Monday, June 29, 2009 at 02:45 PM
From The Tapa Bar website:
“Tapas are small, flavourful dishes that can be served as an appetizer or together as a meal. What distinguishes tapas from other dishes is more the spirit of the eater, not the food itself. One often lingers, unhurried, over tapas.”
Oh, how I love eating tapas! 
As you know, tapas are small dishes that are meant to be shared by everyone at the table. I love sharing food when I go out to dinner because I want to taste everything! Plus, it’s always fun to dine out with a bunch of friends and chat over good food and drinks in a laid-back setting.
The Tapa Bar is quite a hidden gem as it is tucked away in the Trounce Alley, off the beaten-path, of downtown Victoria, BC. The look and feel of the outside deck makes it seem as though you have been transported to a little eatery somewhere in Europe. It’s a super cute restaurant!
The decor inside The Tapa Bar is warm, inviting, and cozy. Spanish music plays softly in the background, and beautiful, original paintings by Mexican painter, Luis Merino, cover the walls.
The Tapa Bar is quite the happening place. Mal and I went to dinner there on a Wednesday evening, and we were surprised to see such a bumpin’ atmosphere. Although it was super busy, the service was friendly, attentive, and relatively fast.
The tapas at The Tapa Bar could easily feed 3-4 people and ran the gamut with a huge range of ingredients and dishes. Both the meat and vegetarian options were equally tasty.
Chorizo Fondue
Spicy Portuguese sausage, cheese, wine, and garlic baked and served with tortilla chips
Almond-Stuffed Dates
Wrapped in bacon and served with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic reduction
Vegetarian Cubanette
Open-faced focaccia with melted cheese, grilled portabella mushroom, fresh salsa, avocado, and pinto beans
All of the dishes were incredibly fresh and full of flavor– excellent tapas! 
With dinner, I enjoyed a vodka martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives. Yum!
If you couldn’t tell, Mal and I loved this restaurant! We’re already talking about making another trip to Victoria just to visit The Tapa Bar again! Be sure to check out this place if you visit Victoria!
For more tapas fun, check out my recent tapas experience at Toro!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: restaurant
Tags: The Tapa Bar, Victoria
Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 04:01 AM
What a find! “Sips” was the perfect little bistro to experience some of British Columbia’s unique wines and grab a bite to eat.
I’m not sure if a reader suggested Sips or I read about it myself, but I’m so glad that Mal and I decided to stop in.
The decor inside Sips is modern, yet simple, and seems to suit the bistro well. Check out some more photos of Sips.
A colorful, hand-painted mural covered the back wall of Sips.
Our server started our “tasting” with a delicious, dry, oak-fermented white wine: 2007 Venturi-Schulze “The Bad Boys.”
From the Venturi-Schulze website:
“Pinot Noir and Zweigelt weren’t going to take the cool 2007 season lying down, so they went undercover – took the law into their own hands, you might say. They’d been on capers together before, when things were hot … red hot … but this time, they decided not to let their true colours show: a white wine so good, it’s almost criminal! They had help from the rest of the Venturi-Schulze gang: no irrigation; no herbicides or insecticides; hand selection of grapes; whole cluster pressing and French oak barrel fermentation.”
Mal absolutely loved the Bad Boys wine! In fact, he liked this particular wine so much, he ended up drinking 3 glasses.
Our server kept pouring us “sips” of wine to taste. By the end of the night, we must have tried at least 6 or 7 different wines.
I drank a lot of sips at Sips!
Mal and I had eaten a rather large lunch earlier in the day, so we ordered the Local Cheese Plate to share for dinner.
Local Cheese Plate: Village Cheese Company’s Horseradish Jack, Hilary’s Valley Blue, Natural Pastures’ Comox Camembert: A Cheese Epiphany
Crusty sourdough was served along side the cheese plate.
I really loved this combination of foods– wine, cheese, and bread– so much, in fact, that I decided it would be my “last meal” (if I ever had to decide). Mal said his “last meal” would be Thanksgiving dinner.
I didn’t snap photos of all of my wine sips over the course of the evening, but, let’s just say, there were many!
One of the wines that I really enjoyed was a 2006 Pinot Noir– also from Venturi Schulze.
