Deja Dinner

Yesterday was a bit of a slacker day.  No condos to view and of course most of my friends are working during the day. 

Ran across the street for coffee and ended up coming back with a triple grande half-sweet hazelnut non-fat latte…

And a piece of reduced fat banana chocolate chip loaf…

I actually ended up working for about three hours because our sales team had a really great day and rather than letting the work pile up I figured I’d help out since I had the time.  Somewhere during all of that I made a bowl of yogurt, bananas, and granola…

Mid afternoon I got in touch with my friend Kristoff…he lives nearby and works for himself so he was happy to get out for some fresh air with me.  We walked along the Gorge waterway for about an hour…I’m guessing probably like 6km or so in total.  Beautiful day…I really should have taken pictures for you all!  (I keep saying that!!)

While we walked, I enjoyed another Iced Soy Latte from the cute little Cafe Fantastico below Tiffaney’s building.

When I got back to the condo I needed lunch.  Leftover Dirty Risotto was definitely on the menu, but I wanted to keep it light so I served up about half a cup on top of some salad fixings I found in Tiff’s fridge…

So good.  Risotto is actually one of my all time fave meals and Tiff’s totally hits the spot!

The rest of the afternoon I mostly spent just puttering around on my computer and not doing much of anything.  When Tiff got home we decided to head out for dinner.  Liane had been talking about Pag’s just recently so it was front and foremost on my mind…so we decided to give it a go.

Pag’s (actually Pagliacci’s) is a Victoria institution.  It’s been here for a zillion years and is always packed.  Last night was no different…as we walked up there were people waiting on the sidewalk.  Thankfully though, because we were a table of two we were seated almost right away.  :)

As soon as we walked in I saw a familiar face.  You see, there was once another Pag’s location in Nanaimo where I grew up…and I worked at a funky little cafe in the same neighbourhood.  Our staff and theirs were all friends and a few people actually worked at both restaurants.  I used to run our Sunday brunch with another server…Jan-O…and Jan-O had come to us from Pag’s.  So wouldn’t you know it that here we are some 12-15 years later and who is our server last night but Jan-O!!

Deja vu much?!!

So to keep the reunion feel going I decided to order the exact same meal I would order when I was 18.  I used to eat at the Nanaimo location like 3 times a week and ordered the same thing over and over again.  :)

Greenleaf Salad with Yogurt-Dill dressing (this was the salad that made me love chickpeas in my salad!!)…

Hemmingway’s Short Story.  1/2 order.  With fresh tomatoes added…

Tiffaney and I also shared a half-litre of Pinot Grigio…

(which somehow magically refilled itself during our meal…hehe)

And every meal at Pag’s requires indulging pretty much face first into the basket of homemade focaccia bread.  This, dear readers, was like biting into a piece of my teenage years.  The taste of that bread took me right back to my barstool at the Pag’s I remember so fondly.  AMAZING.

Since we were having so much fun (remember Tiff and I were friends in high school, so she has many of the same memories!) we decided the meal wouldn’t be complete without Pag’s infamous Checkerboard Cake!

Cheesecake and Chocolate Cake woven together.  Does it get any better than this?  I don’t think so!!

We ate half and I’m already thinking about the other half tucked away in the fridge right now… *sigh*

What a completely amazing stroll down memory lane.  Oddly enough, I lived in Victoria for 8 years and never once had dinner at this Pag’s.  Brunch several times, but never dinner.  Now…I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll be trying to eat there once a week!  So deeeeeelish and fun!