An insider's guide to Victoria since 1997.

Located in a strip mall just off the busy Veteran's Memorial Parkway in Langford, Smoken Bones Cookshack is pretty unassuming from the outside. Inside is a very comfortable family steakhouse, average but for the menu. Smoken Bones features not only ribs, as expected, but also pulled pork and beef brisket -- definitely carnivore friendly.

I discovered Cabin12 through Twitter, oddly enough, and on a day off I stopped in for lunch which turned out to be breakfast (I had eggs benedict). More recently, I went back with family and friends and after a second sampling decided it was time to add a review.

John's Noodle Village is set in the small strip of businesses at 823 Bay St. across the Blanshard in a small and unassuming; from the looks of it, it's a Mom & Pop operation. They serve Catonese and Szcheuan fare; and their emphasis is on doing in it well: classic dishes like chow meins, sweet and sour pork, etc.-- done as they're supposed to and not with some spin or re-visioning of the recipes. What's really impressive is that they make their noodles on site daily. Bar none, the best thing on their menu is the ginger fried beef.

I used to like the dim sum at Jade Palace in Market Square, but it was long ago was replaced with office space. Don Mee's became my default choice for those great little dumplings, but I wanted to find and alternative-- just to mix it up a little.

I'm a sucker for good box of noodles. There's something about it that strikes a chord. After going to Noodle Box and getting attitude with a side of noodles, I thought I'd have to cook my noodles at home (hint: it's easy and cheap to do it at home), but then I saw a place called Boxo Noodles had opened up at 1011 Blanshard when Ali Baba had operated for years. It has nice ambiance (lots of bamboo and Asian influence).

The city has had a die-off of greasy spoon restaurants. They've gone upscale or specialty or been taken over by a franchise. Hiding in Esquimalt is just what the doctor ordered. La Belle Patate is a burger joint on Esquimalt Road across the street from the Memorial Park. If you get past the looks of the place (it's a bit of a dive but their food safe looks good from the peer over the counter), you can find some great eats. There is limited seating inside and some patio furniture outside-- so it's best to plan your order for take-away.

As a kid, I used to walk by the corner store across from the Crystal pool; and sometimes pop in for a Coke or a bag of chips. The shop was converted into a restaurant-- the main storefront was turned into the kitchen; and the back became the dining area. When I came in, there was a decent number of dinners, all enjoying their meals. I made two visits there.

I recently stumbled across a great resource that I had to share with you: Swings and Roundabouts Victoria playgrounds reviews! Whether you're new to the region, just visiting, or a long-time resident looking for a new playground to share with your kids, this site is very good at what it does. Reviews include lists of equipment at the park, how well it is maintained, whether there is parking, seating, washrooms, etc., and is full of photos, too. I may submit the odd review too...

As of late August 2009, Floyd's 2 has been renamed Spoons Diner due to a change in ownership and the dissolution of the agreement to franchise Floyds. This has also spawned a change in menu so some of my favourite items are no longer served. What is left is largely unchanged except in name, so that much is good. I'll be keeping an eye on further developments; the review below is unchanged except to remove the website link.

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