After sampling so many delightful wines at Bricks Wine Co, I asked Erik where Turned and I could go to continue our afternoon of merriment. I specifically requested recommendations for restaurants that serve wines from Juice Imports.
He recommended Business and Pleasure, Frenchies, Ten Foot Henry and Pat and Betty. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants he recommended weren’t open that afternoon. Then I remembered Erik posted about Pigeonhole on Instagram. For this post, let’s listen to “Leggy Blonde” by Flight of the Conchords.
I was too lazy to cross-check Pigeonhole’s wine list with Juice Imports’ website, so I wasn’t sure what was what. I was also reluctant to quiz our server about which wines were from Juice Imports because I didn’t want to be “that” customer. So instead, I looked for wines from regions I know Juice Import showcases. I recognized Jura in France, so I picked Arbois ’18 ($72).
Maybe I was just pooped out from the afternoon of tasting wild, natural wines because I didn’t have any feelings toward the bottle I selected. Turned, and I thought the wine was nice, but no imagery or fanciful descriptions poured out of our mouths.
We did have a lot to talk about the food. Turned was starving, so we ordered the Skinny Fries ($8), Wagyu Beef Tartare ($20), Charred Cabbage ($17), Ricotta Dumplings ($25), and Roasted Caramel Apple ($13).
The fries arrived blisteringly hot. The fries were long and skinny, crisp and salty. The garlic aioli was so rich that I only dabbed a bit on each fry and then started eating the fries naked.
Turned enjoyed the Waygu beef tartare and appreciated that it wasn’t covered in the typical creamy, garlicky sauce. I also preferred tasting the full natural flavour of the meat, dill and capers. I also liked the generous side of warm buttery bread instead of the potato chips that most other restaurants serve.
My favourite dish was the ricotta dumplings. Holy smokes – what little morsels of joy! The mixture of the egg yolk, dijon, tomato leaf pesto, shallots and dill pickle was bright and lively. The dumplings were soft and fluffy. I got tingles when I ate this. I would order this again.
Turned favourite dish was the charred cabbage. She raved about the crispy charred bits and the soft underbelly of green cabbage. The jalapeño cream was so decadent I could feel my waist expanding with each bite.
The dessert is worth ordering again. The poached apple was so soft we only needed to press our spoons to cut through the warm flesh. I loved the crunch bits of oatmeal – this was so wholesome but gourmet at the same time.
Our last treat was our bill. We found out that on Saturday and Sunday, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, all customers receive a staff discount of 25%. The food and excellent service at Pigeonhole deserve high praise. Hitting the Sauce gives Pigeonhole two phat thumbs up.
Hitting the Sauce 