A Day In Victoria

I had never seen a make-your-own Belgian waffle station until I stayed at the Magnolia Hotel & Spa (623 Courtney St., (250) 381-0999) in Victoria, BC. When my companion and I walked in for the complimentary breakfast, there was a push-button batter-dispensing machine next to a large waffle iron. Various syrups, fruits and a big container of whipped cream were at hand to increase the temptation! (If the prospect of all-you-can-eat Belgian waffles leads you to make a reservation at this nice little hotel, please be advised that there's a very noisy bar next to it. Ask for a room on the opposite side.)

After breakfast, I went exploring on my own. As I wasn't yet hungry, I looked for indulgences of a different sort. First, I stopped in at Free Spirit Botanicals (549 Johnson St., 250-382-1003) to check out the chocolate-mint lip balm, chocolate raspberry candles and vanilla tea. The company does a brisk mail-order business, as their natural products have fans all over the United States.

Now, I wanted to find a place where I could sit down, sip some coffee and study my map of Victoria. I ended up at Habit (552 Pandora Ave., 250-294-1127), a very Manhattanish cafe. A great selection of magazines covers one wall, there are comfy couches in the back, and a blackboard near the entrance announces local music events. But most important, the coffee is terrific! If you're an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe fan, this is your spot.

My next destination was the aromatic Silk Road (1624 Government St., 250-704-2688) home of the "essential oil bar," beautiful ceramics, a spa, cast iron teapots and a tea-tasting bar! When I entered, a lovely young woman offered me some lychee black tea, saying it was good for the circulatory system.

I turned my attention to the essential oil bar, where I sniffed neroli and pine needles to my heart's content and learned about which aromas should be mixed together. I was inspired to purchase a metal oil warmer and a vial of lavender oil. (Now if only they could bottle that Victorian peace of mind so I could bring it back to New York!)

The adjacent room was full of rooibos, green, white, black and pu-erh tea. Big tea blossoms bloomed inside glass teapots. I wish I was going to be in Victoria during the Chinese New Year, because Silk Road will be hosting an Asian Tea & Food Pairing on February 8 to celebrate. Oh well. Looks like I'll be doing a lot of Internet shopping this year!

Now that my wrists were nicely lavendered and my lips were chocolate-minted, it was finally time to seek out some grub. I trekked over the bridge to Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (308 Catherine St., 1-877-838-2739), where I was to enjoy one of the best meals of my whole vacation (and a lovely waterfront view). The rustic brewpub, which was established in 1984, takes pride in fresh, high-quality ingredients, which are sourced from local farms and fisheries. Incidentally, Spinnakers was voted Best Brewpub in B.C. by the readers of Northwest Brewing News.

Before being led to my table, I admired the display of handmade truffles made with Guittard chocolate. There were some wild flavors like tequila-lime-salt.

Now I was really hungry. I wondered, should I order the beef pot pie with root vegetables tossed in butter? Or the apple BBQ pork baguette with mustard seed aioli? I decided to start with a bowl of the "West Coast style" seafood chowder. I was intrigued as to what this might be, since I was only familiar with the Manhattan and New England varieties.

Instead of being cream or tomato-based, this amazing thick chowder packed lots of potatoes, as well as white wine, butter, clams, salmon, onions and a bit of dill... I could have eaten another bowl! I sopped up the last bites with a slice of homemade white bread.

Then it was fish and chips time. (My original plan had been to try this dish at the famed Barb's Place, but the season doesn't start until March.) I had a choice of wild Pacific salmon or B.C. halibut, and I went with the latter. A puffy browned hunk of battered fish, looking very much like a loaf of bread, was sprinkled with a mixture of ground peppercorns and sea salt. It lay atop a large portion of Kennebec fries. (The server also brought by a bottle of the house-brewed malt vinegar!) With a fork, I cut into the crispy covering; inside was a halibut fillet as moist as if it had been poached. The beery aroma of the batter was intoxicating; I can honestly say that I've never eaten better fish and chips.

Unfortunately, I was much too full for a beer ice cream float or a chocolate-and-beer tasting! But I was well fortified for my walk back to the Magnolia Hotel.