Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. (Kitsilano)

It wasn't too long ago that I had visited the Kits location of the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.  Miss Y and I were treated to some newer items on the menu just before strolling down to watch the fireworks.  This time around, I was joined by a much larger contingent for the purposes of trying even more food to round out this post.  Inner Fat Girl, a couple of her friends and blogger Ruveen.  Having Ruveen there was great as I wasn't the only one fussing over photos...

We decided to pick an appie each to share including the Bruschetta with toasted organic house made bread.  We enjoyed the option of scooping our own portion of marinated tomatoes.  This way, the bread stayed crisp.  As for the tomatoes, they were plump and sweet while kissed lightly by balsamic, basil and topped with parm.  Colourful and large in portion size, the Antipasto consisted of meats, cheese, pitted olives and roasted veggies.  This was accompanied by organic bread with balsamic and EVOO.  I thought the plate was balanced in the amount of items where we could create our own flavour combinations.

Moving onto some salads, I dug into the Basil and Blackberry consisting of greens, sprouts, crimini mushrooms, mango and roasted red peppers.  This was rather sweet due to the blackberry dressing as well as the chunks of ripe mango and red peppers.  I thought the basil was definitely in the background, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing as I generally do not like overwhelming herbs in a salad.  Universally, we liked the Fig & Goat Cheese Salad more due to the understated sweetness as well as the slight pungency of the creamy goat cheese.  Personally, I thought the ample amount of red onion slivers were too strong for the rest of the ingredients.

Shockingly, I selected the Roasted Vegetable Salad as my contribution to our appies.  And even more disturbing was the fact I liked it.  The veggies were fresh where their natural sugars were activated from the roasting.  Add some mozzafini di latte, EVOO and balsamic, there was not much to dislike about this other than maybe if there was some meat sprinkled on top.  Onto our first flatbread (or pizza), we decided on half Parma and half Genoa Salami.  Consisting of mozza, Schinken speck cured ham, criminis, mango, arugula and parm, the Parma had a little of everything including salty, sweet, umami and bitterness.  However, we enjoyed the Genoa Salami more due to the impactful saltiness of the meat combined with tartness of the cherry tomatoes as well as an extra punch of salt from the Kalamata olives.  All of these toppings were held together nicely by the crispy thin crust.

We continued with 2 of their new artisan flatbread pizzas including the Fig & Brie with Schinken speck cured ham, brown mushrooms, caramelized red onion and arugula.  With seemingly an even thinner crust, it was super crunchy where it held up to the last bite.  It was nicely salted which accented the sweetness of the fig and creaminess of the brie.  Next, the Italian Fennel Sausage was constructed with roasted red peppers, roasted garlic cloves, semi-dried roma tomatoes, caramelized red onions, mozzafina di latte and goat cheese. Compared to the fig & brie, this was less balanced being tart with some sweetness, but little impact from the sausage in terms of both texture and flavour.

Rounding out the savoury dishes, we got 2 of their new pasta items on the menu.  I started with the Smoked Bacon & Three Cheese.  I found the penne a touch soft, but forgiveable since it was local fresh-made pasta.  It was coated in a rich sauce made with whole cream, leeks, aged cheddar, mozza and parm.  The smoked bacon provided the saltiness while the caramelized onions added both sweetness and some tartness.  As for the Bolognese, it was lighter than expected with a meaty sauce that featured some depth.  I guess the addition of zucchini and red peppers provided some brightness and moisture that broke up the potential heaviness of a meat sauce.  I personally enjoyed the sauce without the addition of the veggies.

For dessert, we had 2 familiar offerings (at least to me) in the Warn Double Chocolate Brownies and the Baked Cheesecake featuring a coconut base (hence gluten-free).  Just like before, the brownie sported a firm and crispy exterior giving way to a gooey chocolaty centre.  It wasn't particularly sweet which was fine by me.  As for the cheesecake, it wasn't super rich nor very cheesy.  I did like the firm coconut crust in terms of texture, but like last time, wasn't sure of the flavour combination.  On the other hand, the meal as a whole was solid just like my previous visit.  I particularly like their new artisan flatbreads due to the thin crispy crust and different ingredients.

*All food and drinks excluding gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Crispy and thin crust
- Not lacking ingredients
- Some healthier options

The Bad:
- Salads were pretty sweet (I would've liked a bit more balance)
- Not super expensive, but not cheap either