Ottawa Foodies

I hear Flying Piggy's was a popular place with good food, so I took a date. My first glance at the wine list told me I was in the wrong place. Dominated by Foster's picks (Wolf Blass is so passe) and offering gems like Bicyclette Rouge/Jaune (someone made a deal with the devil, b/c who drinks that overpriced stuff?), I was turned off before even looking at the food. The wine specials were a good deal, though, and if I like super-light Italian Pinot Grigios, there were a few to choose from.
The "con frutti di mare" pasta was all stuck together in the bottom of the bowl, and I found the sauce bland and lacking in texture. The seafood was okay, but I got the full size and didn't find the amount of pasta suited 4 mussels, 3 shrimp, and 2 scallops. My waitress was kind enough to charge me for the half size.
My date noticed that the sausage in his pasta was undercooked on the inside, and opted against risking a few bites near the end.
It was a noisy place, with dishes clattering in the back and lots of older people/yuppies. The Caesar salad looked good, with crispy strips of bacon on top. Terrible date place, but ok for a business lunch if you're dining with a client who prefers home-y charm to good food.

mussels were tastier than they look.

fettucine con calabrese - when you expect sausage and get porkballs instead.

chicken parmigiana

chicken

pasta @ flying piggy's bistro italiano on bank near south ottawa. you can't miss this restaurant with its whimsical cherubic pig adorning the restaurants' signage. this joint has a reputation for fresh home-made pasta and i've frequented many times and satisfied in the past; however, last night was a night to remember. maybe having had too much of a good thing ain't always so good as in the long term things ALWAYS change.

fettuccine con calabrese with italian sausage, red wine tomato sauce, chili peppers, basil and oregano seemed like a great idea. the senses were shocked as the sausage turned out to be pork meatballs but the real kicker was the pasta. surely it was fresh but it was EXTREMELY SALTY. yowsers!! not even my heineken could wash it down. the fettuccine con dijon black tiger shrimp was passable. as with the above, the pasta again was fresh but SALTY. on closer inspection, the dish came with only 2 shrimps WTF???. one couldn't help but feel a restaurant skimping to cut costs. broccoli mixed with tomato salsa didn't really work for me. chicken parmigiana breast turned out to be the regular tasty treat with a chicken breast with herb crust, 3 cheeses and topped with a spicy tomato sauce. this time however the breast turned out to be thinner than i remembered being impressed in past visits. but the real deal breaker was the garlic mashed 'tatoes -- this time they were bland and squashed beneath a layer of steamed veggies with the chicken plopped on top. the mashed tatoes USED to be a icing cone tower and baked with a nice outer crust. this was sorely missed. the chicken con senape was juicy and the 3 mustards with white wine and cream was an excellent combination. again their infamous mashed tatoes were gone and replaced with the squashed layered presentation. these are hallmarks a change in head chefs and/or kitchen staff.

the service last night was impressively horrid. not only did the server forget the leek and chili mussels in cream appetizer but he also brought the requested snowbank of parmesan cheese and he offered fresh ground black pepper near the end of our meal. had to request for drink refills and no deserts were suggested. we didn't even get the apology we deserved. the juicy phat mussels (thank god they weren't the tiny ones from P.E.I.) served as desert and the cream sauce was soaked up with restaurant rolls. left the joint a tad pissed with the hospitality, certain food changes and the salty aftertaste. i usually can't afford to be that cheap but the juicy LOW tip was my way of showing the server that i'm actually doing him a favor. will think twice next time for a different place when i'm in the mood for fresh pasta italian. no need to wake me when you see pigs fly.

Have been to this restaurant umpteen times and had a good meal every time. They even accommodated us one night when we were driving back from Mosport (been racing for the weekend) and were really tired and hungry. We called at about 45 minutes out of Ottawa at around 8:45 on a Sunday (late for Ottawa). They said they would gladly accommodate us for dinner.

We in fact arrived at about 9:45 and we got the royal treatment as there were only 4 other diners in the place. They never rushed us and we ordered a second bottle of wine ta boot!

The food is always consistently good, the soups fabulous and interesting and everything is well prepared. AND they have pigs!!!

This was the best pasta I've ever had anywhere. You can't choose the shape -- everyone gets the same amazing homemade fettuccine. Sauces are quite heavy but the pasta is relatively light so they get away with it.

The noodles are of slightly different widths, perhaps indicating that they have been hand-cut. They are rolled quite thin and have a perfect balance of al dente "bite" and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.