Rosie’s Diner
253 Cook St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 384-6090

I must’ve walked through a time warp when I entered what felt like a 50’s era diner in the middle of Cook Street Village. Upon entry, I was greeted with many images of Betty Boop. Complete with some pre-requisite furnishings and many more artwork of this vintage icon, my pal Shane Priestly and I sat down and reminisced.

As odd as it sounds, a year after our graduation from the Applied Communication Program at Camosun, I had to ask the question of where are they now. True to the nature of any scholastic life, most of us went off to go spread our wings and fly away, trying to make a name for ourselves. Whoever we really wanted to stay in touch with afterwards is best left for sociologists to explain.

For Shane and I, it was like old times. We chatted about the stuff we’re doing now and eventually made our order. Shane had the soup of the day, a chilli chicken that looked very good. And I opted for a Denver Sandwich ($6.50), which consisted of egg, diced ham, onions and peppers. It was made omelette style and it was a trip back to simplicity. I could’ve had an appetizer along with my order, but opted not to.

I really liked the soft toasted bread, and the green peppers tasted wonderfully crisp and sweetly impeccable. The eggs were decent and I was glad to see the pickles were set on the side than as part of the sandwich. While I do appreciate a good pickle on its own, I rarely include it in any kind of sandwich or hamburger that I have.

One thing I noticed was that this diner is definitely a place for locals to hang out in. I overheard one person coming in and said, “Give me the usual.”

The atmosphere was nice and relaxing. On a warm, Spring, day, this is a place I could find myself in to wind down the day. While this diner was a touch overpriced, I certainly was not feeling the 50’s vibe. Now if this place had a vintage soda dispensing rig here, I’d be visiting both Beacon Hill Park and here more often.

And to hear some words of Asian origin snapped me back to modern times. While I found it odd that some Chinese food was listed in what would otherwise be an emblem of the 50’s diner culture, I didn’t let that bother me. If this place was to keep with the sentimentalities of a bygone era, visiting this place may have been problematical. But it’s not like that stopped me before.

3½ Blokes out of 5