There’s a lot of Gin on the market these days. It seems anyone can just throw up a still and make some booze.

I’m not complaining, it’s my drink.

But in the muddied waters that is the world of Gin there’s sometimes not a lot of difference between them.

So when something a little bit different comes along it really stands out.

Sheringham Seaside is that little bit different.

The name is aprapos.

Inspired by the rugged coast a Vancouver Island where it is made, winged kelp gives this complex but elegant gin it’s unique flavor profile.

Fresh and crisp with citrus and juniper notes, the winged kelp gives it a brininess I haven’t seen in any other Gin to date.

It’s very unique.

And very delicious.

So if you’re looking to add something just a little bit different to your gin collection do yourself a favor and pick up one of this award winning gin.

You won’t be disappointed.

10/10

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You know it’s funny, we said to ourselves this morning “make sure we have something to eat before you get on the ferry because the food is terrible.”

And then we didn’t.

So here we are stuck on this boat for an hour and a half again and hungry.

We definitely won’t make the mistake of Eggs Benedict again.

I went to save a seat and Merilynn came back with a breakfast sandwich.

When I first looked at this I thought this was going to be as good as the Eggs Benedict.

Surprisingly though it was actually good. Not great. But good.

The English muffin wasn’t dried out. The egg was cooked fine. That cheese doesn’t look great but it’s not a terrible plastic American cheese slice, it’s more a real Cheddar slice. The potatoes even had some seasoning in them including rosemary. They could have used a lot more seasoning but it was there.

That’s one of the best things I’ve had on the BC ferry. It’s a pretty low bar though.

6/10

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This the first coffee shop we ran into since we left Victoria.

It will do. The one in Parksville was just fine.

Not the best latte I’ve ever had but not the worst.

I do enjoy these smaller towns and their older buildings though. Everything is so gentrified in Vancouver.

7/10

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A good friend was here in Victoria last month and visited Il Terrazzo and was thoroughly impressed, and recommended it to me the next time I was in town.

if you do come here it is a little tricky to find, the entrance being off of Waddington alleyway. If you’re on the main Street it’s behind the Friends of Dorothy bar. Which you cannot miss due to the “We are here and we are Queer” chant over what is already too loud dance music.

Upon entering I was immediately impressed.

It’s a warm, inviting, rustic space, with different rooms and different levels to provide lots of space but at the same time gives each diner the feel of a cozy, intimate, dining experience. We walked by at least four different fireplaces and even had one in our own little corner.

If I have any complaints about the interior it’s about the dividers between each table, a hold over from the covid days. Here they have used window panes with glass. To some extent it only furthers the illusion that you’re in a rustic farmhouse in Tuscany.

We started with a couple excellent cocktails.

The Amalfi Coast and a Negroni.

That Amalfi Coast coast goes down way too easy. It had rum, Galiano, orange juice, lemon and Orgeat. It was sweet and sour and very refreshing. I think we had four between us.

That Negroni was fantastic too. Made with Empress gin of course.

Next came a tomato soup..

This was a bit of a game changer for me.

I do make a very good tomato soup myself.

But look at that colour. Such a deep red. And the addition of bocconcini was fantastic. The flavor of the roasted tomatoes was so deep it blew my mind. I think I have found my next challenge.

After that soup I really wondered what was in store for our main.

While I will say that in the end I wasn’t disappointed, I did struggle choosing a dish. Which normally isn’t an issue for me.

One thing I picked up from GR a number of years ago in my own Journey as a home chef was simplicity. I remember as a teenager having a French cookbook that was ultra complicated and had recipes with 30 plus ingredients. Having a pantry that large becomes untenable.

And sure, if you’re a two or three-star Michelin restaurant you can get away with that.

But as nice as this place as this, it’s no L’Atelier or Guy Savoy.

Almost all the dishes on the menu here seem overly complex to me. Even the server said he thought the same. Really.

