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From Divey Dougie to Rico Rialto

Ah, the Douglas Hotel … a veritable flophouse with the type of bar that became a “first shot/drink” rite of passage for young men on their 19th birthday (19 years of age being the legal drinking age in B.C.). In short, a seedy operation that no self-respecting young woman would step foot in (your Hedonista is a UVic alumna, dear hedonists).... [Read more of this review]

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Get Lost in Love Song

Given that February is the month synonymous with love (like it or not, dear hedonists) – it seems only fitting that you consider spying the Seattle premiere of John Kolvenbach’s Love Song, currently playing at ArtsWest (January 27 through February 21). Love is like light: it illuminates even the darkest corners of the heart. Christopher... [Read more of this review]

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Fat Tuesday and Polish Pączki

As if Valentine’s Day – dubbed “V-Day” by those unimpressed by either its sucrose-saturated, schmoopy, and saccharine nature, its commercialized evolution, or both – isn’t enough reason to LOVE (or despise) February, then what about the “Carnivalrous” Mardi Gras (that’s Fat Tuesday in the English... [Read more of this review]

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Sleep, Slurp, Spy, ‘n’ Spa This February Month of V-day

Since it seems that – for better or for worse – day-long holidays (pagan or not) are now marketed as month-long events, this month your Hedonista will focus on the month of pure hedonism: February. Why February, you ask? Well, there’s Valentine’s Day, with all of its pampering of your respective loved one (or ones). However,... [Read more of this review]

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Seastar Gets A Gold Star

This coming Wednesday, January 27th marks the 1-year birthday of South Lake Union’s Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar in Seattle. To celebrate this first year, Chef John Howie – a veritable Seattle culinary veteran and Plank Cooking King who opened Palisades in June 1992 then just under a decade later opened a Seastar Restaruant and Raw Bar... [Read more of this review]

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Resolve to Try Serafina’s Happy Hour

If your New Year’s resolution is to 1) eat right, 2) spend less, 3) support local and/or 4) speak Italian, then Serafina’s osteria & enoteca may just be worth a gander. With osteria basically an Italian coffee shop and enoteca an Italian wine bar, this nearly-twenty-year-old intimate Eastlake Tuscan-esque restaurant not only offers live... [Read more of this review]

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Nary a Neopolitan … Not

Pizza – it’s one of those things you either like, or you don’t. What’s more, there are so many ways to make it. If you ask the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), however, there is only one way to make it: the traditional way. In fact, they have pages and pages of legal verbage regulations dictating exactly how to construct... [Read more of this review]

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Bard & Banker = Beer Pairings

With everyone and their dog providing food & wine pairings, it’s so refreshing to see good food & beer pairings…. And what better venue than at a pub … and a gastropub, no less? The large space and elegant interior design and architecture is alone worth a look-see. Seared tuna is always a fav ... and now apparently goes with... [Read more of this review]

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Devour the Delicious

Devour: very deli-icious in its appearance. Devour is possibly one of the best foodie-fantastic places in Victoria. Open not even a year, this teeny, tiny treat of a restaurant – a licensed Euro-bistro with deli-style ambiance that seats 12 on a good day (that’s 12 people, dear hedonists, not tables) – is the brainchild of Jena Stewart... [Read more of this review]

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Request Table 35

Table 35's multi-colored ambiance makes it an ideal Happy Hour setting. When my high school friends came of the marrying age, our “rat pack” – a very diverse group at that – was situated at the same table each and every wedding: Table 19. The same rings true for the Faour family’s Table 35 Restaurant & Loungelo;... [Read more of this review]

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Dig da Pig

As every good foodie knows, it’s often the hole-in-the-walls that are – to quote Tina Turner’s Top Ten 90s song – simply the best. Pig downtown: nuthin' fancy ... just the way its patrons like it. The no-nonsense dishware, (biodegradable) cutlery, and glass canning jars filled with iced tea complete this quirky cantina. Take... [Read more of this review]

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Red Fish + Blue Fish = Best Fish

Victoria’s red fish, blue fish on Wharf street is, quite frankly, da bomb. Simon and Kunal greet customers from the pickup portal in their sea cargo container of a restaurant. Since August 3, 2007, this place – located, rather appropriately, in a sea cargo container – has offered sustainable, 100% Ocean Wise seafood (Ocean Wise being... [Read more of this review]

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