VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 182

Well worth searching out, there's nearly always a line for tables at Blue Fox (919 Fort
St., 250/380-1683, 7:30am-4pm Mon.-Fri., 8am-3pm Sat.-Sun., lunches $7-12). Breakfast
includes Eggs Benedict Pacifico (with smoked salmon and avocado) and Apple Charlotte
(French toast with apples and maple syrup). At lunch, try an oversized Waldorf salad or a
curried chicken burger with sweet date chutney. Almost everything is under $12.
Bakeries
In Old Town, Willies Bakery (537 Johnson St., 250/381-8414, 7am-4pm Mon.-Fri.,
8:30am-4pm Sat., 8am-4pm Sun., lunches $6.50-9.50) is an old-style café offering cakes,
pastries, and sodas, with a quiet cobbled courtyard in which to enjoy them.
On the same side of downtown, Cascadia Bakery (1812 Government St., 250/
380-6606, 7am-5pm Mon.-Fri., 8am-4pm Sat., 9am-3pm Sun., lunches $7-10) is best
known for its hand-shaped, preservative-free breads, but also offers freshly made granola
and tasty lunches.
Casual Dining
Cafes and inexpensive restaurants are scattered throughout Victoria. One of the most popu-
lar in the downtown core is Sam's Deli (805 Government St., 250/382-8424, 7:30am-10pm
daily, $9-19), which draws in tourists like a magnet from its central location right across
from the information center. Many places nearby have better food, but Sam's boasts a su-
perb location and a casual, cheerful atmosphere that makes it perfect for families. The
ploughman's lunch, a staple of English pub dining, costs $9.50, while sandwiches (shrimp
and avocado is an in-house feature) range $6.50-11 and salads are all around $10.
At the foot of Bastion Square, a cobbled pedestrian mall, Local Kitchen (1205 Wharf
St., 250/385-1999, 11:30am-10pm Sun.-Thurs., 11:30am-1am Fri.-Sat., $18-24) offers a
menu of simple, globally inspired cooking, although the outdoor tables are reason enough
to stop by. The West Coast seafood kebab, the Tofino linguine—it's all excellent.
While tourists flock to the cafés and restaurants of the Inner Harbour and Government
Street, the area away from the waterfront remains the haunt of lunching locals. Reminiscent
of days gone by, John's Place (723 Pandora Ave., 250/389-0711, 7am-9pm Mon.-Fri.,
8am-4pm and 5pm-9pm Sat.-Sun., $11-20), just off Douglas Street, serves excellent value
for those in the know. The walls are decorated with movie posters, old advertisements, and
photos of sports stars, but this place is a lot more than just another greasy spoon restaur-
ant. The food is good, the atmosphere casual, and the waiters actually seem to enjoy work-
ing here. It's breakfast, burgers, salads, and sandwiches throughout the week, but weekend
brunch is busiest, when there's nearly always a line spilling onto the street.