For this week’s blog, I decided to get one of my favourite types of food, Italian food. Now you may be thinking hmmm, I wonder which pasta restaurant he went to? Fiamo maybe? What about II Terrazzo? This is where you’d be wrong. Instead of going with the stereotypical western idea of Italian food, for example, pasta and pizza. I decided to get an Italian sub from Italian Food Imports! Located on Blanshard and View Street, Italian Food Imports is a bustling market that serves as both a grocery store and as an Italian sandwich shop. Truly the best of both worlds, but does it have what it takes to crack the top of my prestigious list? Let’s find out.
My Order: Ultimate Meatball Panini
Video Credits: My video
Appearance: 6/10
As you can tell from the video above, the appearance is nothing special. Personally, when I think of a meatball panini, I imagine cheese and sauce spilling out the sides with big meatballs splitting the middle of the sandwich. Here we have none of that. There is some sauce spilling out, but besides that, it just looks like two pieces of bread stuck together. Two ever so slightly burnt pieces of bread at that. Even with all these fallacies, I must admit, it does look pretty yummy, 6/10
Photo Credits: My photo
Taste: 10/10
Here we have it folks, our first 10/10. In the taste category as well, like c’mon people we got something special here. Where do I even begin? This sandwich was just so yummy, like life-altering. Every single component worked so well together, culminating in each bite being an explosion of flavours. Not to mention, the ingredients were so fresh, the meatballs were delicious and I believe the bread is housemade. Making for a genuinely special sandwich. I legitimately can’t even describe how good this sandwich was. Even writing this, I feel like I’m doing it no justice, with this poor writeup, but there’s nothing I can do. This sandwich simply has me speechless. All I can say is you must get one. I can guarantee it’ll be one of the better if not one of the best sandwiches you will ever eat. What are you even doing still reading this, GO GET ONE, 10/10.
Customer Service: 9/10
The customer service at this place is awesome. To start, due to it doubling as a grocery store, this little shop is always packed with people buying all sorts of things. You would think this would mean, having to wait in line forever, but to my surprise, it was quite the opposite. Yes, the line was long, yet it moved incredibly fast as the pace of all the staff was insane. All the workers moved with speed and purpose. It honestly looked like they were on a cooking show or something with how serious they were taking their job. This incredible focus in no way stops the worker’s kindness. Everyone I spoke to was very friendly and personable. I even laughed a couple of times as in the few brief conversations I had, many jokes were cracked. All those positives culminated in an awesome atmosphere with even better customer service, 9/10.
Bang for your buck: 8/10
In total, my meal came out to 16.50, including taxes and a two-dollar tip. To top it all off, I also got bottled iced tea with my meal. On the surface, this may seem pricey but in all honesty, this is fairly cheap. Most takeout meals of this quality cost around 15 dollars alone. This price doesn’t include taxes, doesn’t include a two-dollar tip and most importantly, doesn’t include a bottled iced tea. So, getting everything I got for that cheap of a price is something my wallet is very happy about. It may not be the cheapest in the world, but for what you get, it’s pretty damn good, 8/10
Final score Breakdown
Appearance: 6/10
Taste 10/10
Customer Service: 9/10
Bang for your buck: 8/10
Final score: 33/40
Final Thoughts
All I can say is, just go. Italian Food Imports may not crack the top of my list but for the taste alone this place is a must. After eating my sub, I was genuinely flabbergasted by how good it was.
Jaxon’s Top Takeout in Victoria List
- Rise and Grind, Downtown – 35/40
- Italian Food Imports, Downtown – 33/40
- RedFish BlueFish, Inner Harbour – 29/40
- Foo Asian Street Food, Downtown -25/40
- Lee’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 20/40
brynnbirtwistle says:
This made me so hungry. I’m thinking I might get up and make some pasta or something Italian after reading this. I really like how detailed you are with your reviews, I definitely get a good sense of not only the food, but the restaurant as well. This is the first I’m seeing your page, and I’m really loving the idea and creativity. I’m wondering if you have ever been to Tacofino downtown and tried their crispy chicken burrito? It’s my favourite place to get food. You should try it out and review it! Make sure to go either really late at night (open until 10) or order on the phone before pickup as they are busy most days.
October 30, 2022 — 10:14 pm