Your guide to some of the best and inviting food establishments.
Caribbean Village Cafe
2646 Quadra St.
Quadra Village
Victoria, BC
(250) 381-3363
Curiously, there’s only a handful of Caribbean restaurants, diners and dives in Victoria. After hitting this place, I think that between James and I, we’re close to visiting them all. He’s tailing behind by one, and he’s the one who told me about this hidden gem in Quadra Village.
The Noodle Box
Westshore Town Centre
2955 Phipps Road
Langford, BC
(250) 383-3322
I never liked the atmosphere at the Noodle Box’s Douglas St. location. The music was loud and it has the feel of a dungeon. Every time I walked in, I could never shake that feeling away. The strip of walkway where orders are picked up and where some people use to stand-and-wait was tight. That’s the only spot where one can hear that their order is ready.
This operation has closed.
Jackalope Bistro
760A Yates St.
Victoria, BC
(778) 430-5673
I originally wrote this piece for Nexus Newspaper to print, and instead of giving a director’s cut with extra details here, I thought I’d simply add a few extra notes about the evolution of Diagon, er Odeon Alley.
Actually this place is supposed to be known as Millie’s Lane, but for me, this location is always going to be the Odeon.
Barb’s Bakery & Bistro
1-121 McPhillips Ave.
Ganges
Salt Spring Island, BC
(250) 537-4491
E: At the start of a new day, the only thing I could think of was enjoying some morning Salt Spring air and my next meal. I considered Salt Spring Coffee along with some bacon & eggs. After some quick inquiries, we walked down to Barb’s Buns, and oh how sweet and firm they were.
J: A local who worked over at Mouat’s Home Hardware told us Barb’s has the best coffee on the island. It was then Ed and I wished Yvonne was with us. She has a better appreciation for good coffee.
Tree House Cafe
106 Purvis Lane
Ganges
Salt Spring Island, BC
(250) 537-5379
J: People may have thought Ed and I were enjoying a holiday on Salt Spring but nothing could be further from the truth. We were there to sample the finest of what Ganges had to offer and in the spirit of things, test our gastronomical boundaries.
It was hard work lifting those strawberry cremes from Embe Bakery or digging for delicious noodles at the Salt Spring Noodle Bar & Curry House. After a hearty day and with sweat on our brow, it made sense to sample some drinks at the Tree House Cafe.
Holy Moly, Roly Poly serves up some very mean rice balls. This fast food staple from Japan gets the Salt Spring Island treatment, and what stands out is the beautiful balance between the rice and the ingredients used. I’ve had fat rice balls before, which bury the shrimp (my favourite), and the thin ones, were … well thin.
When I bought them at the Tuesday Food Market, they carried flavours which I never saw back home in Victoria, have noticed in my short time in Japan, and have often desired. They even have rice balls named after local areas, likes Ganges and Salty Salt. True to form, the salt is used to preserve the rice so they can be saved for nibbling on days later.
Being Asian, I thrive on rice. Even though there have been times when I needed a sabbatical from tradition, Roly Poly makes me want to return to it … and become a lone, wandering, samurai.
