hints of coffee and what I would describe as toasted puffed wheat. It's very drinkable, although maybe not quite as memorable as some other beers in the Phillips' caboodle. All and all a perfectly solid beer and when measured against all other beers, it's near the top of the crop, but compared to the other amazing recipes Phillips makes, this beer falls a slight bit back. Cheers and bon appetit,  D 7.5/10

  This is no ordinary radler.  First of all, at 4% alc., it's a tad stronger than the usual 2.5-3.5% radlers that are essentially beer diluted by half with juice.   Secondly, this beer is blended with lemon, blood orange and apricot juices. This blend is complex and delightfully fresh tasting, with a tart, but not overly so ending.  A beautiful summer refresher or a great beverage with food,  Strathcona certainly did a nice job on this brew. Cheers and bon appetit,  D 8.5/10

  Well, the name is apt I suppose. This strong ale (10% alc!) smells a bit musky and has quite a bit of funk to the flavour. This brew is a Belgian style golden ale, which in general I'm not a huge fan of, but I know of a few (very few) people that really like this style.   Subtle flavours of coriander and moss underlay the big flavour of the German hops and Santa sweat. I drank the entire bottle, naturally, but I couldn't wait to move on to the next beer in the fridge. Cheers and bon appetit,  D 4/10