Take their annual dine around deal, for instance. These discounted “3-course-comps” deals are all the rage as of late – think of it as bringing “foodieism to the masses.” In Seattle, there are the never-ending biannual 3 courses for $30 Dine Arounds and the biannual 3 courses for $25 Restaurant Weeks (which are really 10 days in length). Some of the participating eateries even offer 3-course lunches for $15. The last Seattle Restaurant Week took place last October with the next to take place on April 10-21, 2011, while the last Dine Around Seattle took place last November (yes, for the entire month) with the next round to take place during the entire month of March.

But back to Victoria; their annual event – brought to us by Tourism Victoria and the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), as well as a veritable schwack of sponsors – is called Dine Around & Stay In Town Victoria. Last Wednesday night, your Hedonista received a media invite to their sneak-peek VIP event launch, held at the Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites. In addition to terrific tapas-style tastings, there were some brilliant VQA wine pairings.

Fantastic Foodie Highlights (left to right): perogy with all the fixings; tiny duck confit liver mousse and onion jam jars; and lamb shank tart (bottom) along with curry sauced confit duck thigh (top).

A few favs worthy of note: Wines to watch include those from Oliver, B.C.’s Road 13 Winery & Vineyards, the relatively new Painted Rock Estate Winery in the B.C. Okanagan, and Langley, B.C.’s own Vista D’oro. Tasty tastings worth trying include the goat cheese herbed perogies on the $40 menu of The Office Lounge; Brome Lake duck confit liver mousse and savory onion jam, served with seed crackers, from The Pacific’s $40 menu; and a braised lam shank tart with red cabbage and goat cheese from the $30 Bengal Lounge menu of the Fairmont Empress as well as the confit duck thigh served with roasted curry sauce from the $40 Empress Room menu of the Fairmont Empress.

The event runs from February 17th through March 6th, 2011. It includes over 50 restaurants that offer 3-course dinner menus for a prix fixe of $20, $30, or $40 (for a complete list of participating restaurants, the menus they offer, and whether or not they offer “Celiac-Friendly” menus, click here). It also includes over 20 different accommodations, complete with room rates ranging from $69, $79, $99, and $129 (for a complete listing of the accommodations, click here.)

Soooo … given that we’re right in-between the October-November-March-April Seattle “3-course-comps” … why not try Vic’s offerings, which even include a discounted place to crash?

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the give venue/meal/performance/product/service.

It features a sky blue … well, sky … and a Victoria Clipper vessel.

In large, highlighter yellow letters is the phrase “VICTORIA’S CHEAP.”

This ad cracks a smile every time.

Then, underneath those words, you have another sentence, approximately a quarter of the size and in white letters as well as parentheticals: “(BUT SHE’LL SHOW YOU A GREAT TIME.)”

I love this ad, because it makes its readers smile (or should, at least). But I wanted to ensure my dear hedonistic voyeurs that the Lady Victoria’s integrity is still intact – she’s not pimping herself out. Both frugal and fiesty – as well as traditional and teasing – the Lady Victoria IS indeed worth a visit. Granted, in this (still) tough economic climate it’s tough to justify a trip anywhere; however, folks are still taking vacations. The type of vacation these days? It seems somewhere between the staycation but less than across the globe. Thus, if you crave international travel, try British Columbia – it’s a quick trip north, it’s in another country, and it’s truly a fabulous destination.

But back to the billboard. Of course, the Clipper folks hope that you book them for a jaunt to Vancouver Island. And they DO have good deals – especially once you weigh in the cost of gasoline these days – so as to make a Clipper ride less costly and stressful than driving north to the Mainland B.C. region (that said, the Mainland B.C. is still very much worth a visit, and Clipper Vacations offers trips to Seattle,  Victoria, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the San Juans (there are even romance & spa packages, too).

Full disclosure here: your Hedonista has strong ties to Canada, in particular B.C., so is of course more than a little biased. She’s also just returned from a Clipper over to Victoria (on a media/industry rate no less), so the price was indeed right. But even if you’re not traveling in the media circles these days, it’s really an affordable trip to Vic, with fares that can be as low as $85 return, complete with literally bevies of vacation packages to choose from (see above).

And don’t you DARE think for one minute that Lady Victoria has cut back on the quality of the many high-end experiences available to frenetic foodies, ecstatic enophiles, and happy hedonists alike, for the Lady Victoria has something for every budget and taste. Over the next week or so, expect updates on what’s up with Lady Victoria these days.

In other words, get ready and brace yourself for some vicarious good living, dear hedonists.

Then book yourself some time with Lady Victoria.

(Just be sure you get the happy ending, eh?)

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.

Nothing says "classic Victoria" like a cup of tea at the Empress. Pure comfort for those with a hankerin' for the truly traditional.

But that was then, dear readers. Back in the day (that’s waaaay back). This, is now. And Victoria is worth a serious second (and sassy) look.

This past October, Canada’s The Globe and Mail ran a piece by Sarah MacWhirter (a.k.a. “The Hungry Traveller”), “Wake up to great taste in once-sleepy Victoria” that covered a few places apparently worth a visit while in Victoria (many of which will get a re-review by your Hedonista in the coming days, so stay tuned, my dear hedonists).

