Floyd's Diner, Langford

The one thing the Westshore really lacks is good breakfast joints. Hopefully that problem has been solved with the opening of Floyd's Diner. Floyd's has taken over and remodeled the old Smoken Bones location into that of a classical American diner, complete with random posters of muscle cars, James Dean and Marylin Monroe.

For a Saturday, Floyd's was just as expected - BUSY. However, we were seated fast and they had plenty of staff on to deal with all the tables. All the servers seemed quite friendly, but I felt a little rushed to place my order.

I ended up settling on the First Kiss Burger. The First Kiss is described as a beef burger with cheese, bacon and BBQ sauce with lettuce, tomato, onions and a pickle. They also described it as a little messy which led me to believe that it would be really juice. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, in fact, I wouldn't even call it a burger patty as the consistency was that of meatloaf. What happened to good old 80/20 burger patties where it was the quality of the meat that made the burger good, not all the crap you put into the meat. This tells me one thing, that the restaurant doesn't believe enough in their beef to serve it straight up. So to say the least, the burger was dry and tasted like a mixture of bread crumbs and seasoning salt.

Unfortunately, the burger was the best part of my lunch, the fries that came with burger were so salty that I could barely choke them down.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking...Floyd's is a breakfast joint not a burger joint. Well, you are probably right so, I will have to rely on my wife's opinion on that. She had eggs benny with a pesto hollandaise. She didn't have too much to say about it other than they messed up on her eggs. She ordered them poached medium and one was hard and the other soft. She also noted that the eggs benny at The Reef are much better. If that doesn't some it up...I don't know what will.

Verdict: It's nice to have breakfast option in the Westshore, but I think I'll stick to going downtown.

P.S. our two meals and one pop each came to just under $40. Definitely not deserving of that kind of dough.

Royal Roads Cafe, Colwood

Always in the mood to try a new restaurant, my wife and I decided to check out the Royal Roads Cafe last Saturday. My wife is taking some courses at Royal Roads University and was told from some of her fellow students that the RRC was really good.

We arrived around 11:30 and the place was packed. It was clear to us that the RRC had a strong following; however, their clientele appeared to have an average age of 70 something. First glance at the menu and you could tell what attracted all the senior citizens; they serve up home style classics that tend to please our elderly population. Menu items such as Liver & Onions, Prime Rib and mashed potatoes with gravy. However, like I said I arrived close to lunch hour on a weekend so, most everyone was ordering breakfast. Another attraction item for the RRC is they have managed to keep their prices low and their menu big.

As for decor... outdated, old, plastic... hmmm, how many words do I need to say that the RRC is in need of a makeover both inside and out.

Enough of my verbal diarrhea, I am sure you are reading this to know about the food, not my critiques on plastic plants and old carpet.

The Food...

Yikes! That about sums it up. However, you've read this much nonsense, I will try and provide you with a more descriptive review on the culinary atrocities I experienced at the RRC. We ordered an appetizer platter to share and a couple of bowls of french onion soup. The appy platter consisted of chicken strips, deep fried zucchini, onion rings and chicken wings. What they should have called it was a plate full of oil. The oil obviously old due to the colour of the food, either that or, the chef cook way over fried everything. There were only two chicken strips and they appeared to come from the freezer section at your local Walmart. The chicken strips were so overcooked and flavorless that I could only manage to choke down one! The zucchini sticks were adequate and the onion rings were well... on par with the rest of the plate.

As for the French Onion Soup...it was awful! I couldn't figure out why it had a reddish oil all over the top of the melted cheese; then it hit me, they used vegetable soup for the broth instead of beef broth. The flavour was bland and other than that I have nothing good to say about it. You can get better french onion soup at your local Timmy's.

Overall experience - not good! However, I haven't written it off for a greasy spoon breakfast joint yet! I also think that this restaurant has a place in the restaurant world. In my experience elderly people like to be able to go out and have more simple food that reminds them of home cooking - I think the RRC serves this purpose. Not too many restaurants these days want to specialize in home-style cuisine.

