Dutch Bakery and Diner

According to their menu, four generations of the Schaddelee family have been running the Dutch Bakery and Diner since 1956. Founder Kees Schaddelee Sr, retired at age 72 but frequented the shop until he passed away at age 97 in 2007.
It's a busy spot with folks ordering from the bakery counter to take home and people lunching in the diner.
I notice a sign for the afternoon special - a pastry and tea or coffee for $5. I ask my server which pastry they're most famous for and she replied, "Without a doubt the Vanilla Slice" so I order one with a pot of rooibos tea. The vanilla slice, seen here, is two layers of puff pastry filled with custard and topped with vanilla fondant and buttercream. A little sweet for my taste, but I'm sure I'll be back to sample another pastry from their long list. 

Rebar Modern Foods

Centrally located in Bastion Square, a pedestrian mall, this funky bistro is a real delight. Friendly, efficient service and veggie versions of deli favourites keep local regulars coming back for more. For lunch I choose the Tempeh Rueben - marinated tempeh, grated beets, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, mustard and dill pickle grilled on dark rye bread and a cup of beautifully spiced yam soup on the side. With a bottomless cup of coffee, total is $22.05 before tip.

At the table next to me, two women are planning a dinner at one of their homes with the goal to raise twenty grand for a charity. They're trying to decide on who to invite and whether to ask $500 or $1000 per plate. You just can't buy this kind of entertainment.

Rebar Modern Foods is highly recommended.

Mary's Bleue Moon Cafe

From the outside, it would be easy to underestimate Mary's Bleue Moon Cafe. Inside, it's more spacious than you might think and the decor celebrates the restaurant's history as a local landmark serving airport personnel and locals since 1939. 

The service is friendly and efficient ranking it near the top of our list for local eateries. The Salmon Burger is well cooked and comes with a load of fries,  $15.59. I order a bowl of Seafood Chowder and two pieces of garlic toast a tasty and filling combination. They've got live music and special deals throughout the week. We'll be back. 




Mary's Bleue Moon Cafe 
9535 Canora Rd, Sidney, BC V8L 1P3
Saturday to Wednesday 9 am to 9 pm Thursday & Friday 9 am to 10 pm

Bru-Go's Coffee

En route from home to the Motor Gathering at Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit we stop for coffee and a bite to eat at Bru-Go's Coffee in Mill Bay.  It's a beautifully maintained shop with friendly service. I ask what the house specialty is and then spot the "hedgehog" seen here on the left and decide to try it. It's a rich chocolatey brownie and not really a breakfast food, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Bru-Go's Coffee
2720 Mill Bay Road,
Mill Bay, BC V0R 2P1
Monday to Friday - 7:30 to 6:00
Saturday - 8:00 to 6:00, Sunday - 9: 00 to 5:30

Star Cinema & Bistro Suisse

Hubby & I took Mumsy to see Mamma Mia! 2 at the Star Cinema. The theatre is so "small town" that they don't even bother giving you a ticket, they know who has paid.  As you can see by the hand-lettered signs, seniors pay $7.50; adults $9.00 and everyone $6 on Tuesdays. Concessions are also very reasonably priced - small popcorn with real melted butter $3 and chocolate bars for $2. There are two screens and all of the pre-movie ads are from local businesses. The theatre is only about a quarter full for the 3 pm showing. We all enjoyed this kitschy romp to ABBA's hits.

Star Cinema
9842 Third Street
Sidney V8L 3A7

The Bistro Suisse is empty when we arrive around 5 o'clock. We're asked if we have a reservation (we didn't) and are seated quickly.  The decor is traditional Swiss and so is the menu with schnitzel featuring prominently. However, there are some interesting vegetarian twists. Mumsy and I order the veggie bratwurst with sauerkraut, red cabbage, onion sauce, rösti, crispy fried onions and dijon mustard, $18.50 (seen here) and hubby picks the Vegetarian Spätzli Casserole an oven-baked dish of spätzli (Swiss drop noodles), mixed veg, mushrooms and cheese, $16.50. It's all very delicious but not piping hot. Hubby had asked for the soup de jour as a starter but it did not arrive. One server chides the other saying, " It's hard to get good help. He's new here" when it was obviously not the case. The running gag continues throughout our meal and starts to grate a little. The restaurant fills up with regulars who are greeted by name and ushered to their usual tables so it's not surprising that the Bistro Suisse is one of the top-rated dining establishments in town.

Bistro Suisse
2470 Beacon Ave,
Sidney V8L 1X8
Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 - 2:00; 4:30 - 8:00 pm

North Saanich Flavour Trails Festival: Part 2

Checking the locations of places I wanted to visit, I decided to take the bus to the furthest place and walk home instead of riding my bike.

Sidney Laboratory - Centre for Plant Health
(Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
8801 East Saanich Road, North Saanich, V8L1H3

Established as one of Canada's Dominion Experimental Farms in 1912, the centre's main functions are now quarantining imported fruit trees and plants, researching and developing tests for related viruses and serving as a repository for "virus-tested clones of important commercial varieties for export certification".  Heavyweight science is happening here but research staff, Michael Rott, Ismail Abdulahi (centre of photo below), Allison Gratz, & Harvinder Bennypaul, make it interesting and accessible to tour participants.

Dominion Brook Park
8801 East Saanich Road, North Saanich
V8L 1H3

Retired educator, Ian Cameron, led our group on a very informative walk through this 11-acre park that was established in 1912 as an arboretum and ornamental garden.  The park is being restored and maintained by a non-profit society called Friends of Dominion Brook Park in cooperation with the Federal and District of North Saanich Governments. There are some incredible and rare specimens that are thriving in our microclimate, including the Cedar of Lebanon seen here.