For although all of the ol’ chestnuts of Vic traditions are still alive and well, those newly-weds are all grown up – with sophisticated tastes to match. Last week, your Hedonista took flight – literally – to her ol’ stomping grounds (for she attended the University of Victoria many years ago) with Cornichon’s Ronaldo in tow as her designated chaperon (for your Hedonista needs one, to be sure) as well as her “enophilic escort extraordinaire.” Together, we spent 5 glorious days and 4 fab nights exploring Vic’s “haute cuisine scene.”

Nothing says "goodbye roses, hello martini" like Clive's Clover Club (c. 1880) - gin, fresh lemon and raspberry syrup - tucked under a light egg white blanket. The perfect nightcap!

(Your Hedonista also flew solo to explore the simply must-visit “stellar spa scene” … and was not disappointed.) We came home with more article content that you can shake a walking stick at. Dozens, literally – so many that we’ve added a Victoria, B.C. category to keep them all straight and simplify your hedonistic hunts. All to be reviewed in the days to come throughout November and December (and likely beyond that).

To summarize the wonders of things to come: in short, vivacious, vibrant Victoria (a.k.a. “Hip-Chic-Vic”) is well worth the visit. Over 3 to 3.5 million overnight visitors experience Victoria each year. Tourism contributes over $1.1 billion to Victoria’s economy. And as of September 2009, nearly 43% of all tourists to Victoria herald from the States (BTW – that’s Canada-speak for the United States of America, or “U.S.A.”).

Has your Hedonista convinced you to head on over to “Nouveau Victoria”? (She’d better have.) If so, be sure to contact Tourism Victoria. Tell them the Hedonista from Heed the Hedonist sent you. Believe me – they’ll remember me.

In my last post, I advised my precious hedonists with little travel time to spare to take to the skies with Kenmore Air. However, in addition to this aviation option, there’s also a foot-friendly, seafaring way: the Victoria Clipper ferry through Clipper Vacations (I sailed on the return leg as media courtesy of the Clipper).

The Victoria Clipper is a great alternative to flying if you have a few hours to spare – it’s a three-hour tour (yes, that’s a three-hour tour), but you need to arrive at least one hour prior to departure in order to clear U.S. or Canadian customs and immigration (depending on which direction you’re heading on a given day). The cost? Depends on when you book your ticket: currently, last-minute, non-refundable, one-way fares are as low as $50.00, with standard fares around $134.00 (to calculate a return trip, merely double these figures).

Red plastic baskets: it's what's for dinner. (Feel free to suggest they kick their noshies up a notch. Or ten. I have, but thus far my humble requests have fallen on deaf ears....)

The perks: Fast ferry service waterfront-to-waterfront, with one-way prices in the two-figures.

The drawback: Takes a few hours – each way. Rough seas can lead to nausea brought on by motion sickness (take heed, dear hedonists – the two 25 mg Meclizine Hydrochloride tablets they sell for a mere 25 cents – in either U.S. dollars or Canabucks – is worth its weight in gold should you be prone to motion sickness). And the ferry food menu needs a serious re-vamp – the breakfast menu ($4.00-$6.50) is worse than a continental breakfast buffet at a low-brow motel (not to mention strictly cold fare), and the light dinners  ($6.00-$7.50) – also cold – are barely (if actually) humble cafeteria-grade fare. (Note: foodies – pack your own!)

In short, if you don’t mind taking a few hours to get there or back for about half the cost of flying, then clip along lil’ doggies.

Just be sure to BYOF (that’s bring your own food), my foodie hedonists.

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.

The flight - whether heading north or south - offers breathtaking views of the San Juan and Gulf Islands.

We’re talking a mere 35 minutes here – give or take. All for the cost of about $100 US each way – again, give or take (your Hedonista recently flew courtesy of Kenmore). (One-way rates are about $139; round-trips range from $198-$239; and a student standby rate – be sure to arrive at least one hour prior to departure – of only $69 each way!)

Interested? Then consider Kenmore Air the next time you take a trip to Victoria – which, by the way, with its increasingly edgy cultural evolution, is now any self-respecting-hipster-hedonist’s winter destination. In fact, Victoria’s former moniker,the “City of Roses” – still Portland, OR’s moniker, in fact – has now been changed to “Full of Life” to represent its growth as a small yet cosmopolitan city; a place where old world charm meets new world experiences. (But more on that in future articles, my dear readers).

Circling Victoria's Inner Harbor - that's "Inner Harbour" in Canadian - prior to the water landing.

This travel deal also goes for folks in Victoria wanting to get to Seattle’s Emerald City – where one will also find, among many other things, a veritable hedonistic haven. You can get there in about the same time it takes to get to the Cowichan Valley. (Less, even!)

The perks: Fast waterfront service either way, price in the very low three-figures.

The drawback: Flying is, of course, weather-permitting. Be prepared for flight cancellations if stormy skies are on the horizon (been there, done that).

In short, if you want lots more time in your destination city for just a little more money, go fly with Kenmore.

For, as the old adage goes, time is money.

So go fly on a float plane.

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.