So I end up keeping it relatively simple.

Fusili con Sugo de Manzo.

Fusili baked in a slow cooked Bolognese sauce with mozzarella and spinach

It was fantastic. The sauce, rich and meaty, was only enhanced by baking it with all that gooey mozzarella. Fusilli is actually a really good choice for this too, all those ridges picking up all the meat and cheese perfectly. A truly fantastic pasta dish.

Merilynn’s on the other hand, not so much. Though I’m going with poor execution tonight. Not a bad idea.

Frutit di Mer Della Casa.

Seafood in a garlic cream sauce.

This should have been a knock your socks off dish. In fact it knocked the socks off one of my friends a month prior to our visit.

Loads of fresh seafood, all cooked perfectly.

It was the garlic cream sauce that was the let down. The garlic was burnt. Plain and simple. It was so bitter it made they pasta almost inedible.

I did check in with my friend who said his was nothing like that so I’m just going to chalk this one up to a one off as the quality of everything else has been excellent.

Regardless we still enjoyed all the seafood. And we got our fix of pasta from my dish.

After a couple more cocktails it was time for dessert.

Oh look, there’s creme brulee on the menu. Twist my arm…

As a (self proclaimed) expert on creme brulee I will say this is one of the best I’ve ever had.

The Pastry Chef got that sugar caramelized perfectly without turning the custard into soup underneath. Amazing job.

Oh look, another drink showed up. How convenient.

It was actually more than one…

Regardless of a slight misstep with the seafood pasta the meal was excellent.

Top notch service in a wonderful atmosphere.

Il Terrazzo should be a must stop for everyone who likes Italian food when you’re next in the Victoria area.

8/10

Visit Il Terrazzo’s website here

The post Il Terrazzo appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

Trying to pick a lunch spot in Victoria today is really a bit like throwing darts at a dartboard.

We really have no idea where to go.

As Merilynn has a thing for birds, especially herons, when the Heron Rock Bistro popped up on that search engine that has far too much power it was a sign.

It is not near a marsh, or a beach or park even. It’s in a low-rise condo actually.

Regardless, reviews online rave about the place. Location aside.

Inside we found ourselves in a warm, inviting environment with lots of friendly staff.

Just ignore most of the art in the walls.

Our friendly server, perhaps even a bit overly so, came along shortly after we were seated and informed us that everything here is made in house. Always a good sign to me. The menu also has some nice looking dishes on offer.

We decided to share two.

The crab cakes

Unlike a lot of crab cakes I’ve had, these ones were very light. Often they are very rich, but not these Dungeness crab and baby shrimp delights. Paired with a vinegraitte salad which brightend up all the flavours on the plate.

We also tried their Confit Duck wings.

These were awesome. Full of flavour, they had wonderfully varing textures. Mm juicy tender pieces while at the same time having bits with a bit of chew, almost like jerky. That looks like a big pile of wings, but it didn’t take long to eat them all.

One complaint. Yes, it’s confit. It’s going to be greasy. But it would be good if they drained a bit more grease off them before serving. The puddle left behind on the serving board and that leaked into the table was a little disturbing.

It’s a good thing I’m on cholesterol pills.

8/10

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So you find yourself in somewhere between Victoria and Nanaimo and man, you’re hungry.

But its Sunday. It’s a small town.

Your choices? Limited.

There isn’t a whole lot open.

Worse yet, One place you would like to eat doesn’t open until 4. But you’re on the 5:30 boat back to civilization. And if you’ve ever been on a BC ferry you know there isnt much chance of getting anything edible on that floating tin can.

Screwed. Just face reality. You’re going to wither away.

But wait. Maybe here is a glimmer of hope. You might not starve just yet.

The Sawmill Taphouse and Bar appears to actually be open.

As you walk in, if you look to the left you will see what looks to be a proper pizza oven, even if it covered up by some steel covers, assumably taken from a sawmill somewhere. That unmistakeable dome shape is apparent.