Roost - Farm Bakery and Vineyard Bistro
9100 East Saanich Road, North Saanich
V8L 1H5

Many local shops and restaurants are experiencing difficulty in hiring and keeping staff and the NSFTF has brought a lot of folks to the Roost this morning but I am still shaking my head after this experience.

I order a "Half and Half Combo" which promises a half-sized salad, bowl of soup and a slice of focaccia bread.  I order the spinach salad and mushroom soup.  The server apologizes that they are out of focaccia and offers me a choice of other breads and I pick multigrain.  When the soup and salad arrive, I notice that it's mixed greens and not spinach but think "no biggie" and let it go. Twice the server assures me that the toast will be coming soon. After about twenty minutes, by which time I have finished eating my food, a slice of untoasted bread arrives. Again, in itself not a big problem but when you're paying $12 for a light lunch, you want what's advertised. I call over a hostess and ask "Am I missing something? I waited twenty minutes for this and it's not even toasted". She defers to a manager who sits down and my table, apologizes, explains that the kitchen is "overwhelmed" and offers me a 15% discount and complimentary cookie.  The last time we were at the Roost, we made a game of counting how many times the servers said "sorry" to customers. Not sure if the root problem is with staffing, training, supervision or a combination thereof but I would hesitate to bring guests to the Roost and won't be rushing back anytime soon.

The Village Restaurant

Lunch at The Village Restaurant's Estevan location - Mt Douglas Omelette (Zatar roasted butternut squash, yam, red onion and goat cheese), multigrain toast, fresh fruit including tax and tip: 20 dollars

Mother of the Bride dress and shoes from Hillside Mall: 125 dollars

Coffee and cookie at Tim Hortons: 4 dollars

Carpool Karaoke with your fashion consultant to Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies album: Priceless.


The Village Restaurant
2518 Estevan Ave, Estevan Village,
Victoria V8R 2S7
Open 8:00 am to 3:00 pm daily

The Ploughshare Cafe

After early shop at Uptown Mall in Victoria, we head home in search of coffee. We stop at The Ploughshare where the regulars are greeted warmly by first name. It's counter service and you help yourself to coffee $2 the first cup and $1 refill. Couldn't resist trying a Many Berry Granola Square, which wasn't quite what I expected but tasty none the less. This 1953 Chevy Bel Air pulls up and hubby's in "car talk" mode in a flash. No shortage of car culture on Vancouver Island. Recommended for a quick coffee.

The Ploughshare Cafe            Open weekdays 7:30 am to 4:00 pm
4649 West Saanich Road         Saturday 8:30 to 3:00 pm
Victoria, BC V8Z 3G8              Sunday 9:00 to 3:00 pm

Artisan Bistro and Penna & Co. Kitchen Shop

Our search for wiper blades for the smart car takes us to Broadmead Village shopping centre, about 20km due south of Sidney, just off Pat Bay Highway.

We stop for brunch at Artisan Bistro where we're served by the enthusiastic and efficient Kayla. If you need to train serving staff, observe her in action to learn how it's done properly.

I opt for the breakfast special bennie - poached eggs, avocado, tomato, smoked cheddar and Hollandaise on a croissant, exquisite at $17. Hubby enjoys the Traditional Breakfast, substituting avocado for sausage or bacon. The scrambled eggs are properly prepared, by restaurant standards, $14. Total with tax and tip, $46. Recommended.

Artisan Bistro
Broadmead Village
350-777 Royal Oak Drive
Victoria, BC V8X 4V1
Open daily: 8 am to 9 pm

Before leaving the mall, we notice that Penna & Co. kitchen shop has a 20% off sale. They've got all the high-end brands (Le Creuset, Peugeot, Bodum) and lots of chef toys. I felt like a kid in a candy store and purchase a USA Pan square cake pan, baking rack, a couple of sporks made in Sweden and other goodies.  Staff are very knowledgeable about their products. Recommended.

Melinda's Biscotti

A biscotti factory in a business park may not be the obvious choice for brunch but then again Melinda Cownden is not your average entrepreneur. Her success story is a remarkable one. She started selling her biscotti to family and friends, moved on to local coffee shops and then expanded to grocery stores. Demand grew so much she and husband Alun Hodgson started up this commercial production bakery and added a cafe at the front. She writes, "Dreams are built on hard work and dedication and the team at Melinda's Biscotti is happy she never gave up."

I try the Green Goddess Bennie (pictured here) - avocado, poached eggs, pesto hollandaise on an English muffin - with hashbrowns on the side, $12.95. Not an obvious flavour combo but truly delicious. Hubby opts for the Breakfast Burrito which is packed with veggies, scrambled eggs and cheese, $9.25, and is equally tasty.   Add two bottomless cups of coffee, tax, tip and special deal on a six-pack of assorted biscotti = $40. Recommended.

Melinda's Biscotti
101, 10134 McDonald Park Rd, North Saanich, BC
Open Monday to Friday 7:00 - 16:00, Saturday 8:00 - 15:00, closed Sunday. For breakfast, lunch, coffee and biscotti.

The Dragonfly Cafe

This homey cafe is a little off the beaten track and well worth seeking out.  With seating inside and out, you can make yourself comfy with a hot or cold beverage while you wait for a tasty panini to arrive hot off the grill.

The emphasis here is quality ingredients and minimizing waste. There are plenty of veggie options and the daily specials don't disappoint. There is also an interesting selection of local items for sale including some stunning artwork by owner Tahirih Goffic.

The Dragonfly Cafe, #17, 2234 Harbour Rd, Sidney opens weekdays from 7:30 to 17:00 serving breakfast, lunch, coffee and freshly baked treats. Recommended.