Eating Victoria- Food Blog and Eating Guide

Pig
Johnson St and Blanshard
250-381-4677

Re-visit to the new location!

A few days after the new PIG opened up in the Atrium, I stopped in for a quick bite.  The interior is night and day versus their last location, this is quite roomy, open, high ceilings, and outside there is ample seating. It was very busy, PIG carries a faithful following. I wanted to try something different from what I tried last time( pulled pork, pickle and cornbread) so I ordered a side of BBQ beans and a brisket sandwich. It came to just under 10 bucks, and the portion size(especially on the sandwich) was quite generous. I report the same critiques as my last experience, the flavours are awesome, but the food was lukewarm. Am I missing something here, or has anyone else found the meat to just-warmed through? On a positive note, they changed/upgraded their buns, so I was very happy to see that. They were big, definitely homemade (at some bakery?), definitely an improvement from their old buns. The set-up for the queue is a bit cramped, but as customers learn how the new line-up functions I see it running smoothly. Overall, looks like PIG has put on their game face, serving up legit BBQ flavours, in a beautiful new building.

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I walk by Pig on most days, and the pleasant BBQ smell is welcomed on View. The hype and rave about this place is annoying to listen to if you haven’t been before. I’ve seen friends grabbing a quick lunch there, perched on Pig’s lean-to solo table. I wanted to try the new Indonesian place in Market Square today( Ayo Eat) but apparently it is closed on Tuesday’s, that is next on my list. Pig is and will probably continue to be a thriving lunch haven for gov workers and hipsters who want a quick pork hook-up. It’s undeniable that Pig is a well oiled machine, whipping through lunch requests in a professional and efficient flow. I liked that Pig had a very simple menu, with a few permanent items and a daily special( I think today was a smoked pork belly sandwich with tabasco mayo). After hearing all the praising reviews about their pulled pork sandwiches, I had to test the legitimacy of these claims. I got a pulled pork, kosher pickle on a stick, cornbread with honey-thyme compound butter, and a beverage( everything came to just under 10 dollars), all to go (nice touch with the 100% biodegradable bag). It’s a funny thing when you eat somewhere that has so much street-cred, it’s difficult not to let your expectations guide the experience.

Let me break it down for you. The pickle: good quality, crunchy, good flavour, but no stick as was advertised.
Cornbread with thyme butter: delicious period.
Sandwich: Good flavours, but felt kind of like something you would make for left-overs and have tomorrow for lunch. Nothing in the sandwich held heat, the BBQ sauce tasted good but was cold, coleslaw cold, bun cold, and meat luke-warm. But the elephant in the room was definitely the bun, it tasted like cheap white bread that wouldn’t be out of place at a BBQ you throw with your friends last minute, and already half-cut decide on the cheap buns at market. Sure the sandwich is only 5 dollars, but alas I was let down a bit on the sandwich.

I would recommend this place for a quick bite, good homestyle country bites, but I wouldn’t consider it one of the top 10 restaurants in Victoria( it really is on Urbanspoon.com), which is making me question what Victorians are enjoying in a dining sesh.

Food rating: 3.5/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: small but funky 4/5