R 'n' R Diner - Classic Peninsula Diner

The R 'n' R Diner in Central Saanich may have a modern setting on the outside - but it's all classic in the inside. From the food to the decor to the old-fashioned service (the latter being: on-the-ball, whip-smart & fast).

The outside is actually a little unassuming....

But the diner part comes thru loud and clear as soon as you step in the door. Maybe it's the stools at the counter...

Wheelies Motorcycle Cafe - high-gear it over

Located in unassuming Rock Bay 'hood (between the garages, office furniture warehouses and fastner outlets) sits Wheelies Motorcycle Cafe.  Previously an actual garage (home to an honest mechanic who worked on my car), it's been, well, transformed into a cafe-come-custom-garage-come-general-cool-moto-hangout.

Cafe on the right, custom-garage on the left.

At the cafe you can saddle up to the barstools, tuck into the booth or, if the weather is stellar, get sun-baked on their patio. Inside the space the walls are covered in rough cut wood and decorated with vintage posters, magazines and helmets. And on one wall: a small screen, with classic motorcycle movies projected onto it (think Easy Rider and the like).

Padella Italian Bistro - gnocchi near the beach

Tucked away in Estevan Village (deep, dark Oak Bay!), a few blocks up from Willows Beach is Padella Italian Bistro - a lovely little restaurant serving dinner. {Tangent: for only being a block long, this little village is great - in addition to this great Italian place you can get top notch breakfasts from The Village, classic fish & chips from Willows F&C and fancy cupcakes from Crumsby's (well curated greeting card selection at Bungalow too...but this is a food blog ;-) }

Padella's bright red door greets you on the outside....

Padella's welcoming red door

PiCNiC - tasty Fort St. bookends

PiCNiC is a (capital G!) great little coffee/lunch spot...well, two spots actually (as in PiCNiC and PiCNiC Too). The original is located at the bottom of Fort Street, near Wharf St, North side; the second is about seven blocks up Fort St, South side.

Picnic (first location, lower Fort)

Picnic Too (Fort btw Cook & Vancovuer)

They serve local coffee (2% Jazz), create unique lunches daily (2 sandwiches, 1-2 salads and a soup) and mix up refreshing beverages (lavender lemonade, sodas, cold-brew coffee & more).

Empress Hotel Bengal Room - Curry buffet & all the trimmings

The Empress Hotel is really a stunning setting for meals - whether you're in the tapestry laden tea lobby for afternoon tea, the dark wood-paneled formal Empress room for dinner or in the British Indian decorated Bengal Room for a fancy cocktail and a light (or more substantial) bite to eat.

Bengal Lounge entrance

The interior is has a library or reading room feel to it, with a touch of safari....

TUC Craft Kitchen - make friends with the new(er) kid in town.

Another Vancouver trip....another great restaurant to eat at. It's a tough hobby, but someone's gotta…well eat and talk about it.

TUC is a new'ish restaurant near Gastown on West Cordova St. (they've just marked a year in business). Sandwiched in between the Army & Navy and the Woodward's condos.

The space is very "loft" feeling - with high ceilings, exposed pipes, reclaimed wood and neon sign art (think cool, partial cafe sign, not eye-rolling MillerTime).

Bao Bei - Dim Sum Tapas & some fabulous cocktails

Another Vancouver entry - to a place we've been wanting to visit for a while....Bao Bei, located in Chinatown in Vancouver - on Keefer St, about half way between Columbia and Main St.

French brasserie meets Chinatown.

The Chinese part has some cheeky cards in the restaurant to help you with…

But they are serious about the food, the space and the cocktails…

Red Wagon Diner - circle this wagon and attack

The Red Wagon Restaurant in Vancouver has been popular since, well, pretty much the day it opened. No surprise then that Guy Fieri and his TV show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Triple D's to the fans) made a stop at the restaurant to film an episode.  But if you don't have Guy's credentials, you may have to time your visit based on how long you want to wait for a table (we hit it on a Friday, so we expected a line; a Tuesday? Maybe not so much...). But, as they say, it's worth the wait.

We arrived at the Red Wagon and, after putting our name on the wait-list, strolled a bit of East Hastings to bide some time - and it's an interesting area - great stores and food shops abound. On our return (and hearing our name called), we saddled up to two stools at the counter (and a front row seat to the bustling kitchen)…

Rathskeller Schnitzel House - it's Oktoberfest every day!

