July 1, 2019
Day 2: Ganges and the North Island
The Wisteria advertises a hearty "two course" breakfast. Since we operate only with the European "metric" "jammer" scale invented by Keith Classen to describe mainly German buffet breakfasts, we had no idea of what to expect.
What came in the first course was an elegant little tarte shell containing some fresh berries, and a dollop of vanilla yogurt. "Very nice", we thought, as we waited for the actual food. The second course consisted of some equally elegant scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and greens, plus some fried potatoes, and salad. I was wondering about bread, which is the traditional vehicle for getting some calories into the mix, but no, that was it. It was a fine breakfast, actually, for someone perhaps going for a brief nature stroll, and not wanting to bog their senses down with a lot of digesting, or not wanting to fire their body with too much energy, so as to prevent quiet contemplation. But for cycling a wildly undulating island of hills - not so much.
Not far up the north road we spotted a sign and arrow that said "patisserie". All right! But no, it did not pan out. No patisserie was to be seen. No matter, as Jeff had noted in the Comments, there are five bakeries in the area. We ran into one called Francis Bread. In the hippy-dip tradition of Saltspring, this was in a rustic cabin and featured a small selection of fairly minimalist home made looking items. We chose three, paying $11.50. Look, when you are fighting starvation price becomes secondary. As it happens, we made our cycling circuit and returned to town with one of the items still in reserve. That smoked salmon and scrambled eggs must contain more power than appears at first!
The roads in the north of the Island were really quite hilly. But I understand those cyclists who are bored by the likes of flat river routes. When you can go down a 16% hill at 60 kph and shoot part way up the other side, the fun can be worth the effort of cranking up to the next summit. It certainly makes you more aware of your bike - how it climbs, and especially how well it is balanced and how well it brakes.
All along we were treated to beautiful ocean, forest, and farm views. We noticed particularly the number of arbutus trees. These unique trees are mostly free of bark, and have red trunks. They have flat smooth leaves, but like the conifers, they do not drop them in winter. We used to see a lot of arbutus near our house, but somehow now so much any more. Ruefully, we look at a major housing development nearby called Arbutus Ridge. As is often the case, the thing is named for what they cut down to build it. Garry oak is something else we are seeing here. Again, a species not so much in evidence closer to home.
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It only took half the day to circle the upper part of the island, but with the hills, we were glad to make it back. We decided to bypass the pizza and fruits we had brought from home, because yesterday we had spotted a place in town called Buzzy's. It's a very small spot in a strip mall, opened one year ago by Howard Busgang, a former Montreal comedian. Busgang has the nerve to offer "Montreal smoked meat" sandwiches. According to an article in the Montreal Gazette:
“They call this place the Jamaica of Canada — and for good reason,” Busgang says. “It’s this crazy, eclectic artist community that has obviously been hankering, without knowing it, for deli. This is one of these mythical places that if you build a deli, they will come.
“It’s been insane since we opened Buzzy’s. None of this makes any sense. I sell out every day. And this is the real crazy part: I actually make my own smoked meat and I can’t make enough of it. This started in Los Angeles, where I couldn’t get a Montreal-style sandwich, so I started making my own.”
Busgang does take the making of the smoked meat seriously. He cures it for eight to 10 days in the shop, then he smokes it for eight to 10 hours, and finally he steams it for three hours."
Having been raised in Montreal, we are cynical when encountering places claiming "Montreal style" foods. But still, we will always try, so off we went to Buzzy's. Today in not only Canada Day, but also Buzzy's first anniversary in business. So cramming into the minimal sidewalk frontage of the little place, he had musicians, and a giant birthday cake. Everyone was in a festive mood, and we gamely pushed our way through, grabbing the only available table in the place.
After centuries of persecution, Jews are often a bit reticent in declaring their identity. Not so Busgang. His menu choices have names like "The Hungry Jew" and the "Rabinowitz". We chose the "Old School", which turned out to be a bit new school. While admittedly, 95% of smoked meat sandwiches ordered in Montreal will come with cole slaw on the side, this one had the cole slaw incorporated between the bread slices. And the bread, while undoubtedly rye, was square and two toned brown and white. However the star of the show was the smoked meat itself, which we declared completely authentic. Now that is big news, and previously completely unheard of. Good work, Howard!
What's more, at the next table there was a mystery. Someone had seemingly left over 1/2 a sandwich, or at least they had temporarily abandoned it. This really perturbed Howard, who vigorously asserted that no one had ever or would ever leave behind part of one of his sandwiches. Also mysterious was the fact that this sandwich had a much more traditional appearance than ours, and none of the staff, not even Mrs. Busgang, seemed able to point out which item on the menu it was.
Eventually, one very old lady was identified outside as an occupant of the mystery table, and she came back in to take one of the seats. But while we were there, no one was so bold as to bite the half sandwich. I would have gladly done it, but there was always the fear that it belonged to some giant Rabinowitz, out eating birthday cake.
Our next step was to track down the next of the declared five bakeries in the town. This was the largest, the EmBe, which is just before the giant hill that leads out of town and towards Fulford Harbour. The EmBe had a moderate selection that it must be said did include apple strudel. While to be sure it was not a backerei-conditerei in any German tradition, it was ok. We sat in the shade at one of its outdoor picnic tables, watching cars from the now ending classic car exhibition noisily blasting up the exit hill.
And that was it for us. Too much fun for a single day. We straggled back to the Wisteria and collapsed on our big fluffy bed. Only now, in the early evening, have we surfaced enough to be writing this. And soon, we will be out for the count. Tomorrow we will tackle the south part of the island, and then head for home. It will be interesting to see what the two courses of breakfast turn out to be. But no matter, we have already spotted Barb's, the last of the major bakeries in the town!
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 80 km (50 miles)
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5 years ago
I have had that kind of minimalist breakfast at boutique hotels in Germany, too. As they say, klein aber fein. I prefer jammers.
5 years ago