Animal

In a constant struggle to fulfill my pork fetish, Fairfax's Animal restaurant is a dream come true. As the name implies, the small, simply designed restaurant serves lots of carnivore's favorites.

We tried a smattering of appetizers like carrot salad, baby kale, fried hominy (killer!), barbeque pork belly sandwiches (winner!) and finished up the savories with poutine -- a pile of golden, crisp fries smothered in sharp white cheddar cheese and rich oxtail gravy (heaven!).

The wine menu also has an extensive list of 1/2 bottles -- which works out perfectly if you are with non-drinkers, as I was, or if you want red and your dining companion wants white.

The finale had a scrumptious bacon chocolate crunch bar and donuts. The bar had characteristics from all ends of the spectrum. The texture was the smooth, mousse-like chocolate combined with the crunch of the bar and smokey bacon bits. Plus the mixture of rich sweetness and aggressive saltiness gave it "obsession" status. And you can't go wrong with warm donuts, ever.



Happy diners!