As I was driving home from my yearly physical this morning, I was hoping our youngest daughter would be at home so that I could ask her to make her famous chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and spinach for dinner this evening.
I was in luck: she was in a pretty good mood and she said yes to the dinner request. So, all day I’ve been thinking about dinner, which is unlike me; usually, I’m more a lunch person.
We somehow got on the topic of ricotta cheese and goat cheese, neither of which she particularly likes, unless they’re ‘in’ something like, say, the New York style cheesecake I make that disappears damn fast around here.
I’m not a fan of typical cheesecake, the overly sweet cheese mixture with a dollop of cherry pie filling on the top, nor do I really care for cheesecakes with graham cracker crusts that seem to come in every combination. The best cheesecake, in my humble opinion, is the semi-sweet 4″ high New York style cheesecake that first ignited my taste buds at a restaurant called Pagliacci’s in Victoria, B.C., in 1979, when it first opened.
Pagliacci's on Broad Street
Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you’d prefer to look at it, I worked in a law office on Broughton Street, which meant it was only a mere five minute walk to Pagliacci’s. On our lunch breaks we’d often end up at the Japanese restaurant, Yokohama, on Blanshard Street, or at Glen’s for sandwiches, but if I had my way I would have eaten every lunchtime meal at Pag’s, as we came to call it.
I got to thinking about Pag’s today and hunted it down online. I know it’s still in business, and I know it’s still thriving – just take a look at the entrance on any given day. Whenever I’m in Victoria, I’ll usually pop in for at least a cappuccino or for lunch. Sadly, it’s been some time since I’ve been there for dinner, though years ago, we’d be there frequently before or after a girls’ night out. I used to order a dish called The Cabinet of Dr. Capelletti, a lovely tortellini concoction, but I seem to recall ordering a dish that I swear was called Moon over Manhattan, or something to that effect. There isn’t a dish on their menu anymore with that name, but rather Manhattan Transfer: A New Arrangement, which sounds just like the dish I loved. It’s fettucini, pesto, pine nuts, fontina cheese, basil… Still sounds delish, but perhaps they’ve changed the name.
Whether it’s lunch or dinner, Pag’s always serves their famous foccacia bread before the meal, and it took/takes superhuman willpower to not devour the entire basket of perfection. After dinner, I’d always – and I mean always – order the New York style cheesecake and a cappuccino. This is the place where I developed my love for the dessert.
Pagliacci's
I took a look around the website this afternoon and saw that the menu has grown since the early days, though the staples still appear.
On any given day, whether it’s lunch or dinner, there will, no doubt, be a queue at the door. The place is noisy, hectic, and the tables so close together that one feels as if one is dining with the persons at the next table. The wait staff don’t seem to change, either, though I’d say none of them were born in 1979, unless there are a couple of old-timers still there. Even back then the wait staff had a certain style to them.
If you’re in Victoria, it’s well worth trying Pagliacci’s for yourself. It’s downtown on Broad Street, between Fort and Broughton. Get there a bit earlier than you need to just so you aren’t in the queue.
