“I like a good beer buzz early
in the day,
And Billy likes to peel the
labels
From his bottles of Bud and
shred them on the bar.
Then he lights every match in
an oversized pack,
Letting each one burn down to
his thick fingers
Before blowing and cursing
them out.”
– Wyn Cooper Read More
Watermelon, Lemon and mint are a classic combination of summer flavours. They kick it in salads, smoothies, sorbets, a legion of various desserts and cocktails… So many cocktails.
This is one such cocktail! Elevated miles above the obsessively photographed, overly-sticky mass of vodka/watermelon rabble out there on the interwebs thanks to its high quality ingredients and the careful blending (yeah it’s one of those, dust off ye olde margarita-o-matic) of flavours by my talented mixologist wife. Read More
Cumberland is my favourite place in the world right now. It’s chock full of great people, great cafes and nerdy 2nd hand stores, great mountain biking culture and repair shops, great location – right between the Comox Valley and CR. It’s got a vibe that’s just so… Great!
And after spending a blindingly-sunny afternoon thrashing up, down and all over Cumberland’s legendary MTB trails with my wife and our friend Jen, I found one more reason why that town is so damn great: They have a brewery! Read More
It’s been 35 years since The Sooke Harbour House opened on the tip of Whiffen Spit overlooking the Juan de Fuca Straights, a mere hour or so from our province’s capital. Owner and slow food proponent Sinclair Philip and celebrity chef Edward Tucson built North America-wide cred by sourcing local, sustainable foods and focusing on clean unobtrusive flavours decades before it became the standard. The Inn has won boatloads of awards (both as a hotel and as a restaurant) and been profiled by every food, drink and travel publication you can think of.
That was then, and this is now. The majority of praise for the South Island institution has grown a tad quiet as of late. Chef Tucson moved onto other projects years ago and according to the spiteful whispers that prickle at the edges of our industry, when he left a lot of the Inn’s hard-won reputation left with him.
Neither Crystal nor I had ever been to the Inn during its halcyon age, but we had always kept it in mind as a sort-of “bucket list” type destination. Someday we’d try it, how could we not?
Alright, so I missed Oktoberfest.
This means that once again I’ve blown my chance to get buzzed on Bavarian lager, clad in lederhosen, publically showing my Teutonic solidarity by dancing ‘n singing like a fool. Glückliches Oktoberfest!!!
It’s cool. I’ve avoided many a St. Patrick’s Day in my time, so culturally, I’ve already got a lot to atone for. Read More