The Flying Pig's skirt steak—the real deal, Tim Pawsey photo
It just goes to show; you can never know what to expect on a Vancouver Monday night. One recent, still dry October soirée, you could have fired a proverbial cannon down most of Yaletown’s narrow streets, so who knew that we’d only just manage to score the last two seats at The Flying Pig?
Yes, it was packed to its warehouse rafters and as we settled into our (just fine) high top, it occurred to me that this space, up until last year was Amarcord, owned by the always charming Manlio Mocchi.
(Mocchi has since upped stakes in favour of a more affordable space that he’s transformed into a romantic and tasteful haunt on West Broadway near Heather. He says he’s happy so many of his Yaletown regulars are making the trip south to see him. All they have to do is hop on Canada Line for a couple of stops. Good for him. He’s one of the most gracious of restaurateurs I’ve ever met. You can read our Cafe Veneto Courier review here.)
Meanwhile, back at The Flying Pig (not to be confused with the more clubbish The Greedy Pig, on Cordova St.), they seem to have hit on the right recipe for the times. The only minor glitch came when we tried to order a glass of the superbly crisp and slightly mineral Tedeschi Soave Classico ($8.50), which we were told is no longer available … news to us. But maybe you should grab a bottle ($17.99) from BCLS specialty, while you can.
Here are some excerpts from our Courier review of last week …
Our starter taste was a three pea soup, a perfect winter warmer and assertively flavoured combo of smoked ham hock with chick, split and sweet peas in a heady, thick broth that’s as close to the classic Quebec recipe as one could ask ($7). Also worth a nod, a pretty well textured lobster and prawn risotto, well populated with wild prawns and a piece of lobster claw, richly creamed with mascarpone. Both went smartly with a decent, gooseberry crisp drop of Wither Hills Two Track Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc 09. ($8.50 gls)
TFP gets major props for its flavourful slices of chili rubbed seared skirt steak, a worthy serving of six slivers that come with a haystack of matchstick potatoes. That’ll be keeper dish number one. Truly flavourful, precisely cooked medium rare (as it should be) and still quite tender, this was unquestionably the best piece of meat for $9 we’ve tasted for a while, even better with raspberry toned and easy tannin Cedar Creek Merlot ($40).
Jessie Leitaer brings the diet defying drumstick, Tim Pawsey
Mains, generously portioned, top out at $24 for a dry-aged striploin, but most are well under $20. While a side of deep fried Brussels sprouts (tangled with capers, lemon and parmesan) proved more under-cooked crunchy than the promised ‘crispy’ ($5), the real go-back-for dish number two turned out to be dessert: an irresistible, over the top, home-made ‘Drumstick’ waffle cone, perched in a jam jar for easy sharing, packed with seductive layers of maple vanilla, dark chocolate ganache, caramel and pistachio.
Read the full piece here
…
The Flying Pig, 1168 Hamilton St., 604-568-1344. Open for lunch (reservations accepted) and dinner (no resos) daily, brunch on weekends.
Tim Pawsey photo
