Vancouver Island groceries?

[chowfox]

So we'll be touristing around the island in June. We're staying in a housekeeping cottage in Ucluelet for a few days, and naturally (being hounds) would like to eat well. Where in our travels could we be gathering the ingredients? I expect we can get fresh seafood in Ukee. We won't be purchasing saffron or white truffle oil for our few days. I don't eat meat. Other than that, any place special we should stop, either in the area, or on the way from Victoria?

[lunchslut]

No Uculet/Tofino trip would be complete without a stop at Coomb's Country Market. The market, beside having goats living on its roof, is a great place for both local and imported gourmet foods. Add great ice cream, a home style bakery, a decent deli, an interesting selection of Asian bric brac, and a photo worthy colorful interior and you have a can't miss rest stop on your trip. Just make sure you hit hwy 3A /go through Coomb's as you travel from Parksville toward Port Alberni on your way to Uculet.

[unkyfarmer]

If you are driving from Victoria you will have to go by or through Nanaimo. There is a great deli there called McLean's. They have an excellent selection of cheeses and oils etc. http://www.mcleansfoods.com/ . When in Victoria the best grocery in my opinion is Thrifty's. http://www.thriftyfoods.com/.Or you can wait till you are coming down the Malahat and there is one on the right hand side in Mill Bay. The produce section is very good. Easy in and out. There is a Gov't. Liquor store as well. As far as liquor goes when in Victoria the one at Fort and Fowl Bay rd. in the islands specialty store and has an excellent selection of scotch and wine etc.

[Sam Salmon]

"I expect we can get fresh seafood in Ukee."

Not necessarily.

In BC commercial fishermen don't sell directly to the public much at all (for a number of reasons)- Crab is the most commonly sold local product but I have no idea if any is For Sale in Ukee.

[fmed]

Not sure about where to find fish in Ukee, but in Tofino, you can buy from Trilogy:
http://www.trilogyfish.net/

There are a number of grocery stores, etc in Ucluelet, so provisioning shouldn't be a problem.

(If you are in Ukee you might as well check out Tofino...IMO. In case you hadn't considered it.).

[Sam Salmon]

Thanks for the link Fmed!