Be Love

I had the good luck recently to be invited to eat lunch at one of Victoria's newer restaurants, Be Love, downtown near the corner Blanshard and Fort Streets.

Here's what they have to say about themselves: be love is an offering of sustainable organic cuisine to nourish and heal the body, mind & soul. here to honour our earth, community and one another , we mindfully source our ingredients, fostering change to provide a future of health, love & respect for all. everything we serve is wheat, gluten, dairy, meat, additive and processed sugar free. we use 95% organic whole ingredients that are sourced locally and seasonally where possible. everything we serve is made from scratch, with love!

The above sentiments are not so different from most other vegetarian restaurants. What makes Be Love different and outstanding is that the food is extraordinary. Normally, vegetarian restaurants serve hearty, healthy food with maybe a specialty or two - but the experience is like a relic from Haight-Ashbury or 1970s 4th Avenue in Vancouver - experimental food with the emphasis on nutrition rather than flavour. Be Love takes organic, vegetarian cuisine to a new level. This is a mature cuisine. The presentation is lovely, the flavours are superb, the service is great and the food is good for you. Pictured above is what I had, called a Green Bowl on the menu. Wonderful! Fern had the Teriyaki Noodle Bowl - also delicious. For dessert I had a slice of the Daily Cheezecake. Fern opted for a wedge of the Butternut Pumpkin Pie. Again, both were melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious. If you're in downtown Victoria and looking for a truly exquisite dining experience with a difference, drop in to Be Love (click the link to take a look at the menu).

Café Bliss

About a week ago I mentioned that there were only two genuine vegetarian restaurants in Victoria. I didn't know about Café Bliss, which is not only vegetarian, but is vegan, organic and RAW. In short, you can't get any closer to natural eating without getting down on all fours and grazing. But it's not just natural, it's good. In that display case just next to friendly counter-person Tyler, on the left hand side of top shelf is a platter of Bliss Bars, one of which melted in my mouth. I washed it down with a jar of Mo's Morning Mocha, a delicious warm mixture of cold-pressed coffee, cacao, coconut, hemp, cinnamon, maca, and nut cream. Despite a rather gloomy black exterior, the inside of Café Bliss is beautifully bright and pleasant and I propose to return soon to sample more of the food. It's downtown, 556 Pandora Street, opposite Market Square and just up the street from the Swans Hotel.

Green Cuisine

There are only two genuinely vegetarian restaurants in Victoria, Green Cuisine and The Lotus Pond. I eat at both from time to time though I generally prefer Green Cuisine. I'll do a post on The Lotus Pond some day so today I'll just write a little about Green Cuisine. It's located in Market Square, in the heart of the oldest part of Victoria. (Market Square also deserves a post of its own - but later!) Green Cuisine serves a delicious cafeteria style selection of soups, salads and entrees. One selects what one wants and pays by weight. The food is what I would call eclectic fusion - vegetarian recipes from around the world, and some from out of this world - especially the desserts. It's hard to find good vegan desserts and the tofu mousses and cheesecakes here are simply beyond compare. I had lunch here today - a bowl of yam and garbanzo soup, a chunk of focaccia bread and a chocolate cheesecake. $5.90