Canadian favourites get a bistro kick at The Flying Pig restaurant

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      It looks like a new Yaletown restaurant has opened up a few days early. I walked past the Flying Pig restaurant (1168 Hamilton Street) last night at around 10 p.m. and it was bustling. Large front windows flanking the entrance to the restaurant revealed a casual, open concept, with a room-length bar to the left and the kitchen in the back. Rustic wood floors, country-style tables, and minimal decor make me think that this place won't be your typical Yaletown dining spot.

      The Flying Pig is a "nouveau Canadian bistro" from proprietors John Crook and Erik Heck, who both previously honed their skills at Joe Fortes and other Yaletown restaurant Glowball Grill and Satay Bar. The restaurant, which was scheduled to open in August, is currently open from Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, and on weekends for dinner only. While a brunch menu is up on the restaurant's website, a call to restaurant confirms that they won't be starting brunch service for another couple of weeks.

      Diners expecting to see a pork-heavy menu at a restaurant called "The Flying Pig" might be disappointed. Pork appears on several dishes, with the rest of the menu mainly comprising of seafood and beef.

      Lunchtime appetizers hover around the $7 mark, and highlights include a three pea soup (chick, split, and sweet peas) with maple-smoked ham hock ($6) and a beetroot and arugula salad with whipped chevre and apple walnut cider vinaigrette ($7). Lunch entrees range from $13 to $16 and include a chili-rubbed skirt steak sandwich topped with crispy onion and sliced tomatoes ($14) and pan-seared Queen Charlotte halibut with crispy gnocchi and Chilliwack corn ($16).

      The dinner menu also riffs on simple, homestyle classics, with similar appetizers as the ones served at lunch with the addition of a house-smoked wild local salmon carpaccio done three ways ($9). Meanwhile, entrée highlights include red wine-braised beef short ribs served with bone marrow mashed potatoes ($19) and veal picatta served with parmesan risotto and caper brown butter ($18).

      My only disappointment is the limited number of vegetarian options on the menu—none of which are entrée dishes—but for non-meat eaters, I guess there's always dessert, right? And this list doesn't disappoint (all $7). Savor the nostalgia of a banana split made tableside, a signature "drumstick" ice-cream topped with chocolate and caramel, or Quebec maple sugar pie, an East Coast favourite with maple bourbon filling and walnut ice-cream.

      You can follow Michelle da Silva on Twitter at twitter.com/michdas.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Ken W

      Dec 15, 2011 at 6:37pm

      Most the food is good. I had the so called fish and chips. The fish was excellent, The so called chips where disgusting