Free Inquiry Blog 8: Goats on da roof

For this week’s blog, I may have bent the rules a wee bit. Instead of getting my takeout meal in Victoria, I got my meal up island in Parksville. I know, I know, this is supposed to be the top takeout spots in and around Victoria’s list, but hear me out. As we all know, this past week was our winter reading break. In light of this, me and a few friends went up to Parksville for the weekend. Unfortunately, while in Parksville, I spent A LOT of money on various items. Including a few stops to get some takeout. So, for the sake of my wallet, I decided instead to write about my favourite meal I got while away. Rather than buying a whole new meal while in town. To keep the integrity of the list though, this week’s addition will only be a part of the list for one week.

Anyways, for this week’s blog, I stopped in at the Coombs Ice Cream Parlor for a meal. Located along the Port Alberni Highway and found within the Coombs market, Coombs Ice Cream Parlor is definitely an interesting place to eat. You may be thinking, “did he just get ice cream for lunch?”. As much as I would have loved that, the answer is no. Deceivingly, the Coombs Ice Cream Parlor is much more than its name may lead one to believe. Inside its tall wooden walls is a takeout restaurant serving a wide array of food along with an art gallery featuring numerous wood-carved pieces. It’s definitely no ordinary takeout spot, but nonetheless, it still is, and thus, it deserves a proper review. So, can an Ice cream shop take down some of the top spots in Victoria? Let’s find out.

My Order: Bacon Poutine

Appearance: 8/10

Holy moly, does this ever look beautiful. Before I continue, I must say that I am a die-hard fan of poutine. Thus, my opinion of the looks of this meal may be biased but, c’mon just look at this. The cheese curds are evenly spread out and frequent, the gravy is covering each and every fry and the bacon is placed right in the mix of it all. How can it get much better than that? The beautiful part about poutine is how simple it is and here all aspects have been covered. Even if, in comparison to other meals I’ve ordered, it seems bare, I just love it, 8/10.

Taste 6/10

As much as I hoped it would, this meal did not taste as good as it looked, but I must admit, it was pretty yummy. To start, the fries and cheese curds were immaculate. Perfectly cooked, the fries were not too mushy and not too hard, all while being seasoned just the right amount. The cheese curds were nothing special taste-wise, but they were large and found in every bite. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I order poutine and it comes with like three total curds, so having many elevated the dish. Unfortunately, the gravy and the bacon were both lacking in various areas which brought down this meal’s score greatly. Although it was perfect consistently, the gravy just didn’t really have much flavour. It added more to the meal by melting the cheese curds than it did with its taste. As to the bacon, there was no bacon. To my surprise, the meat used for this meal wasn’t bacon but instead, it was ham. Of course, the ham still tasted delicious, but I was expecting actual bacon, not Canadian bacon. Leaving me longing for real bacon after each bite, 6/10.

Customer Service: 7/10

This place is just straight weird. First off, the restaurant is very divey and on staff was a single old granny. Furthermore, as I mentioned in the intro, this restaurant is located in the same building as a wood carving art gallery. These two things coupled together created a very interesting vibe. I felt like I was in someone’s grandma’s kitchen while being surrounded by wood sculptures. Many of which were carvings of naked people. In no way does this take away from the nice old lady’s customer service. She was awfully friendly and more than happy to make me and three of my friend’s meals. The ordering process was simple and smooth and the food came in no time, 7/10

Bang for your Buck: 8/10

In total, my meal came out to 10.50, taxes included and with a one-dollar tip. I must say, that’s pretty dang good. The portion size you get is massive. After finishing my meal I was completely and utterly stuffed. If I was asked to eat just one more fry, I may have exploded. So really, for all the food you get 10 dollars is cheap, 8/10

Final Score Breakdown

Appearance: 8/10

Taste: 6/10

Customer Service: 7/10

Bang for your buck: 8/10

Final score: 29/40

Final Thoughts

For an Ice cream parlour in an art gallery, the food here is surprisingly good. The prices are cheap, the portions are great and the service is friendly. Just be prepared if you do plan to go, that it is an incredibly weird place. You will feel awkward but you will also be full. So pros and cons, but I’d recommend Coombs Ice Cream Parlour!

Jaxon’s Top Takeout in Victoria (and Parksville) List

1. Rise and Grind, Downtown – 35/40
2. Italian Food Imports, Downtown – 33/40
3. RedFish BlueFish, Inner Harbour – 29/40
4. Coombs Ice Cream Parlour, Coombs – 29/40
5. Big Wheel Burger, Numerous locations – 26/40
6. Foo Asian Street Food, Downtown -25/40
7. Lee’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 20/40
8. Mary Brown’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 12/40