Calamari at San Remos.
San Remos, the Greek restaurant at Quadra and Hillside, has been offering a lunch special to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
You get two entrees, from a limited list, for $20. It鈥檚 a great deal and the two dishes we ordered听 were very good.
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The servings were also generous, to the point where my clear-the-plate companion couldn鈥檛 finish his.
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On the list are moussaka, San Remo pasta (with a variety of things in a cream sauce), San Remo prawns, and dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves).
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I was taken aback, knowing that the budget would be blown, when my eating companion spotted the calamari for $10.95. He eats calamari every chance he gets.
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I managed to suppress my cheapness and smiled in agreement 鈥� we should start with the calamari.
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It was a good decision. It might be the best calamari I鈥檝e ever eaten in Victoria, my eating companion said, as he wolfed down (OK - that鈥檚 an exaggeration, he was mostly civil) an听 obviously unfair share. The batter was crisp, not too salty (too salty is a major failing, we鈥檝e agreed). The squid itself was tender, the texture appealing. A good start to the meal.
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My eating companion had the San Remo prawns with a generous portion of steamed vegetables. The prawns came in a baking dish, immersed in a tomato sauce that was topped with feta cheese. I didn鈥檛 look that good to me. But my companion was enthusiastic and made quite a tomatoey mess.
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The prawns come with the tail shells attached, which makes the eating a little awkward. (I don鈥檛 understand why a bit of shell is so often left on prawns.)
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I had the moussaka, which arrived with a huge Greek salad on the side.
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Moussaka can be unpleasant in restaurants 鈥� a brick-hard reheated chunk of something that has been around too long. I鈥檝e been dopey enough to order it repeatedly, despite a string of disappointments.
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But it was good here. Not too salty. The ground meat part was nicely spiced. There was also eggplant, zucchini and onion layered in. The only quibble: one piece of eggplant was rubbery and underdone.
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So, it was a good experience at San Remo. And to add to the pleasure, we were seated in the back part, which is a sunlight-filled room thanks to the skylights. It was almost like having a picnic. Sort of. OK, not really, apart from the sunshine. But it felt picnicky.
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Moussaka at San Remos.
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Baked prawns at San Remos.
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Being cheap, I鈥檓 attracted to the two-for-one deals that restaurants sometimes offer.
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McDonald鈥檚 and A&W are regulars in this game.
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I鈥檝e dutifully set aside the current A&W coupon sheet, which expires on Oct. 18.
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A&W burgers are so-so, made a touch better because they toast their buns.
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Their root beer, on the other hand, is several notches above typical soft drink fare from a fast food place. At their stand-alone outlets 鈥� but not their food court ones 鈥� A&W serves the root beer in frosted mugs. It makes all the difference. The root beer itself is good (super sugary, I admit); it becomes about as good as pop can get when it鈥檚 served in that frosted mug.
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Dropped in on Swans, at 506 Pandora, on a recent drizzly day.
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The sign said seat yourself, so we did.
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I chose a table for two, below some ductwork. As soon as I sat down, a felt something drip on me. My imagination, I decided. Then it happened again, and I saw a drop of water on the table. A leak!
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We headed for another table. I see you discovered our leak table, our waitress said. That happens sometimes when it rains.
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Away from the leak, we pressed on with lunch.
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I had the Swans burger. I gotta say 鈥� and I鈥檓 not all that critical a guy 鈥� I鈥檝e definitely had better. The beef patty was dry. The tomato slice looked old. But the accompanying soup, beef barley, was very good.
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My eating companion had the portabella mushroom burger. Our waitress checked to make sure my companion understood that the burger did not include meat, because another customer had recently expressed surprise that the mushroom slice plays the role of meat patty.
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Here is her report on her meal:
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Portabella burger: delicious slice of mushroom with mozzarella cheese. Tomato slices very thin, and wilting because of not being freshly cut. Wished for more mayo and some mustard. Bun needs to be more toasted to make a better contrast with the portabella's texture. I would have preferred some crunchy romaine hearts or fresh chopped iceberg lettuce instead of a single damp lettuce leaf. A couple of avocado slices would really enhance this burger, and skip the accompanying pickle wedge. Maybe add a little blue cheese or extra-old cheddar to the mozza for more robust cheesiness.
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Side salad of mixed greens was good with a nice house vinaigrette served on the side. Excellent coffee.
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Portabella burger at Swans.
