Where I Like To Eat in Victoria

This one's for Evette.
It's going to be difficult, since they closed down my favourite cheap-and-yummy Japanese place, Tombo. Sadness! Plus they closed down the Taj Mahal, where Jody and I went on a nice date the last night of its existence.
Evette, I don't know what you're thinking, but newlyweds don't generally have a lot of cash to go out for dinner... but here goes.

Swan's
Right downtown, this brewpub has good pub food, even better beer, and best of all, dancing! Mondays and Wednesdays alternate between a swing and blues band for a couple hours, so you'll often find a bunch of Victoria dancers out for a pint and a turn on the floor. My favourite foods there are the Fisgard Fries (yam & potato fries), Thai wrap, fish 'n' chips and chicken fingers. And definitely the raspberry ale. I've been coming here since I turned 19, and they finally stopped IDing me three years ago.

Christie's
Again, a pub. Handy to my new house, they serve great burgers, including such innovations as the panko-breaded oyster burgers. Good coolers and nice atmosphere, especially if you sit out on the patio in summer. We went here for my birthday last year.

Hernande'z
Absolutely amazing for lunch, this authentic Mexican restaurant began as a hole-in-the-wall and has expanded to a spot in a mini-mall. The husband is the chef and he's taken everything he knows of cooking in his home country and shared it with us, and boy am I glad. They have 5 mini tacos for $5, a choice of pork, sausage, black bean (my fave) or spicy chicken. They do wonderful fajitas too, which according to Michelle taste great the next day.

Cook 'n' Pan
Across the street from my old work on Cook Street, this Polish deli makes the most amazing perogies I've ever had. And you can buy them frozen to take home, too. They come with a serving of salad, and are available in sauerkraut, cottage cheese or cheddar cheese. They make great poppyseed cake, but they're also right next door to Patisserie Daniel... mmmm sour cherry danishes and lemon & sour cherry poppyseed muffins!

Sampan
My family goes here for special occasions. The round tables each have a lazy susan in the centre, which makes it fun to push the Chinese tea and laden dishes around to everyone. We always get breaded almond chicken, vegetable fried rice, sweet 'n' sour pork and beef & broccoli. It's not overly fancy, which means it isn't overly expensive. But it's good and plentiful, and always fresh and hot. Plus I get to show off my chopstick skills. :) Though I must admit, the food in Hong Kong spoiled me forever. Canadian-Chinese food just isn't authentic, and never will be, but I do enjoy the food here.

So you've probably noticed I haven't really mentioned Jody... it was really hard coming up with these. He and I frequent Swans and Hernandez, and we've gone to Christie's maybe twice. We don't eat out much but we like to cook together. We like to eat out at breakfasty places and more holes-in-the-wall like Cook Street village's indoor food market (amazing pad thai!) but it doesn't really count as a restaurant. So that's about all I have for you! Enjoy drooling over thoughts of sour cherry danishes and chicken pesto burgers.