“2006 was a near perfect growing season, producing exceptional quality Pinot Noir grapes. The resulting wine has the dark cherry and brambleberry fruit aromas and a big, dark juicy palate typical of our recent vintages with sweeter and riper tannins than before. The luscious dark berry fruit, minerality and spice are seamlessly clothed in the subtle vanilla and nutmeg contributed by a combination of new and one year old French Nevers oak barrel ageing. The wine can be enjoyed young, yet the rich tannins, alcohol of 14.9% and the bright natural acidity will enable ageing for several years for further softening and rounding. It is unfined and not sterile filtered, so we recommend storing it upright (it is closed with a crown cap) and decanting it off any sediment before serving.”
And more sips…
And more!
I definitely had more than enough sips, but I had such a blast enjoying new wines paired with delicious, fresh foods, and chatting with my hubby, I didn’t care that I splurged so much. It was totally worth it!
Sips is a great, little place. I highly recommend it!
Healthy Summit Ticket Winner
Thanks to everyone who entered the HLS Ticket Giveaway! I wish I could give everyone who entered a ticket, but I could only select one winner (via Random Integer Generator). And the winner is…
Ali from Food, Fitness, Fashion!!!
I let Ali know as soon as she won, but I never had a chance to announce it on the blog. Sorry, guys! It’s been a crazy week with traveling across the country and then to another country for a few days.
Hopefully, you were able to snag a ticket to the Healthy Living Summit!!!
Question of the Day
What would you pick as your “last meal”?
We’re heading back to Beantown this afternoon. Back to regular scheduled blogging soon!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, restaurant
Tags: Bad Boys Wine, Sips, Sips Artisan Bistro, Victoria
Friday, June 26, 2009 at 08:49 PM
Enjoying afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress may have been the highlight of my entire Victoria vacation! We almost didn’t have tea because it’s a tad on the expensive side, but I’m so glad that Mal and I decide to indulge in one of Victoria’s grandest traditions.
For almost a century, the majestic lobby of this landmark hotel has played host to England’s most beloved ritual – the taking of Afternoon Tea.
Afternoon Tea is served in the elegant Tea Lobby, which overlooks Victoria’s beautiful Inner Harbor. The atmosphere is relaxing and not as “stuffy” as I expected.
The service was spectacular, too. Our server was upbeat, friendly, attentive, and very accommodating. He even gave us some tea to take home with us!
Mal and I lucked-out with a lovely table with cushy chairs right by the window overlooking the front lawn and harbor.
Before we even ordered our tea, fresh strawberries topped with Chantilly cream were served to our table. The Chantilly cream was light and subtly sweet. It was a nice compliment to the sliced strawberries.
The menu listed a number of freshly brewed tea options. Mal chose Earl Grey while I chose the Empress Blend.
The Empress blend is a selection of seasonal, quality teas, created exclusively for The Fairmont Empress by the Metropolitan Tea Company. With components from Assam (thick malty and full bodied), Kenya (floral-like flavor and a golden coppery infusion), South India (superb fruity and sprightly flavor), Ceylon (airy, almost piquant flavor), and China (burgundy depth with light oaky notes), it is truly one of the finest blends in the world.
I enjoyed the Empress Blend quite a lot. It had tons of full-bodied flavor.
I also loved all of the goodies that were served along with the tea. I tried at least a bite of everything.
Pastries:
- Battenburg-Vanilla and Chocolate Sponge Checkerboard wrapped in marzipan
- Chocolate Cake-Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Butter cream, topped with Ganache
- Lemon Tart- Lemon Curd with Berry Garnish
- Shortbread- Earl Grey Tea
- Marble Chocolate Tulip- a cherry hidden under milk and white
- Chocolate in a Chocolate Tulip Cup
Scones:
- Freshly baked raisin scones served with heavy cream and strawberry preserves
Sandwiches:
- Smoked Salmon Pinwheel
- Mango and Curried Chicken
- Carrot and Ginger (cream cheese)
- Cucumber with light Horseradish Mayonnaise
- Multigrain Crostini topped with mixed Mushroom Pate, drizzled with Truffle Oil (open-faced)
Everything was incredibly delicious! My favorites were the Vanilla and Chocolate Sponge Checkerboard wrapped in marzipan, the Carrot and Ginger cream cheese sandwich, and the Crostini topped with mixed Mushroom Pate, drizzled with Truffle Oil. I was in heaven with each of these selections!
From my very first glimpse of the Tea Lobby to my final sip of Empress Blend tea, my experience was truly authentic and memorable. Afternoon Tea is an absolute “must do” for anyone who visits Victoria! Loved it!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: afternoon tea, Canada, Fairmont Empress, Victoria
