Burgoo

Burgoo is constantly getting crossed off our list.  Not because it's bad- on the contrary, it's too popular.  Going there is an exercise in frustration.  Burgoo Main Street is tiny and seems to always be full, with a oft-sizable line out the door.  Their soups and sandwiches really resonate with people here, and considering it's been a long, cold winter, we've been more in need of warming up than usual.  But it was a rainy Sunday, so we came in at 4:30 and managed to get a table.

I was still in a brunch mood so I ordered coffee.  It came on a wooden plank.  I concluded all meals should be served on wood.  This was a promising start.  I love the interior of Burgoo because it's all polished wood and exposed beams.  It's like a chalet and a backwoods cabin, rustic and modern.

I ordered the Burgoo biscuits.  These are homemade biscuits with cheddar and parsley.  For $4 you get 4 biscuits and enough butter to spread over them all.  They're small biscuits but that is just an incredible bargain.  Considering they come out fresh and warm and delicious, you really can't go wrong.  Even though they're just little, you can still break them up and butter them, and they hold together.  So rare!  The only criticism is that after a couple, one does find the cheese flavour a little heavy.  I also had the delicious French Onion soup so overall I was full and happy.  I think Burgoo is a bit overrated but man these biscuits were incredible.

Overall: 4.5 / 5

Common Loaf Bake Shop

We took a weekend camping trip to Tofino, at the very westernmost edge of Vancouver Island.  It's a stunningly beautiful strip of sandy beaches and evergreen forests, and the town is a cool little place epitomizing Vancouver Island culture- slacker, surfer, environmentalist, redneck.   Having only instant coffee and bagels for breakfast at the campsite, the very mention of real coffee got me pretty excited for the twenty minute drive into town.

"Common Loaf" seems like it should be a bread-y pun, but I haven't figured it out yet.  Is it like, Common Law-f?  Not sure what's going on there, it seems like a missed opportunity to me.  Leave your ideas for better names in the comments.  Anyway, the day was sunny and warm so we could sit outside and enjoy our snacks and meet the various dogs strolling by.  There was an enticing selection of baked goods, pizza, soup, etc.  And two types of scones!  I went for the "herbal" scone.  No, this is not a THC-laden magic scone, unfortunately.  Although, for you enterprising bakers out there, there'd probably be a good market for such a product on the island.  This was just a regular savoury scone with cheese baked in.  Since it was lunchtime, that felt more appropriate than the ginger scone.
Anyway, the scone was fantastic!  In terms of baking and consistency, it's among the very best I've tried.  Chewy and soft on the inside, not at all crumbly, slightly crispy on the outside.  Perfect construction.  The flavour, though, was a little too herbaceous for me.  I'm not sure what exactly was in there, several types of green things (basil?  possibly tarragon?), and cheese.

There is a character in Enid Blyton's books, Anne, who would always say to her friends during their idyllic summer picnics, just prior to their adventures, "I always think things taste so much better outdoors, don't you?"  So true, Anne.  Of course she was probably referring to some hideous English culinary monstrosity, but the sentiment is exactly right.  I was ravenously hungry after a long night spent shivering in our tent, as it got down to nearly freezing.  So the coffee and the scone really did taste wonderful out there in the sunshine by the sea.
 
Overall: 4 / 5

Habit's Biscuits

What the hell is a biscuit?   Depends who you are.  As usual, Americans defile our English words, rightfully stolen from the French.  Regardless of linguistic quibbling, biscuits in the American sense are pretty damn good.

Even though they may be the same essential baked good, there are spiritual differences.  Like we always say at the Scone Review, scones are dignified, biscuits are Southern-fried.  Eating a biscuit causes one to exclaim "y'all" and "I declare!" more than usual, and drink mint juleps.

I had the biscuit and cheese with scrambled eggs and veggie hash for brunch the other day at Habit.  The less said about the flat, insipid jalapeno cheese sauce, the better.  It was certainly better than Cheez Whiz, I'll give it that.



But the biscuit itself was a marvel.  Freshly baked, warm, light and fluffy, but big enough to satisfy.  You could imagine yourself in a big farmhouse, eating this at sunup before heading out to the fields.  If this was served by itself with melting butter, it would be sensational.  For breakfast it should really come with a big pat of butter and a plate of grits.
As usual the JJ Bean coffee at Habit was delicious and the refills plentiful.

Overall: 4 / 5.