Pub Review: Pig & Duke

Website: http://pigandduke.ca/
Location: 503 4 Avenue SW

I’m not exactly sure what meal you would call this, but dinner was what it was supposed to be.  Breakfast didn’t happen, lunch was at 3:00 p.m., so it seems logical that dinner would get pushed back…until 10:00 p.m.?

Working in downtown and commuting to Alex’s place via +15s meant that I passed by this pub multiple times.  Alex even mentioned going there once or twice, so when given the opportunity to try it out, I jumped at the chance.  After all, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to write a review on food.

Like most pubs, we seated ourselves.  The waitress came by in a moderately timely manner.  Even though I had been looking at the menu in the hours before, I still had no idea what I wanted.  The Classic Burger was on special that night, but for the price it was offered at, we had to order it as is, which was the burger with regular fries.  Since Alex and I both opted for yam and garlic fries, respectively, we had to pay regular price.

We started with the Korean BBQ Steak Bites, which funnily enough, though it was an appetizer, came out after/at the same time as our mains.  Like Bank & Baron, the steak bites was served in a skillet, but unlike Bank & Baron, Pig & Duke served it with a blue cheese dip and a side of garlic bread.  Honestly, I’m finding that a lot of appetizers now can be ordered as mains, considering their size and all.  Alex and I were both a little apprehensive about the blue cheese dip, as neither of us are a fan of the pungent flavor of it.  However, upon trying it, it really wasn’t all that strong.  In fact, it was virtually undetectable.  In comparison, Bank & Baron’s steak bites are far superior in flavour and consistency.  What I mean by consistency is that each of the chunks of beef at Bank & Baron were more uniform, whereas here, there could be a piece that required a fork and knife and others that were so small  that the meat completely dried out.

The Classic Burger is exactly what you’d expect from a burger by that name: a 6oz patty topped with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and onion, topped with a pickle spear and skewered by a knife.  As indicated on their menu, their patties are made up of a blend of beef and pork, but I couldn’t tell the difference between this and a regular patty; the consistency of the meat was about the same as a regular beef patty.  Unlike yam fries elsewhere, these ones were criss-cut, which allows the fry to better maintain its integrity.  As a result, these fries seem “meatier” than their sad, limp, counterparts.  If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I love garlic and when I ordered these fries, I expected much more garlic flavour than I got.  I was thinking it’d be something closer to what Earls had offered at their restaurant, minus the semi-raw garlic collected at the bottom.  I, honestly, don’t have a problem with the Earls’ fries and the amount of garlic it has, but when  I’m eating them and expected to go back to work afterwards and talk to people…well, maybe not.  The fries were seasoned with some kind of spice blend, not unlike the herb and garlic fries at McDonald’s.  As such, the top few fries, though they appeared to be seasoned, tasted like normal fries.  It wasn’t until I got to the bottom half of  the basket that I started getting the garlic flavour coming through.  As much as I like ketchup, mayo on fries is a totally different experience.  While it may seem kinda gross to be dipping fries into may, aioli is essentially the same thing; giving it a different name doesn’t make it different all of a sudden.  Of course, I don’t recommend eating fries with mayo all the time because that is a lot of fat on fat, but for me, it feels like a bit of a treat.

Overall, I had a pretty good experience here.  Service was relatively prompt, and I had no actual complaints about the food.  I would definitely come back to try some of the other things on the menu.  As Alex said, there’s nothing she wouldn’t recommend on the menu, which is a good sign.  Based on this experience, I’d give this place a 3.75/5.

Back: Classic Burger with Yam Fries
Middle: Korean BBQ Steak Bites
Front: Classic Burger with Garlic Fries