11.04.26
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A University Heights Update; When A Mall Becomes An Outdoor Food Court

University Heights UpdateAt the risk of sounding like a broken record, months after the dust have settled, the new University Heights Mall is shaping up to be an ok hub for some operations to exist. As an area where nearly all the banks are represented, I can respect that. Folks with multiple accounts at different banks can simply walk across the street. The food scene remains the same: corporate and sad, and as for who else will occupy the space opposite this expansion, only time will tell.

There’s a pit where the former library used to be, the other strip mall is under construction, and the rest? They are hardly 100% done. I even sounded off on my what I thought during an interview on Kathryn Marlow’s This is Vancouver Island a few years back. Although that segment didn’t make the final cut, I was glad to get that off my chest, and instead we focused on was What Else Is As Iconic As London Drugs? (courtesy of CBC Radio).

And we were talking about what makes British Columbia unique, and not just the island. No, I’m not talking about wanting to be stuck in the same era where every adventure on Netflix’s Stranger Things must happen (because the old digs were reputed to be haunted!), but small is better than big.

When news broke that the block occupied by this shopping complex had been sold to an American firm, my heart sank. There used to be smaller brunch places and more of a sense of community here, back when Gauntlet Games occupied the space. They moved to another mall, which at least can’t be rebuilt from the ground up. For the mall I can walk to that’s five blocks away, it was home. There was a comic book shop, an arcade, a gym, a video game rental store, a poster framing place, and even a place to file your income tax!

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10.07.26
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When Sushi Ten Barely Rates In That Rating Scale….

ed in tee2006 Oak Bay Ave Victoria, BC Phone: (250) 590-1847 Hours: 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. (Daily) Website: www.sushi-ten.ca

ES: The sushi and sweets scene along Oak Bay Avenue has certainly changed over the years. Whether some closures were a result of the pandemic or otherwise (RIP Osaka, Sweet Delights and London Sweet Stop), I miss those early days. Thankfully, there are two other operations that have stuck it out, namely Bon and Kissato. I love the atmosphere of the latter, as it’s family-run, and though they seem to have downscaled, that’s alright when I’m in the area. Don’t get me started about the candy shops, though.

As Don and I looked around to see what’s changed, too much has changed. At least I got my mead, though!As for new operations, I feel Sushi Ten still has to earn its legs. Although they are popular amongst locals living nearby, they’ve been doing well since opening February 1, 2026.

DK: Popular is right. The mere mention of their name had my waitress at another recently opened eatery histrionic with praise last week. I went with her advice and got the salmon avo roll. Whether it’s aging taste buds or the effects of farming and freezing, I’m finding too much sushi salmon just a little bland these days. I had high hopes Sushi Ten would buck the trend. Then I remembered Ed’s rule about eating sushi on Sundays and Mondays…

Read more: When Sushi Ten Barely Rates In That Rating Scale….

ES: Or weekends for that matter! What’s just as equally important is how the fish was brought to the plate. There’s flash smacking it until the sakana is unconscious, or an ethical choice so that the death to feed our tummies is not as shocking. Ultimately, I think what we ate was more than a few days old before a fresh batch could be brought in.

Sushi Ten Basic Meal

I had the basic tuna and salmon roll to test the waters, and they weren’t all that appealing. As for their spicy chopped scallop roll, it seems the money went with the shellfish. That’s because those are harder to clam up if something goes wrong. At least the sunomono salad is hard to mess up, lest I want to pucker up for more octopus bites, which is why I often go for this appetizer to start with.

Don at Sushi Ten

DK: Safe to say Ed and I weren’t as enthused by the salmon here as others have been. Maybe it was just the wrong day of the week? That being said, I did enjoy my B.C. Roll. What it may have lacked in bold flavour, it made up for in pleasant crunch. Preparation that leads to proper texture and mouthfeel counts for something.

ES: At least the space is comforting, service is nice, and we didn’t have to wait long for the meal. Though we came in before the dinner crowd, I noticed how fast the place got packed by the time 6:30pm rolled around. Clearly this place is doing something right. I’d try to visit this place again on a day piggy arrived on market rather than grow old, though.

I wouldn’t say the tuna and salmon have gotten stale either. And I’d imagine Sushi Ten wants you to order from their fusion menu rather than standard, since they are slightly overpriced and offer more cream cheese than I need on my face for cleansing.

DK: Is Sushi Ten Head and Shoulders above the rest? No, but I’m willing to give them a second chance to make a first impression. Until then I’ll Google other old ’90s shampoo commercial taglines to shoehorn into reviews, and maybe we’ll give Sushi Ten’s neighbours Selah and Oak Bay Seafood a try. Because we’re worth it.

3½ Blokes out of 5

09.09.26
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Glitch Victoria: When Videogames Doesn’t Smell Like Geek Spirit

After a few months in operation, I firmly believe Glitch Victoria is a lounge with rack and stack games for those wanting to flex their alpha status to friends. That’s fine if you’re after a night out in Victoria, but as for connecting with the gaming community, they need a proper outreach person. That’s because the attempts I’ve seen have mostly come from the community itself. There was a group asking if they could host a night of fighting games for those who registered, and now there’s a relax and hang out thing with Coastal Collector’s Market, which is a swap meet for trading card games.

