Stamp Your Passaporto at Il Fornaio

I confess, when I was invited to a media dinner at Il Fornaio (Il Fornaio is Italian for “the Baker” – appropriate, since they make their hand-formed bread in-house and daily), I was skeptical.
Why, you ask? Because it’s a California-heavy restaurant and catering chain of some 20-odd restaurants and your Hedonista is typically not a [...]

Spin the Bottle at Spinnakers

In keeping with the Victoria theme, it’s time to share some more stories for you, my dear hedonists.
Remember that game Spin the Bottle? (And yes, there’s an app for that.) I suspect most sommeliers are good at that game, which reminds me (once again) of my “sensual sommelier” Brian Storen, currently [...]

Poetry At Sooke Harbour House

Sooke Harbor House is more than just a picturesque, garden-laden seaside inn with world-class food and wine menus that change on a daily basis. It’s more than just a sought-after venue for destination weddings and corporate retreats.  Sooke Harbour House – located on the southern coast of Vancouver Island – is [...]

Enjoy The Flavor of Seattle THIS Week

We take a brief break from the Lotus Land of Victoria, B.C. to bring you the following upcoming event announcement:
The Flavor of Seattle – a marketing alliance cooperative for small, local restaurants who lack their own savvy marketing departments – was founded in 2008 by foodie entrepreneur Julien Recoussine. Julien worked in [...]

Street Level Espresso Expressions

So the night your Hedonista was perched at the bar at Clive’s enjoying the Heed the Hedonist tiki drink, a motorcycle jacket-bedecked fellow named Ken Gordon suggested a story be done on his humble coffee shop/espresso bar. So, the very next day we met up at his second (and arguably first) home [...]

Start Filling Up (At) The English Inn

A dear Vic friend took your Hedonista out for dinner at a “new place” the weekend before last.
Talk about a jewel that’s not being discovered nearly enough – the English Inn – a boutique hotel with heritage-quality that makes it a popular wedding venue (apparently elopements are welcome, too). Located in Esquimalt, [...]

Heed the Hedonist a Perfect “10″

It’s official: Heed the Hedonist is a “Perfect 10.”
A perfect ten dollars, that is.
As of this past Spring, Clive’s at Chateau Vic in Victoria, B.C. has a brand spankin’ new cocktail menu.
And Heed the Hedonist is on it!
You read correctly, dear hedonists – Clive’s beloved bartender, Shawn Soole, added the Heed [...]

Chocolate on Them Thar Plains

There’s gold in them thar hills….
Well, actually, more like chocolate on them thar plains.
The plains of Minnesota, that is. (Who knew Minnesotans could make chocolate? Juuust kidding. Some of my best friends are Minnesotans. Really.)
Your Hedonista was at the Admiral Metropolitan Market earlier this month and met Brian T. McElrath, who [...]

Oh Live For Olivar!

If you like the fabulously fused taste of French and Spanish cuisine (and, as any good hedonist-in-training will tell you, you certainly should) then you simply MUST give mural-filled Olivar up in Capitol Hill a try.

Chef Philippe Thomelin of Olivar lives in Capitol Hill with his wife Toni and daughters Maëlle and Isabelle.

Olivar – [...]

Teatro Time Again

It’s Teatro time again, dear hedonists – when last I wrote about this elegant extravaganza, it was to cover Teatro ZinZanni’s Beaumont & Caswell show that ran from October 15, 2009 to January 17, 2010 and to give them props for upping the ante when it came to the food.

The Ringmaster – [...]

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