Weekend One Hundred and Two: 10 Acres with Andrew

This blog entry was unlikely to ever happen, brunch with Andrew? Andrew up and out of the house while brunch was still being served? 10 o'clock happens twice a day? Unbelievable and unlikely, but it happened.

Dave and I left our secret location to meet Andrew at 10 Acres. The time was early and the restaurant was nearly empty. We ordered quickly because at this late hour I was already starving. The food came pretty quickly as the restaurant filled up with diners. 

Dave ordered orange juice and the Chinook Smoked Salmon ($16), essentially a benny with smoked salmon but served on potato latkes. (Dave says: potato latke! Haven't had them for ages. Should have them again.) I ordered a coffee ($ and the Classic Farm Breakfast with bacon ($13) and a side of hollandaise, because yum! Andrew ordered coffee and the Skillet Hash ($14). 

The food was totally delicious and disappeared very quickly. I wish the Classic Farm Breakfast had come with more than 3 small potatoes, which didn't seem like enough. Andrew was very happy that the greens at the bottom of his hash didn't go slimy.

Could this improbable coming together of friends in the morning happen again? Hopefully! Stay tuned.

10 Acres Bistro, 611 Courtney Street, Victoria.

Weekend One Hundred and One: The Patio at James Bay

In the spirit of the fake London restaurant 'The Shed at Dulwich', Dave and I decided to make our own fake Victoria restaurant 'The Patio at James Bay'. Early in the morning, Dave and I left our secret location, The Patio, and went to pick up our supplies: eggs, bacon, sausage, berries, peasant bread, and the key ingredient, Mole's pesto potatoes.

Here we can see Charlie, The Patio's maitre-d, showing us to our generously-sized table. After a quick walk about, and a small amount of cooking, brunch was ready! Dave had two fried eggs, sausages, toast, strawberries, and Mole's potatoes, while I had tea, a fried egg on toast, raspberries, and Mole's potatoes. Totally delicious!

The Patio is fabulously located beside a garden full of herbs, fruit trees, berry bushes, and a meadow lawn of wild flowers and clover. We expect the chef loves to utilize the seasonal produce that they grow. The proximity to our couch afterwards was definitely a plus! However, the location is super exclusive, by invitation only.

Weekend One-Hundred: Conference Catering at Langara College

Today, dear reader, we have a solo brunch adventure.

I left a secret location in Vancouver, headed to a work conference at Langara College. I despaired, for the food situation would surely be dire. Some folks had told me of other eats they'd had at similar conferences - sandwiches that seemed to have been washed, cookies that could chip teeth, and "coffee."

However, I'm pleased to report that the fruit was fresh and abundant (not pictured, but also enjoyed: honeydew melon), the baked goods had been baked recently (not pictured, but also enjoyed: carrot muffin, banana bread, farinaceous blueberry mystery), and my colleagues said the coffee was fresh. Three cheers for whoever did the catering!