The Reef, Downtown

I have been patiently waiting for a while now to try the Reef. Well, the time finally came on St. Paddy's day, but not for dinner, instead I went for brunch. The wait was definitely worth it or, should I say...why the hell did I wait so long? The Reef was bloody freakin' awesome!

Big bold flavours of deliciousness; something, that I rarely find in Victorian restaurants and definitely something that I crave. However, I don't rate restaurants solely on the food, but the overall enjoyment and I must say that between the tasty food and impeccable service, the Reef really hits the nail on the head.

Brunch started off with a couple of "special" coffees ($6 each), which is something I wouldn't normally order, but since it was St. Paddy's day...what the hell. My wife ordered the Callaloo Benny ($11). The Callaloo Benny is an assortment of grilled spinach, tomato and provolone cheese topped with a poached egg, chimichurri sauce and their delicious citrus hollandaise. My wife absolutely loved the Callaloo and said the combination of the chimichurri sauce and citrus hollandaise was simply divine.

I ordered the Jamaica Me Crabby benny minus the eggs ($11) which consisted of english muffins topped with curried crab cakes, citrus hollandaise and fresh tomato salsa. Again another home run for the Reef. My benny was fantastic! The crab cakes were flavourful, yet the curry wasn't overpowering. I would say that this was probably the best benny I have ever eaten (period).

 
Like I mentioned earlier, dining out is not just about the food - service is also important. The lone waitress at the Reef was friendly, attentive and strived to make our experience one that would make us come back again. The Reef adds the little touches of comfort to your dining experience. While waiting for our meal they brought us out a bowl of Johnny Cakes (fresh donuts filled with mango) and cocunut mango butter to go with. The Johnny Cakes were fabulous. The server was also kind enough to add a few more Johnny Cakes to our bowl for the lack of eggs on my benny.

Overall - It was awesome and I can't wait to return (for dinner).

Paul's Motor Inn - Victoria

If you have ever driven down Douglas street in Victoria you have surly past by Paul's; infact, you have probably stared intently at the copper roof and flashing lights.

In our Saturday morning search for a new "greasy spoon" we decided to try out Paul's. From the outside it met the criteria of what a greasy spoon should be - flashing lights; old hotel and the look that your average long haul trucker had spent many a mornings drinking coffee and eating a heart attack plate of bacon and fried eggs. Ah, my imagination is running away on me, there is definitely no room to park a big rig their and knowing the City of Victoria it would cost about $20 bucks an hour to park it on the street. Nonetheless, the family was excited about the possibility of a new greasy spoon dining experience...

When you walk into Paul's it is much as you would expect from the outside - an older restaurant with that classic diner feel. I especially liked the booths that were cut away on the servers side; thus, making it easier for them to navigate all of the tables. Unfortunately, it didn't make it any faster for them to take our order or to offer us the much needed morning coffee!

There are two things that separate a greasy spoon from your average diner: 1) price; greasy spoons are ridiculously cheap! And 2) speed - every greasy spoon I have ever been to has taken my order and delivered my food in about 10-15 minutes of arriving. I wish I could say the same for Paul's; I don't think I even got my coffee within 15 minutes of arriving.

As for the food, the menu was limited, the food was nothing special, but decent; and, the price - well... let's just say that the price didn't reflect a greasy spoon, I paid just under $40 for the three of us to eat breakfast. All in all I didn't find my new greasy spoon; in fact, I think I just found another mediocre diner in a town filled with mediocre breakfast establishments.

The search continues.....

The Butter Dell Cafe....Greasy Spoon....

Greasy spoons are generally defined as small, cheap, diners or restaurants that specialize in serving fried or grilled foods such as eggs, bacon, and burgers. These "greasy spoons" are often located off the beaten path and offer food that the working man can afford.

The Butter Dell Cafe is definitely a greasy spoon. If you haven't been or heard of the Butter Dell, it is located in a small building in the parking lot of the Blue Ridge Inns on Douglas street (right next to the KFC). There is approximately 8 tables. The decor is, typical of a greasy spoon, outdated and saturated with cheesy pictures and plastic plants. However, this is just what I look for in a greasy spoon, anything else and they wouldn't be greasy.