This Little Piggy

After a long run on a Saturday morning there is nothing more satisfying than a tasty lunch, and given we had just run a pretty good run for a Saturday morning, and had not really explored Fernwood in an eating sense, we decided to treat ourselves. Fernwood is an awesome part of Victoria and if we were ever looking to buy a house I would love to buy there. We could probably never afford that area, but it's tree-lined streets, cute village, relative proximity to downtown, Beacon Hill Park and the Dallas Rd Waterfront make it pretty close to perfect in my book.  It has a specialty grocer, a swanky wine bar (I hear they do an awesome creme brulee), funky little cafe and a solid local pub with regular live music and a sunny patio for summer afternoons. It has a cute church-cum-local theatre, several nearby schools and a lively arts culture. It's pretty awesome.  But back to the food. There are several places I would love to stop by for a meal including a Caribbean restaurant, a new Asian-fusion bar, and today's lunchery of choice (by default, the other two weren't open): This Little Piggy.   TLP is no newcomer to the Victoria food scene and has been in its current location since early summery '10. Prior to that it enjoyed a little slice of Downtown on Fort St - funnily enough TLP made the move to Fernwood the week we moved to Victoria.  And that will be my last excuse for why we hadn't made it here yet.

From the little specials blackboard outside, to the funky dark wood tables and high stools, TLP was my kinda place right off the bat. Add some hard-to-find dry goods, a freezer full of ready meals, a kick-ass menu and some laid back staff and you've got the perfect place for lunch. Add a cold beer and you're golden.  I started with empanadas because I love empanadas. These weren't quite the out-of-this-world empanadas that Caitlin and I enjoyed in Argentina (post on those coming soon, promise) but they were pretty damn good, and vegetarian at that.  The yam was perfectly cooked with a little kick, and my only misgivings were that the pastry was so flaky that they kind of fell apart as soon as you bit into them, and that I had to share. Ok, I didn't have to, I chose to. Still. I'd for sure get these again, but next time I'd be keen to try the sweet empanadas. 

For mains* I chose the Cuban Pork Sandwich, a dish I had been wanting to try since watching back to back episodes of both Man vs Food and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  It was ham and pork filled, cheesey, tasty, and the mojo sauce was the perfect balance to an otherwise heart-attack inducing sandwich. It was good, but not the kind of dish that's going to have me coming back for more. 

Instead I had meal envy for Jonny had chosen the special we had read about on the blackboard outside: Shrimp tostadas. They were fresh, they were flavourful, they were filling, and although a little mucky to eat, awesome!  They were the right kind of dish to eat right after a long run: super filling but nice and fresh so you felt like you were giving something back to a body that had just carried you round Elk Lake for the better part of an hour.  These were good. These were that good that we'll base a return visit on them.

 

The rest of the menu looked pretty kickass also: burritos, quesdillas, and all kinds of Mexican and Latin street food just begging to be gobbled up.  The pre-prepared meals also sounded pretty good with loads of curries, coq au vin, bison patties for burgers - every kind of comfort food you could think of using locally sourced and damn good quality ingredients.  If you're in Victoria, even if briefly and doing the tourist thing, really make the effort to take a walk up to Fernwood. Not only is the walk pleasant through quiet streets and past cute cottages, but the food and beverages on offer (not to mention the arts and culture, galleries abound) are well worth the walk.  Hope to see you there soon!

*this is by no means one of those swanky places with linen, table service and several courses for lunch. I was just being a piggy (I was in the right place) and was not able to slim my options down to just one choice so a two course lunch it had to be!