Weekend Fifty-One: Dancing to Slickity Jim's Chat n' Chew

Looking for a relaxing brunch in the midst of the Vancouver Jazz Dance Festival, we woke to find  our feet transporting us from our secret location to Slickity Jim's Chat n' Chew.

We have reviewed Slickity Jim's on Weekend Four with special guests Melanie and Jeffrey. Our trendy friends found the food and atmosphere to their liking but both Dave and Jeffrey thought the chili could have been more powerful.

This weekend I picked the veggie Benny, Another Typical Benny Involved In Another Typical Daydream ($10.5) and added bacon ($2.5). I also sampled their tea, Red Rose. Dave decided to revisit the chili, picking the Cheddar Chili and Chorizo Omelette (which I can't find on their menu, perhaps it was a special). In a moment of impulse, Dave went for lemonaid instead of orange juice.

My Benny was excellent, even though I forgot to order the eggs poached hard. I believe the bacon made all the difference. Dave seemed very happy with his Omelette, made even better by the chili inside. Though, he did say it could still use a little more kick.

Slickity Jim's still has fabulous food and a great atmosphere, especially when you get to sit in the front of the place. Get there early or wait in line!


**Alert! Alert!**

Next week will be Weekend Fifty-Two! Dave and I will be looking back at a year in brunch and making some top ten lists.
If you have suggestions, comments, or snide remarks for next weekends blog or for the next year of brunch please let us know!

Weekend Fifty: Cup of Joe Café

So, we had left our secret location some time ago and set out to find adventure at the Victoria Lindy Exchange. Hungry for brunch, but in unfamiliar surroundings, we looked about for a little hole-in-the-wall diner, finished in cheery colours, with eclectic music and whimsically-named brunch plates. Just a short walk from our temoprary secret location in Victoria, we found the Cup of Joe Café.

Tucked into the bottom floor of a mall in James Bay, we were initially apprehensive. It has been quite a while since we lived in Victoria, and you know how much can change in the restaurant world in even a few years! We headed inside and found a table.

Our server was quick with the menus, and we settled in to see what was on offer. Whimsical names? Check. Who wouldn't want to eat at a place that serves dishes named "A Fistful of Mushrooms," The Prince Charles," or "Mr. BLT?" (Mr. BLT's tagline says "Pity the fool who doesn't know a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich!") Blah blah orange juice and coffee as usual.

Seeing as how we were enjoying a weekend of jazz music and dancing, there was only one real selection for me: The Benny Goodman. It comes with bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers, roasted garlic (in large pieces, eek!) and hollandaise sauce made with basil pesto for $11. I'd recommend both Mr. Goodman's music and his Benny without hesitation. His breakfast does come with toast and potatoes, providing a more complete nutritive experience, but the music lasts longer under normal usage conditions.

While a breakfast Benny is usually Catie's specialty, she was distracted by another taste sensation. Her eye was caught by The Epic Trilogy ($10.) Not unlike other trilogies we may know, it starts strong with 3 eggs, moves to 3 bacon, and ends with sausages. Of course, there was also toast and potatoes involved. She reports that the bacon was not as crispy as it could have been, but that the eggs were very fresh and the sausages tasty. As I had to help her get through the trilogy, I can agree - breakfast sausages are a wonderful thing. Thank heavens for no food equivalent of Jar Jar Binks, too.

In Cup of Joe, one's eye is drawn to the decorations. There are the usual mirrors, framed art, and local event posters, but there are also numerous signatures, cartoons, and secret messages. We wondered if just anyone was allowed to write on their walls, and while I was paying, Catie borrowed a Sharpie and left our own little picture by the front windows. Not a peep was heard from the staff, so we must have gotten away with it!

So, the next time you're in Victoria, pop by Cup of Joe and put your mark on a fine breakfast eatery!

Weekend Forty-Nine: Brunch with the Whipped

We left our secret location looking forward to a relaxing Sunday brunch. We were hoping that The Whip would provide us with some down time before the rest of our busy day.

The Whip is a busy, trendy restaurant/pub during most of it open hours. Why would it be any different during brunch time? I don't know the answer, but it is different, very different, too different.

At brunch time the Whip becomes somewhat like a daycare. It fills with uncontrollable children and the parents who let them scream.

It's hard to enjoy your $9 waffles with berry compote and whipped cream with a $3 side of bacon, which is what I had, and $9 chorizo hash with yams and potatoes, what Dave ate, while children are screaming and bouncing up and down on the benches and chairs.

The staff and customers without little bundles of joy are saints at this restaurant/pub. How the wait staff put up with working in an environment similar to the ball room at McDonald's I will never know. They are better people than us, that's for sure.

I hope that the children next to us enjoyed there waffles, minus the berry compote and whipped cream, because they made it practically impossible for me to enjoy mine.

When will we return to the Whip? When the parents roll their strollers to MickyD's down the street. Which is a shame because in between screaming toddlers and the crying twins, during the eye of the storm, we were able to enjoy a few bits of food, and it was good.