The Flying Pig (Yaletown) – Mussels and Clams with Matchstick Fries

Is it just me or is Transport Canada getting very liberal in giving out pilot licences? Down in Richmond there’s The Flying Beaver and in Vancouver there’s not one, but two Flying Pigs!

We visited the Yaletown location of The Flying Pig in late June while the weather was still a bit rainy and the restaurant was empty when we arrived.

Out first was the complimentary bread with evoo and balsamic vinegar dipping sauce as well as water served from repurposed Avalon Dairy Farm glass milk bottles.

There were a lot of items on the menu that looked good (especially the side dishes) so it was hard to make a decision. Ultimately, we went with one of the daily specials – Mussels and Clams with bacon and corn and served with matchstick fries. Mmm… I love me some matchstick fries!

I ordered the Braised Beef Short Rib Jumbo Macaroni ($14). The beef was super tender and the cabernet mushroom cream sauce was light and heavenly.

As I mentioned, there’s a lot of side dishes that sounded interesting (like the crimini mushroom gratin, Andrew’s pulled pork poutine, the lobster and prawn risotto, and the bone marrow cheezy bread) – I almost wanted to skip the entée and just order a bunch of side dishes but we wound up getting the Crispy Brussel Sprouts ($5) served with lemon, parmesan and capers. If you’re not a fan of regular brussel sprouts, these will probably change your mind.

For dessert, we ordered the Lemon Tart ($7) which was had a very light and subtle taste.