Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

SkinnyTato is a Polish restaurant that prominently features gluten free and vegetarian options. For Dine Around and Stay in Town 2014, it seemed they went out of their way to have both options, including a gluten free version of Polish poppy seed cake. It's a really tiny place, more like a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. Seats maybe 16 comfortably. As a small operation, it doesn't have the usual flight of floor staff like a full-time waitress or busser. You might find the service a bit awkward, but their care and sincerity comes through. My dining companion went with the $20 Dine Around menu while I opted for the regular dinner menu. Dine Around 2014 ($20) Starter Cup of polish borsch soup Or White sausage European style sausage cooked & served with sauté onion and mushrooms Entree Spinach Crepe A large crepe stuffed with spinach and goat feta cheese smothered with rich creamy white mushroom sauce served with Nature or Skinnytato salad Or Plate of pierogie...

Smoken Bones is a rather large restaurant that apparently specializes in BBQ meats. Nevertheless it has a fairly substantial menu of choices. Decor is simple and spacious and has televisions. The only thing to watch out for is the location of the washrooms. Large signs attempt to point you past the passage to the kitchen, but because these signs are both to the left and right of that corridor, sometimes people see only the one that points right at the corridor. Various condiments are available. The house blend of spices is pretty decent -- not too salty, and it actually has a slight sweetness to it. Strangely, they did not provide a change of utensils between appetizer and main. $20 Dine Around Menu 1st Course Smoked tomato soup with creme fraiche or Beet salad with Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese Main Flame-grilled pork buckeye with reduced demi and oven-roasted vegetables or Pork belly & beef meatloaf with a potato croquette Dessert Bread pudding with honey ...

Victoria's parallel to Dine Out Vancouver is Dine Around and Stay in Town , which seeks not only to lure foodies to downtown Victoria, but also out-of-towners. This year, it happened to coincide with an old friend of mine recently come back to Victoria, so I finally made my way over there. I'll post a few dine outs that I had there, but in this post I'll have an overview of getting to Victoria, staying there, and impressions of Dine Around and Stay in Town. First, if you are going to Victoria specifically for Dine Around and Stay in Town, have a look at the menus first! I cannot emphasize this strongly enough if you are vegetarian or vegan! The choices are very weak, bordering on non-existent. This is not to say that there are no vegetarian or vegan restaurants, or that restaurants do not have vegetarian choices. But for the Dine Around menus, the vegetarian options are lumped together with gluten-free options, and you might be hard-pressed to find yourself a veggie thre...