The Flying Pig @ Yaletown, Vancouver

While we were in Vancouver, we just DYING to soak in everything that the city had to offer; the neighborhoods, the atmosphere all the diversity of food and culture that makes Vancouver so alluring!

So a neighborhood that sounded amazing was Yaletown, a part of town that was formerly an industrial area, so it was filled with beautiful warehouse architecture and revamped spaces that was just wild!! I could have stayed in that area all day and just explored it was that fascinating...

In our original plans, we were slated to hover around a restaurant that had some pretty high accolades: Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar. But upon arrival, it looked a little stuffy and formal, and we were not into that scene at all (suits make me itch and the presence of them make me hurl)... So instead we ventured to stroll around and found a bustling venue: The Flying Pig- the name alone grabbed us so we decided to try it out.


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When we walked in, we didn't realize how packed the place seemed to be, we lucky that a deuce was open right for us to be steed right away.... The interior was modern and clean, with a hint of rustic that we've become so familiar with here in Vancouver, it was lovely...




















Who got the Sangria? Hmmm...




















We started the evening with an appetizer; since it had pig in the name, we thought to get the T.F.P. Cured Meat Selection: a charcuterie plate filled with Artisanal Cured Meats + Local Cheeses +Spicy Olives and Assorted Breads. It also came with Cornichons and Mustard.

The Dish was pretty good I wasn't blown away by anything particular, but the meats were satisfying enough and it was able to keep us sated until the entrees...

But that's when the evening fell off a big cliff.....we waited forty-five minutes for our entrees.  Apparently (I say this because the waiter never actually gave us any heads up or apologies) the line was slammed,  and didn't have the ability to handle all the tickets coming in...  Anyways, it was a downer and kinda tainted the rest of the evening for us..

Finally when our dinner arrived: the T.F.P. Signature Pork Chop + Pulled Pork Poutine + Apple Cider Jus.  The Pork Chop was cooked well, even though there wasn't enough Jus to make an impression on the dish.  The Poutine itself was just ok, the Pulled Pork didn't make a huge impact-but Fries are Fries and they always make a good side.

The other Entree ordered was the Wild Seafood Pappardelle + Mussels + Salmon + Spicy Rose.  I am a big sucker for Pappardelle and whenever it's on a menu, I simply HAVE to get it!!!  This dish was just ok as well; while the Seafood was fresh, it was overall a subtle dish, maybe too subtle; there was not robust flavor that pulled the dish together...

And continuing on our terrible ordering for the night, we looked at the Bone Marrow Cheezy Bread and thought, 'hey this would be good!'  This was probably the villain of the evening-the Bread had been toasted to the point where the Cheese had hardened and there was no evidence of Bone Marrow anywhere... A disaster..

At long last we saw our waiter, who gave us the lowdown on desserts: we order the Quebec Maple Sugar Pie.  This was the saving grace of the evening-it was super delicious and had the sweetness that cleansed the heaviness of the food without an overpowering fullness that one can get when ordered such a sugary dessert..

All in all, I can't say I was terribly impressed: the food was acceptable but the service was pretty poor, communication broke down somewhere and what finally came out was not worth waiting for... And although I loved the area, I wouldn't be rushing to came back the The Flying Pig again anytime soon...

Ratings (Out of Five Stars)

Food:        1.5

Service:     0.5

Ambience  2.25