An Evening Celebrating the Hungry Pigeon’s 3rd Birthday (18 January 2019)

After calling the Oyster House to ask if their Restaurant Week menu could be made gluten-free, which it could have been, and finding out their earliest reservation for Friday would be 8:45 PM, I opted out. All the other other Restaurant Week restaurants weren’t gluten-free and I took this as a sign that celebrating the Hungry Pigeon’s 3rd birthday was meant to be. I made reservations at one of my favourite restaurants for Friday, 18 January 2019.

I decided not to go ice skating this week. Instead, before dinner I went to Supercuts and had my undercut freshened up, plus a half an inch taken from my split ends.  It was fun to laugh with my hair stylist and I find getting my hair washed to be relaxing, especially if the stylist massages the scalp. Same with buzzing my undercut – Supercuts helped me feel relaxed. My hair looked great, I dolled up for the birthday bash without breaking the bank ($20).

I was a bit early when I arrived at the Hungry Pigeon and I decided to get a few photos of the decor. It’s no surprise that simple photos can take me 15 minutes and once I had a decent shot with decent lighting, I walked into the Hungry Pigeon for my 5:45 reservation.

I discovered the Hungry Pigeon accidentally on 25 September 2016 after I finished the charity walk for CHOP. I was looking for Red Hook Cafe and as I was walking to the Red Hook Cafe, a sign with a pigeon wearing a bib grabbed my attention. I love pigeons and I wanted to check out this restaurant: the Hungry Pigeon. I had an Austrian pancake with chicken sausage and I was instantly hooked. The Hungry Pigeon will appear in my 2016 Happiness Jar scrapbook when I make it, but I cut one of the bags for the collage that is on the cover of my Happiness Box.

2016

2017

2018

I’m a total foodie and many moments of joy that the employees of the Hungry Pigeon and the Hungry Pigeon itself fill Happiness Boxes 2017 and 2018. When I had to go gluten-free in April 2018, it was refreshing to know that they could make my dishes gluten-free and that my waiters knew ingredients inside and out. Being gluten and dairy free is hard, but they add some ease to it. The Hungry Pigeon is farm to table, homemade, and I think that is why there is some ease. While they can’t make everything gluten-free, I can always find something on the menu. I am also thankful for the patience of the staff because there were points where I had tons of questions. I wasn’t made to feel small and they also double checked on certain things for me too. I never had a bad experience.

I was sitting at the bar and as I was waiting for my prime rib without the aus jus and Yorkshire Pudding, I would be getting extra veggies and mashed potatoes instead, I was chatting with the young man sitting next to me. He asked the general manager for one of the cookbooks and we started talking. I said to him that The Hungry Pigeon brought me so much joy that I wanted to meet the owners and get a photo with them to add to my Happiness Box. The man was a chef at one point and he said, “ask to tour the kitchen. They would gladly let you tour the kitchen and they would be glad to get a selfie with you too. Kitchens and owners are happy to do that.”

After he left, my meal came out. The prime rib was juicy and tender, it melted in my mouth. I was savouring the taste when the general manager came to ask me if everything was okay. I said it was and I had a bit of confidence from talking to the gentleman sitting next to me. I asked the general manager if I could get a selfie with the owners because the Hungry Pigeon brings me so much joy and they have been a part of three Happiness Boxes so far. Sadly, the owners celebrate elsewhere on their anniversary, but they would be happy to some other time. So, in two weeks when I get my full-time pay, I’ll be there! 🙂

I couldn’t finish my Prime rib and ended up getting half of it wrapped up, along with the veggies. I ate the creamy mashed potatoes in a few bites. They were so good too and reminded me of how Nan used to make hers.

Sooo, in typical Jessica fashion, after I ate my meal, the general manager stopped by again to ask if there was anything else I needed. I said the meal was delicious, I was okay, and asked if I could get a selfie with him. His name is Caleb, we chatted for a good ten minutes, and he was such a kind (and kind of cute) guy. I’m such a foodie.

Happy 3rd birthday, Hungry Pigeon! Thank you for the joy you have not only brought me over the past three years, but to other diners as well throughout the region and the world. Here are to many more happy and healthy years ahead!