Maybe this won’t be too bad. You’ve had a hankering for a good pizza for a couple days.

And there’s a decent selection of local craft brews on tap.

Pizza and Beer!

The beer will certainly help you forget there’s nothing open around here today.

You actually decide to try a flight, Just to make sure.

A Tofino Kelp stout, chocolatey , nd rich..

A Blackberry Lemonade Sour, fruity, mouth puckering goodness.

A Guava Blonde, tropically refreshing.

A Red Cream Ale. Subltey sweet and full bodied.

Today is starting to look better now!

Now you just need some food.

Fortunately for you the pizza looks great.

It’s the Amante Della Carne.

Italian sausage, prosciutto, aged cheddar, and hot honey.

Yes, maybe it could have been turned a bit more, one side was a little extra crispy.

But this was a great pizza.

That Italian sausage had great flavour. Lots of it. And the hot honey, sweet and spicy, adds a great kick to the richness of the aged cheddar.

So today turned out pretty good after all didnt it?

Now what do you think the chances you are going to find a bakery open for dessert between here and the ferry?

8/10

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As we tour a little bit of the island this week we are trying to avoid chain restaurants.

So we find ourselves in Parksville looking for a coffee that isn’t Starbucks

What we found was the local biker club.

When we walked in there must have been three dozens bikers surrounding us.

Not to worry. We were still likely the youngest ones there.

Got a breakfast wrap.

They must “dumb down” the flavour so it doesn’t bother anyone as it really didn’t taste like much. Is there a salt shortage on Vancouver Island or something?

The coffee was ok.

Can you get an idea of how big those cups are?

The espresso itself was too bitter.

Mine was drinkable as I had vanilla so it helped offset that bitterness. Metilynn’s was harder to drink.

I think maybe next time we will go a couple more blocks and find the Starbucks.

3/10

The post Serious Coffee appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

Off early this morning to visit family on the island.

Thought we’d grab a quick bite on the trip over.

When am I gonna learn?

Terrible. Just terrible

The eggs were fried. Can you not have pots of water to poach eggs on a moving boat?

The English muffin was so tough I was wondering if it started life as the soles of the Captain’s shoes?

The potatoes were deep fried. I guess no water to poach eggs but gallons of 350 degree oil is ok on a boat?

If I wasn’t feeling ill before I am now.

Not just for the $20 we just wasted

2/10

(one bonus point for the view)

The post Breakfast on the boat appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

With no real direction about where to have breakfast this morning we find ourselves putting on the proverbial blindfold and chucking a dart at Google’s list of best breakfasts in Nanaimo.

And the winner is The bee’s Knees.

Looks good so far. It’s in a residential building that looks fairly new. The only problem was there wasn’t much parking in the lot. We had to park on the street and walk in.

The interior is quite pleasant. Lots of windows with lots of natural light. It’s decorated nicely with lots of greenery and an eclectic mix of furniture. If you’ve been to a Cracker Barrel in the US, this is a hippiefied version of that.

The menu is quite large, but sadly lacking much protein.  Carnivores look elsewhere, you won’t be happy here.

But if you’re vegetarian you’ll love this place.

Spoiler alert: I’m not vegetarian.

We got the breakfast wrap.

As we were eating it I kept waiting for some actual flavor out of this. It never came. Pretty bland. Noticed the lack of protein? The best tasting thing on that plate was that coleslaw. I liked it. And that’s saying something from someone who doesn’t really like coleslaw.

I did save the best for last though.

They have quite a few baked items as well. I got this chocolate torte, which was really good. I’m gonna have to replicate this myself.

Very chocolatey, smooth and creamy. Delicious!

Due to its consistency I’d guess that it’s vegan. But that’s ok. Not everything began is awful. Just most things.

Was The Bee’s Knees the Bee’s Knee’s?

No.

But it was ok.

5/10

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