Does the Boston Pizza on Shelbourne suck or is it just me.
It's never really full and the service sucks. I had to wait forever just to get seated and the food took forever to arrive. I won't really go into much detail cause everyone knows what Boston Pizza is like. I guess I really shouldn't expect too much from chain restaurants should I? I'm just way too forgiving.

Haven't eaten out much lately. My friend did make the best chicken wings the other night though.

I always feel iffy about Italian restaurants because pasta doesn't always excite me a whole lot. Don't get me wrong, some pastas are amazing when done right but a lot restaurants just make plain, boring dishes. This past weekend I tried out La Piola, a place recommended by a friend when we drove by it. Now if I hadn't actually seen it, I would've never known it existed. Its quite a small little restaurant that doesn't sit a ton of people. I find that usually smaller, hidden joints always turn out to be hidden jems. This place fit the bill.


Apparently they're always quite busy. When I called to make reservations for Friday night, I nabbed the last table available. Now for the food. The menu didn't have a major selection and it mostly consisted of a few appetizers, pastas, pizza, and a few entrees like steak, chicken etc. They also had a daily special that was some kind of fish stuffed with dungeness crab, which sounded amazing. However it turned out to be $30, and being a student I couldn't really afford to blow that kind of money on one dish. Instead I went with a simple pasta that had a tomato sauce and pork. I really wish I could remember the names but a lot of them were italian names so fat chance. I usually don't order tomato based pasta cause I'm a fan of cream sauces but I decided to give this on a chance. Over all it was alright, there were cube of pork that were a bit salty and not much else in the pasta. However the noodles were very good, very el dente and enjoyable to eat.

A couple of friends both ordered the Gnocchi, which was simply amazing. They were very savory and melted in your mouth after a bite. The portions were just right in my opinion, just enough to leave you satisfied. Price wise it was a little more expensive, about $16 a dish. However the restaurant uses a lot of local ingredients from businesses around Victoria and adjusts their menu according to the foods currently in season, which I think is a great idea.

After dinner we saw some other tables ordering desserts and we couldn't resist. Let me tell you know it was the best part of the entire night. We decided to get one tiramisu, on creme brulee, and a chocolate torte. They may have been the absolute best desserts I've had in Victoria, no joke. We were all moaning in delight while devouring them. All the desserts were assembled in front of our eyes in the open kitchen and we watched hungrily as they made them. The tiramisu was so soft and spongy. It didn't have that overwhelming flavor of alcohol a lot of others do. The Chocolate torte had this wonderful caramel sauce and it wasn't overly sweet. My favourite has to be the creme brulee. I don't even know what to write because words can't describe how good it was. You just have to try it for yourself. I'll definitely be back for more. The desserts were $6 a piece but well worth it.

Ah I haven't updated for a bit and I've only just begun. The trials of running a blog. We I'm not going to say much about Thanksgiving since it was such a long time ago. However I will say that who doesn't love the holiday when you get to eat so many different yummy foods? I guess some people don't celebrate Thanksgiving because of their beliefs or cultures and that's too bad cause they're totally missing out.


Here's a few photos from Thanksgiving dinner at my place. Hopefully when Christmas rolls around it'll be the same crazy food fest with all the works.

Last Thursday my friends and I were thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend that was headed our way and all the good food that comes with it. One of my friends mentioned that White Spot had a Thanksgiving meal the entire weekend so we headed over for lunch. We headed to the Quadra and Mackenzie location. Upon arrival and inspection of the menu we found no trace of a 'Thanksgiving meal' to our disappointment. So instead we had to make do with what was being served. White spot recently revealed some new burgers in their 'legendary lineup' and two of my friends got the same Roma Burger: "Our 6 oz. 100% fresh Canadian beef burger with crispy baked prosciutto, tomato basil salsa, provolone cheese and basil aioli". 11.99. One also decided to add the new garlic fries (house-made garlic topping and lemon-basil aioli on top of fries. 0.99) Another one went for a old favourite, the mushroom burger. I on the other hand did not feel like a burger, so after scanning the menu for quite some time i settled on the chicken quesadilla and Caesar salad.

I was satisfied with the food, as white spot is usually (but not always) consistent in that department. My dilla came with a sour cream and salsa dip and was very tasty. The 3 slices were very hot from first bite and there was quite a good amount of chicken as well. The side Caesar salad was your very typical lettuce, croutons, parma cheese and dressing. Nothing too spectacular about it in general. However my friends Roma burger was quite undercooked and he had to send it back to the kitchen. The waitress got him a new burger and his meal was no charge either. However by the time he got his second burger the rest of us had basically finished our meals. The garlic fries were not even worth single dollar he paid for the entire meal. They were basically their regular fries topped with loads of garlic. The one I tried tasted like I was eating pure garlic. Though the quality of the food at White Spot isn't too bad, I find there's always a problem whether its the service, the wait, or the food itself. It just depends from time to time.

When we first arrived around 11am it wasn't too busy, but it soon picked for the lunch hour and the restaurant was packed. Service was alright throughout our dining experience. The waitress seemed to be scrambling around to do things but she was around when we needed her.

Even though White Spot has been trying to rebrand themselves as a higher quality dining experience, I still think its only a few steps above fast food. Select items from their menu are always great, like their milkshakes and apparently their blueberry pie too (who doesn't freakin' love pie!?), however if I had a choice I'd most likely choose somewhere else to eat.

2.5 food comas out of 5

The next few posts will be about places in Vancouver since I went over for the weekend. I'll probably do that from time to time.

Hi Welcome to Grub Ahoy! I realized like a lot of other people, I eat out at a ton of places. So i figured why not start my own food blog to review restaurants and discuss the foods I enjoy. I love my food as much as the next person and I'm always on the look out for the newest joint to dine at. Hopefully by sharing my experiences with others they can find places to try as well and join in on the feastivities.

Today my friends and I went out for our semi-regular weekend brunch jaunt. A friend wanted to head to John's Place, which I have tried before. John's place has been in Victoria for quite some time. Over 20 years if I'm correct. It's one of those places that will always be packed and have lineups. We got there around 12:30-1ish and we waited a good 10-15 minutes. While waiting I scanned the numerous pictures of various customers and famous people who have dined at John's Place that cover all the walls.

I have to say I enjoyed my time and food at John's Place. It has such a lively atmosphere with servers running around and crowded tables enjoying a good conversation. I best know John's Place for their breakfast type foods even though they're open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've only eaten lunch there on one occasion, the other time's being breakfast. The breakfast menu had a good variety from benny's to waffles to customizable omelets. They also have daily species, which we all ordered from. My friend got the Strawberry and Banana Waffle for $7.95 which was a good size. It came with whipped cream and good amount of fruit topping.



Another got the British Banger Benny, which came with home fries. Their Bennys have the option of being on bagel, english muffin, or corn bread (as seen below). All for $10.95.


I was tempted and had to get the Cinnamon Bun French Toast. It was extremely sweet with the cream cheese syrup. I have a pretty major sweet tooth and even this dish was boarderline too sweet for me. It came with a Cinnamon Bun dipped in creamy vanilla egg batter and a slice of cinnamon toast. After the meal I felt like I had enough sugar for a month. $7.95


The prices are very reasonable for the portions and quality of food you get. The service was a tad bit slow but they were extremely busy and kept up very well in that aspect. Next time I'll have to try their pies that are in a case at the front of the restaurant. They look amazing!


Rating: 4 food comas out of 5
John's Place is a great family style restaurant for any time of the day. Just be ready to line up!

723 Pandora Avenue
Victoria, BC V8W 1N9
(250) 389-0711
http://www.johnsplace.ca/