How the heck do you get here?

I'm going to make a couple of assumptions here.
First, I'm assuming you are visiting Victoria by air from the United States. And second, I'm assuming you are going to want to visit Seattle and Vacouver along with Victoria. If you're going to be out this way, you might as well make it a trifecta (or a hat trick ... this is Canada, after all).
So here is how I would make the trip if I were you:
1. Fly to Seattle. That will be the cheapest destination from within the U.S. See all the sights there, not omitting the Experience Music Project, which is ultracool.
2. Take the Victoria Clipper to Victoria. It is a passenger ferry that leaves from downtown Seattle and arrives in Victoria's Inner Harbour.
3. Enjoy everything Victoria has to offer.
4. Take the ferry to Vancouver. You can get a bus in downtown Victoria that goes on the ferry, then takes you to downtown Vancouver, which is where you should stay.
5. When you're ready to go back, take this bus, which goes from downtown Vancouver to Seatac:
6. Reluctantly fly home.
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Off-the-beaten-path restaurants

My sister-in-law Jeannie from St. Louis has friends coming to visit and wonders what restaurants I would recommend.
A-ha! A blog post topic! So here's what I told her:
Oak Bay Marina — they would need a car for this, or they could take a cab, but it has great seafood and a sushi bar and it is right on the water away from the tourist area. Also seals come to feed at the dock.
Sooke Harbour House — they really need a car for this ... It’s about 45 minutes out of town. But this place is generally recognized internationally as Victoria's best restaurant. Also tres expensive.
Blue Crab — It’s in the Coast Hotel by the harbour in the tourist area. Good seafood, pretty views.
Il Terrazzo — Italian, but not like in St. Louis. (That's no knock on St. Louis Italian; I love it. But this is more West Coast-y.) In the heart of downtown in a beautiful space.
I'd also recommend two in the James Bay neighbourhood, very walkable from downtown: Niche (in an old house) and the Superior Café (in an old church). Both are pretty small, so reservations would be smart. They are both a little off the beaten tourist path, which is good. Superior often has jazz in the evening.
Sushi: Lots of good places. We like Sen Zushi the best, easy walk from the harbour. We were there last Tuesday and it was packed, so reservation might be smart. Koto on Fort Street is another good one. It is right downtown.
Indian: Very popular here. India Curry House and Da Tandoor (can't find a website for them), both downtown, are good. Wherever you go, you have to have butter chicken, which seems to be a local specialty.
Chinese: Ming’s and Don Mee’s are the most popular but might not be the best (Don Mee’s is a fixture in Chinatown; it is very upscale in a ‘50s kind of way). I think most locals say Golden City, just a short walk from Chinatown, is the best.
Pubs: They are all over the place. I would say you should venture away from the tourist area just a bit. Two good ones are Canoe Club, which is on the edge of Chinatown, and Spinnakers, which is across the Blue Bridge (the Johnson Street Bridge). Canoe has a nice outdoor patio, and a friend recommends the bellinis (see the bellini post below).
I'm sure my legions of blog followers would be happy to add their favourites, too.

Those cute little harbour ferries

You can't miss Victoria's harbour ferries. They ply the Inner Harbour constantly during the warmer months, and they are both practical transportation and tourist attraction.
The ferries stop at Fisherman's Wharf, near the Inner Harbour tourist centre and the West Bay Marina. In another post, I've already recommended taking a ferry to the marina and walking back via the Westsong Walkway.
If you only ride the harbour ferry once, I'd recommend taking the Gorge tour. Catch a ferry at Fisherman's Wharf or the Inner Harbour, then cruise up the Gorge Waterway and back. You'll get a look at parts of Victoria you would not otherwise see, and you can rely on the ferry skippers to give an informative spiel along the way.
On Sunday mornings in the summer, the harbour ferries do a water ballet performance to the Blue Danube Waltz. Yes, seriously. You've got to see it.