Today I was in the area around Vancouver’s Olympic Village and took the opportunity to try The Flying Pig – a place I see frequently on social media.
Right from the first words as we entered the restaurant we felt very welcome. I was traveling with my mother and she rides in a power wheelchair and some places get very nervous when it looks like the Mars Rover is entering your door. Not the staff at The Flying Pig. Just a simple come on in and we’ll get a table ready for you.
As a starter the server brought over a plate of very nice banana bread. It was moist and not at all oily. A pleasant way to start our meal.
The first two dishes we had as share plates were a pulled pork poutine (pictured below) and a watercress, aragula salad with red and yellow beets, and a very creamy goat cheese. The walnuts on the plate were tasty snacks. I was pleasantly surprised at how big this salad was.
The two most difficult foods to photograph are plates of nachos and poutine. Pictures of poutine rarely do them justice; the good news? They tasted wonderful. Excellent. Just enough gravy (real gravy – not some gravy like slop made from an Oxo cube) to provide the necessary gravy flavour.
The best part was that there was enough of that perfect gravy to make them slide around but not enough to drown the fries. A good balance.
The melted cheese and pulled pork on top of the fries had great flavour. Winners.
My main was two soft poached eggs on a hash of slow braised beef and selection of vegetables including Kennebec potatoes and white beans. The braised beef had an awesome “boozy” taste to it that was very pleasing to the palate.
There was just enough Hollandaise sauce to keep things moving but like the poutine, not enough to drown out the other flavours.
My sister had the fritatta made with back bacon, tomatoes, peppers and white cheddar and mozzarella. The back bacon was a thick cut, almost ham like meat that was perfect in the dish.
For dessert we shared a plate of maple sugar pie that was out of this world sweet and good. I tell you, the piece of pie was so big and so sweet that there is no way that I could have eaten it all by myself! It was sweet and maple pure goodness!
Overall impressions of the Flying Pig Olympic Village are very positive. Although there is a section high chairs and tables that do exclude people in wheelchairs, the majority of seats are accessible and the room was big enough and not cluttered making it relatively easy to maneuver around in with the power chair.
The staff were very friendly and welcoming and even the general manager spent time making sure people had what they needed or wanted. I was impressed with the level of care taken in the service provided for the well heeled couples as well as the families that were dining at The Flying Pig.
We will return when we can and I have not hesitation in giving The Flying Pig my recommendation.
The Flying Pig Olympic Village is located at 127 West 2nd Ave in Vancouver.