Our journey begins in Victoria’s Rock Bay, the area of Victoria where, if you know where you’re going, you’ll find one of BC’s best  local breweries (my gauge: not one bad beer).  This metaphorical quest then swings north to Read Island to pick up a few little somethings off the beach, before turning south again for the trip home.

Swinging past Windsor Meats and Two Rivers ‘because it’s on the way’, we head home to Gastown and settle in to the warmth of the open kitchen heating and perfuming system that is Pourhouse.  [on that note, it seems even cozier lately since we started baking our own bread...]

At this point, my little fable hardly qualifies as a dinner teaser, but fear not; the journey is not over.  Just because we’ve come home, the braising and baking, reducing and rendering has only now begun.  I think I’ll leave course two alone for now and tease you with dinner.  And I’m just gonna come out and say it.

Fat Tug.  Braised Beef.  Bone Marrow Gremolata.  From the beach we’ve gone deep, and hit bone.  Cracked it open actually and gone inside.  We’ve had a bone marrow dish on our menu for a month now, knowing that it wouldn’t be for everyone, but there to order just the same.  And people are loving it.  I’ve eaten some interesting things thanks to Pourhouse (curried pig brain anyone?), and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it was fantastic to say the least.  I’m starting to get off topic here, so I’ll refocus my energy on the task at hand.  When I sat down with JC to taste the beer and come up with this menu, we had a challenge put in front of us, in the form of a big, bad tugboat.  And to face that resiny, hoppy challenge, we have found it’s match.  Two-day braised beef blade, some veggies to balance and some of that rich bone marrow butter mixed in with a gremolata and baked/melted atop.  I can’t effin’ wait!

And that’s just dinner…

Stay tuned for dessert, a possible glimpse under Hildegarde’s habit, and Brewmaster Meyers’ VCBW mainland appearance schedule.