Featured image: Pig roast by The Crackling Pig
Since I was extremely disappointed that we missed The Crackling Pig’s pig roast at Westboro Fuse Festival this year, we decided to check out the “Swine ‘n Dine” event at Backdrop Restaurant & Bar. We’ve only been to this restaurant in the past for brunch, so we were intrigued about how their dinner menu would be like. They were not serving their regular menu this day. In fact, they will be serving a special family-style dinner in collaboration with The Crackling Pig! The menu is preset and it is actually quite refreshing to not have to worry about choosing what to order. Our only decision that night was what to order for drinks. Amazing!
Location/Ambience
The location was very central, right at the intersection of Metcalfe and Gloucester. It was quite easy to find street parking and City Hall is close by as well, which offers free parking on evenings and weekends now. The inside of the restaurant is very quirky with a large stage, allowing for frequent live music. We took a seat on the patio with a nice view of the pig being prepared, while enjoying the remaining nice summer weather before fall hits.
Drinks
For drinks, we both decided to have Cameron’s India Pale Lager. You probably know by now that I am a huge fan of IPA’s but this is the first time I’ve had an IPL. It was described to be a hoppy, citrusy and hazy beer, which is totally down my alley. Even though it was more clear than hazy, it was still very refreshing and hoppy. I quite enjoyed it, while awaiting my meal.
Food
Our meal began with some a mixed potato/greens salad (interesting combo), spicy eggplant (nicely prepared, good for even those who do not usually enjoy eggplants (Aaron), pureed white beans (surprisingly good) and rice (nicely flavoured). We also had half a corn on the cob to be shared. It was generously buttered and flavoured. Wish we had more!
Then for sides, we also had some jalapeño corn bread, nice and buttery with a nice kick.
Then the star of the night arrived. We had 2 servings of roasted pork, which included the fatty pieces, the meaty pieces as well as the right on the bone rib pieces. It was as amazing as when I had Crackling Pig last year at the Westboro Fuse Festival. An interesting addition to the meal was a chickpea curry with baby naan breads. It was an interesting choice to pair with the rest of the meal. I had no complaints though, as the curry was tasty and the naan was oh-so-cute.
For dessert, we had apple bread with caramel ice-cream. It was an excellent way to end the meal and it left me wanting more of the ice-cream even though I don’t usually have much of a sweet tooth.
Service
The service was very good. We had 2 servers who kept coming back to check up on us throughout the night.
Overall
Overall I had a very good experience at this event. I will sure be on the lookout for more special events like this. I especially appreciated the prix-fixe menu where I did not have to make any choices. I felt that there was a good amount and variety of food for $35 and would recommend this to anyone interested in attending this same type of event in the future! Looking forward to seeing The Crackling Pig at other events in Ottawa! If anyone is aware of any such festivities, please let me know! You can find me @bowsingnomnoms on all social media platforms! Or you can scroll to the bottom of the page for the direct links!
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Bowsing Nom Noms | Ottawa-Based Food and Travel Blog 