You've driven by, probably a million times.

You may have even eaten there…. YEARS ago.

It's still the same - a traditional German restaurant in food, decor and hospitality - which they've been doing for over 40 years at the corner of Quadra & View.

And if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This is a place you'd call "classic"...

La Taquisa - homemade corn tortilla goodness

La Taquisa is a great "taco stand" that's graduated from the "stand" part.

Their early beginnings were in Cook St. Village, anchoring the not-quite-a-food court/commons. Even in the off season, people would huddle around the cart or the heater, slurping tortilla soup and downing fresh made tacos in the cold. With their popularity growing, they opened up their first brick & mortar location in the Westside Village (Save-On Foods, Spinnakers Liquor Store…) and their latest location: Blanshard Street, between Broughton St. and Fort St.

The inside is bright and open with a can't-miss counter where you place your orders…

Tre Fantastico - fantastic cubed.

This is not a coffee review - I will leave that to the professionals out there.

I'm all about the food.

And this is all about the breakfast.

A short and sweet review for a small & sweet place.

Most people that I mention Tre Fantastico to, have either a) been and loved it or  b) don't believe there's a coffee-house there and fire-up Google street view. But don't be frightened - it's easy to find, just surprising to some that it's there.

Tre Fantastico is located in the Parkside Resort on Humboldt Street - where their cosy patio is shaded by huge trees and their view is across to the gardens and buildings of St. Ann's. You'll easily forget you're half a block from Blanshard St.

Yes, that's it…..Tre Fantastico!

Building on the strong base of Caffe Fantastico coffee and their coffee-houses around town - this location is licensed and has a small kitchen that cranks out great food. You can stop in for coffee & a muffin, a local brew & grilled sausage, a glass of peninsula wine & a charcuterie plate or….well, the list goes on (and there's gourmet popcorn too!)

Fiamo Italian Kitchen - it's Dine Around again!

We're coming to the last few days of Dine-Around and have landed at Fiamo Italian Kitchen.

A nostalgic stop, as this was one of my first blogging entries…but I digress.

Even though I'm making this recount fast and short (and there's only a few more days to take advantage of Tourism Victoria's Dine-Around promotion) it's not like Fiamo's is going anywhere - so use this dinner review the way Dine-Around is intended - get your interest peeked (or your memory jogged) about eating out at one of the great restaurants that this city has.

Now onto the food.

Catalano - and let there be brunch

Catalano Restaurant and Cicchetti Bar is located in/beside the Magnolia Hotel at Courtney St. and Gordon St., just a block up from the Empress Hotel.  Many restaurants have graced this space ($teak, steak, pub, etc) so it was exciting to hear that two veteran restaurants (Ferris' Oyster Bar & The Tapa Bar) would be partnering to open up something new and different. Touches from each restaurant can be found here at Catalano.

The interior has been spruced up - the entrance is more open and the bold coloured paintings & wood finishes give a warm feeling throughout.

North 48 - modern diner, no hat required

North 48 Restaurant is the recently opened reinvention of The Black Hat Bistro. Tucked away at the corner of Langley and Broughton - just a block off Government - it's open six days a week for dinner and four days for lunches.

North 48 at Langley & Broughton

The space is still decorated in dark warm tones and the leather chairs and thick wooden tables have been joined by a few banquettes in the middle of the room that break up the space nicely. There's a well stocked bar at the back…

Dinesty - steamy goodness in YVR

On (another) recent trip to the big-city of Vancouver, we happened upon the Robson Street location of Dinesty Restaurant (we had izakaya'd already the night before, so soup-dumplings sounded like a good plan for day two).

Dinesty has a dark, modern interior with a long line of shiny wooden tables along the entrance wall and a larger space near the back of the restaurant....

Stage Wine Bar - tasty little Fernwood bites

Stage Wine Bar is a lovely little small-plates restaurant tucked away in Fernwood (and as a foodie sidebar - this small intersection of Fernwod Road and Gladstone Avenue has some incredible noshing destinations: Ca Va, Norte, Stage....but I digress).

Stage Wine Bar on Gladstone Ave

Four of us dropped into Stage recently for dinner before a concert nearby. The inside of the restaurant is simple with high ceilings, a large bar near the front and several tables along both the long brick wall and the half kitchen wall.