Mini-restaurant review - Zambri's Victoria · Saturday July 1, 2006 by colin newell
Attended a retirement dinner last night at Zambri’s Restaurant. Located in a faceless Yates Street Mall just up from Quadra Street, Zambri’s has made a name for themselves serving the freshest of slow-food, sourced from all-local suppliers of organic veg and meat.
Slow-food.
What is it?
No… No, it is not slow service. Quite the opposite.
In Zambri’s case, it is a wonderful example of quality dishes prepared fresh and served in no perceptible rush.
And rush we did not.
We arrived (on time) at 7 PM.
We were immediately handed a sparkling wine beverage.
We had one of the party rooms in the back. It is a bit sterile with a careful selection of local art hung on an otherwise unremarkable wall.
The windows looks out over the View Towers entrance. If you know Victoria, you know the View Towers. It used to be a very lively residence housing some of Victoria’s most colorful individuals.
Anyho. After all the guests had arrived and settled in, platters of antipasti started to filter in. They were good. All good. Nothing out of the ordinary mind you – just predictable offerings like brucshetta, polenta, deep fried cauliflower, tuna and potato salad and the like.
Again, at Zambri’s it is not about knocking you out of the park with drop dead amazing flavors – it is about the simple things done right.
Our main course was an offering of Fish (Salmon) or Poultry (Chicken), again simply prepared with a few twists.
There were two choices for dessert: Tiramisu or Pizelle with fresh organic strawberries. They were both wonderful.
This was a group event. My wife and I will be going back for the romantic couple experience!
Slow-food indeed! We finally left (almost the last people out) at about 11:15PM! I had about one glass of sparkling white-wine, a half-glass of a mystery red wine and a mug of 1/2-Caf with my tiramisu. I was one satisfied diner.
And you will be too! Bon apetit folks!
Presenting the Baratza Virtuoso grinder blog · Friday June 30, 2006 by colin newell
That is right folks – there is nothing else like this on the Planet.
At least – we are pretty sure.
I have asked Ottawa Dave to participate with me on this one.
We will talk about the Virtuoso Grinder.
A lot.
Enjoy!
The Baratza Virtuoso grinder · Wednesday June 28, 2006 by colin newell
I have had one for a couple of monthes now.
I received the latest version about a week ago.
Yesterday I shipped off my original Virtuoso Grinder to Dave Anderson in Ottawa. Dave, as you may know, is our Ottawa bureau-chief for the CoffeeCrew.Com website.
We are going to take a slightly different approach on the Virtuoso review. We are going to mash them up at the same time and come out with a he said – he said double-header review of the grinder.
I do not know if it will be more or less interesting than the typical one head reviews you see out there on the net – but what the heck. We aim to be different.
Stay tuned!
12 years on. · Sunday June 25, 2006 by colin newell
Had a wonderful 12th wedding anniversary dinner at the Deep Cove Chalet restaurant with my bride.
We are in the middle of a hot spell and we got to sit on the patio by the water. Surrounded by their wonderful flower and herb gardens, all explosively in bloom, we could not have had a better experience anywhere.
Do not get me wrong folks. This is not an ad for a restuarant.
This is public service announcement for marriage.
Not just ours, but anyones.
Or anyone who is in love.
And anyone who is as in love as I am will know what I am talking about. If there is someone special in your life, let them know. Do something special for them. A random act of kindness is good too.
It does not have to be a nice restuarant or a shiny gift either.
Turn to the one you love right now and tell them how you feel.
Do it now or your keyboard will burst into flames, I promise you.
All alone and unhappy? Keep looking. There is someone out there for everyone. I am not kidding.
I waited a long time for the right partner. A long time.
Love has no expiry date. Seriously.
Oh, and by the way – the restaurant is a knock-out. If you are ever in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, make sure you consider the Deep Cove Chalet as a spot to stop.
Cheers!
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