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Brief notes on recent meal outings. More details when I visit a few more times. Caribbean Village , 2646 Quadra St., Victoria. They have tasty, slightly spicy Jamaican patties — beef, chicken and vegetable; $2.25 each or six for $12.

There was a modest selection of food tents at the Dragon Boat Festival on the weekend. The place was packed, and anyone who bought food had to do a balancing act, especially if they also bought a drink.

Boiled potatoes for 10 minutes, drained. Mixed up mayo and seedy mustard. Chopped up sweet pepper. Microwaved frozen peas for 30 seconds. Mixed it all up with chopped up tomatoes. No additional salt. Tasted fine. Boiled thin spaghetti.

When the restaurant bill comes, I get a little uncomfortable, and not because I have a cheap streak. There are two major parts to my discomfort. 1. Fraud and theft. 2. Paying protocol. The fraud and theft part: Yes, a lot of this is plain paranoia.

If you want to set the bar high, give your restaurant a name that suggests a meal is an experience fit for a king. Sura roughly translates to "royal table" in Korean.

The movie Julie and Julia comes out today.

There is a reason I don’t grow my own food and it taunts me every time I step onto my deck.

Cheap sushi can be an invitation for gastro trouble. You're dealing with raw fish and cheap is not a good idea.

Travelling on the ferry is still fun for our clan. The views, the ocean breezes (and gusts), the very experience of being aboard a ship -- they have not grown old. On sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Go cold when you serve a buffet to guests, says sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ food writer Eric Akis His story, Cool idea: Cold buffet , includes detailed instructions. 101 simple salads for the season has been in the most e-mailed list at nytimes.