this little piggy...

... went out on Saturday night to celebrate the big 3-0 of a friend (happy birthday Sheila!) at The Greedy Pig, a small hole in the wall that you wouldn't notice as you walk on by. But, inside the jazz band was playing, the mood was festive, the birthday girl was in high spirits (and hammered) and the food was mouth-watering good.

This was more of an appy/tapas kind of party: meat and cheese platters up front at the bar, plates of tomato and boccacini salad skewers and servers coming around, offering guests mini pulled pork sandwiches and spicy peanut satay chicken skewers. Delish. Of course, this being the birthday girl's big 3-0, we had make a few toasts and drink to her good health: I ordered the Ward Eight (Kentucky Bourbon shaken with fresh lemon and orange juices with pomegranate grenadine. a classic from New York City) and had a sip of my friend's Roughrider cocktail (Canadian Rye Whiskey shaken with pureed raspberries, black raspberry liqueur & fresh lime juice juice topped with ginger beer, served tall).

Midway into the party, there was a bit of a medical emergency (no ambulance required), but someone did have to leave early for the night, so a glass of white wine (dr. loosen reisling. 2006, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany) was bestowed on me as a parting gift. I'm no wino, but this was exceptionally good white wine: light, fruity and sweet but not too sweet that it didn't make me sick after a while (I've had some very unfortunate encounters with some unfriendly red wines in the past). I would definitely order it again if I saw it on the menu. And I do plan on coming back and tasting the other menu items that the Pig has to offer.

The place was packed when we arrived, which was great but the downside: no air conditioning. So it did get a wee bit hot in the back, where we were sitting. I'm so glad I wore shorts, even though the back of my thighs were glued to the leather seats. I had to peel myself off the seat every time I got up to order a drink or use the bathroom.

A very blurry picture of the pulled pork sandwiches with BBQ sauce. So moist and delicious. This is one of the reasons why I don't think I'll become a vegetarian. At least, not full-time.

My Ward Eight cocktail.

For the rest of the night, I was sipping on this lovely reisling.

The eyes... it just won't stop staring at me...

Crowded bar... those were some good cocktails...

This little piggy also took in the scene at the Livestock Block Party held in Gastown on Sunday. It's suppose to be the last one eva (isn't that what they said last year?), so I came down with my little sis in tow and we checked out the skateboarding, the dogs, the DJ and the peeps rocking their cool kicks. Everyone and their dog was wearing Ray-bans, it was ridiculous.

street art

It turned out to be a sunny (but still cold) day, so I headed downtown to do some graffiti hunting and this is what I found:

Dealing with the big questions of life.

Who says graffiti isn't art? Ask Van Gogh!

Meow!

salty goodness

Last night, me and Shar had dinner at the Salt Tasting Room, as part of the dine-out event that's happening throughout the city. Located in Blood Alley (it's not that bad, really), it's a small inconspicuous nook at the end of the alley, easily missed if you're not looking for the salt shaker flag above its door. Once inside, it's a busy hub where you can enjoy fine wine, artisan cheese and delicious deli meats paired with strange but yummy condiments (fig bread anyone?).

I had a glass of Elephant Island Crab Apple Wine 07 from Naramata, BC along with my dinner which was very nice and very unexpected and grown-up of me. Usually, I order cocktails. The wine tasted like fermented apple juice, sweet but also tart and smooth. I wouldn't mind having a bottle of that in my fridge. I ordered the Potato Leek Chowder garnished with Organic Olive Oil and the Salmon Pate with Cornichons as my appetizer. The chowder needed just a pinch of salt, but the salmon pate was delicious. For my entree, I chose the BC Plate: Wild Boar Salami with Rosemary paired with Piparras Peppers (Spain), Ash Camembert (from Salt Spring Island) with Marcona Almonds (Spain) and Fruilano Salami partnered with Quince. Dessert was Lemon Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce, which was wonderful. Light, fluffy, with a hint of lemon... loved it! Shar ordered the Chocolate Pate with Strawberry Compote, which was also good. The chocolate was so smooth and just melted on your tongue as you savoured it.

Potato and Leek Chowder garnished with Organic Olive Oil. The place is called Salt Tasting Room, but not a single salt shaker to be seen... interesting.

Salmon pate with cornichons. Superb! Tasted really good with the sourdough bread and the waitress kept refilling our basket, over and over again.

Fruilano Salami with Quince. I liked the fruity quince; it was paired nicely with the salami, which was a little salty. A small slice of sourdough smeared with Camembert, a slice of wild boar salami and topped with a little bit of quince = a lovely sandwich.

Ash Camembert with Marcona Almonds. Shar wanted a more pungent cheese (something like goat cheese or blue cheese), but I really liked the Camembert. The almonds were super yummy. Shar kept mentioning how much better they would be If they were chocolate covered. LOL!

Wild Boar Salami with Rosemary and Piparras Peppers. The pickled peppers went well with the meat and wasn't too spicy. I liked the wild boar salami, but couldn't really taste the rosemary in it.

Lemon Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce. Licked my spoon clean, it was that good.

Chocolate Pate with Strawberry Compote. Went down smooth.

I'm persuading my chef friend to have her birthday dinner at Salt. I think she'll love it. I know I did.

Sorry for the way the pictures turned out. It was dimly lit inside (to create that special ambiance, ya know!) and I didn't want to use flash. I was already getting looks from our neighbours. The tables were very close together. I could have reached over and grabbed a slice of olive bread. I really wanted to, it looked so good.