With only two true cabinet games at the time of writing and me hearing that they do not want to step on Quasar Arcade‘s toes, they’re taking the smart position. When Jurassic Park Arcade is the only game worth playing, dropping two tokens ($2) per go hurts. Even during the arcade boom, those cost a buck. Everything else is carnival fare.

That could mean trouble attracting regulars. When there’s nothing unique pulling people in, not everyone’s going to bother showing up. At the time of writing, I do not see this place as built for hardcore gamers. Also, I don’t see a problem with working with other operations so that they can pull out those cabinet games from out of storage and let other stores turn them on. Cherry Bomb Toys and Quasars did that, and I was there to play Atari’s Tempest as often as I can! I don’t see why Glitch is being shy with that idea.

At present, when store fronts are afraid of working together, I figure this is a place for people living downtown wanting somewhere to hang out. If one place is closed, the other can fill a niche.

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08.05.26
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Does Victoria Really Need A Lee’s Donuts?

Lees Donuts658 View Street
Victoria, BC (Old Town)

Just how many donut shops does this city need? I’m skeptical, mostly since my favorite donut shop isn’t actually a donut shop. It’s a cream puff shop, and yes, I’ll admit it, once upon a time Beard Papa’s was really good. But time hasn’t treated this operation kindly. Quality dropped, and so did this staple of every visit I make. It could benefit from coming to the island to “restart,” instead of Lee’s Donuts. But as this other operation opens its first location at 658 View Street, I do have to wonder: will the cream puff giant soon follow?

Although the signage was already up when I was downtown not too long ago, I’m not feeling particularly excited. There’s going to be huge competition over which creamy operation will taunt our taste buds. Even though it had humble, Asian-style beginnings as a mom-and-pop shop inside the Granville Island Public Market in 1979 I’m still not entirely sold. And I’m fairly sure founders Alan and Betty-Ann Lee’s “secret recipe” isn’t all that secret.

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06.03.26
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Nobu Needs A Little Wasabi

Director Matt Tyrnauer must love dining at Nobu, a Japanese restaurant that has branding and star power making it a boutique operation that not everyone can afford. With operations existing at metropolises around the world, often connected with a five star hotel, perhaps its time to have that origin story told, and what the “self-titled” film proclaims is that the founder, the life of fame and humility is like a double edged sword. 

For a man who went from humble beginnings to pioneering a sushi business back in the 70s, when the cuisine was still a mysterious staple to most, a lot about the scene has changed. Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa is more of a celebrity these days than a chef who helped create fusion cuisine.

While all he wants is to deliver happiness and smiles to patrons who ate his food, there’s also the desire to keep going, and find new ways to marry distinct cultural flavours from another culture to Japanese style arrangements.

Read more: Nobu Needs A Little Wasabi

The documentary provides a solid, well-shot overview of the man. We get a glimpse into his early days in 1949 Japan and his formative experiences in Lima, Peru, where that signature cultural blend of Japanese and Peruvian flavors was born. It is fascinating material, especially for those who are unfamiliar with his history. There is a touching subplot about his friend Sakai that I will not spoil, but it provides the kind of emotional grounding the film struggles to maintain.

The documentary does a great job of explaining the philosophy behind the food. Precision is everything. Whether it is the exact mix of vinegar, sugar, and salt in the rice, the resting time, or even the crispness of the nori, it all matters. But here is where the film, and perhaps the corporate identity, gets complicated.

Nobu has become less of an individual and more of a global machine, tethered to luxury hotels and celebrity clientele. You are not just paying for the fish and a photo moment to say I’ve been here. Having dined at places like Sushi Kashiba and Tojo’s, I know how fast a high-end bill adds up. A typical Nobu meal can easily start around $200 USD for a filling meal before cocktails and gratuity is added on top! Based on my experience with the latter which I believe is Vancouver’s best restaurant since the 80s, I prefer a meal where the sushi chef designs the personal dining experience. I doubt that is offered in any chain operation, but until I am there, I cannot say if Nobu offers that kind of intimacy.

Ultimately, the film leaves you with an unspoken question: what is the future of the brand? His peak may well have been when he was fully present in his original LA kitchen, and there was only one, before the name became a global fixture. Today, dining at a Nobu location is a roll of the dice. With the man himself on the road 80% of the year, the odds of encountering him are slim. Most of us will simply be engaging with the machine he built, not the craftsman who started it.

3½ Blokes out of 5

05.06.26
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Is Cocobella Victoria Singing the Kokomo?

606 Johnson St
Victoria, BC

Phone: (250) 388-3111
Hours: 8 a.m.–12 a.m. (Daily)
Website: https://www.instagram.com/cocobellacanada/

When I was downtown for Free Comic Book Day last weekend, I showed up early enough to beat the crowd, but not early enough to beat the growl in my stomach. By the time I reached Johnson Street, most breakfast options were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Maybe I should’ve wandered over to Broad Street instead. Le Croissant Chaud on the 1300-block might have been the smarter call, but Cocobella was right there. When a lot of corner eateries don’t seem to last long before a changeover to another food operation, I think a lot of areas are just “cursed.”

Since I didn’t expect anything on my comic list to quickly vanish, I figured I had time. That confidence started to wobble once my order at this Indian-inspired café began dragging its feet. A fully cooked sandwich can take up to ten minutes and I get that. Not every operation microwaves the food like Starbucks. But an iced pistachio latte? At one point, I wondered if they were hand-foraging the nuts out back.

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