The Salted Pig

Finally went to check out The Salted Pig on Friday for lunch. I was hearing great things about this place and was very excited to check it out. The restaurant is set up with two distinct seating areas; one by the bar and one by the kitchen. We sat in the seats at the kitchen counter and were rewarded with some free samples of their deviled eggs. I only ate one and it was good just not something I focused on throughout the meal. I wish the seats at the bar were a little higher up so I could actually see what was going on. It was strange to sit there trying to see what was going on but being unable to do so. Another annoyance was that my server had not tasted many of the items on the menu. It is always alarming to hear a server say "People have told me that this is good" or "I've never tried that". If you really care about your restaurant you will taste and be able to talk about all of the regular menu items.

I ordered the pork belly sandwich with light mayo (As recommended), the brussel sprouts as a side, and the bacon sammy for dessert. I also upgraded to filthy fries which has cheese and roasted garlic on top. When the meal came out I was confused by the brussel sprouts. They were shredded like coleslaw with bacon pieces mixed in. This was a very unique way to eat brussel sprouts but surprisingly it was really good. Since they were shredded it was easy to get bacon in every forkful. Usually it is difficult to get the bacon on your fork with a large brussel sprout but when all items in the dish are similar in size it makes it much easier. My one issue was that it was very liquidy in the dish and became sort of a soup when you got towards the end. I am unsure as to why they did not remove some of the liquid but that was not pleasant.

The pork belly sandwich was good though it was lacking the savory taste that you normally get from bacon. I am not sure what was missing but I was expecting a richer taste that would fill me up since the sandwich was a little small. It was definitely a good idea to ask for light mayo because there was still a decent amount on the sandwich. If I had not asked for light mayo the whole sandwich would have been drowned in it and probably tasted terrible. Thanks yelp reviews! The sandwich also claimed to have mandarin pickles but they merely tasted like mandarin orange slices. I did not taste anything near to a brine that would allow you to call them pickled. Regardless, the sweetness of the orange was as great addition to the sandwich and broke up the monotony that was under flavored pork belly on bread. Overall, a decent sandwich but not one that I would order a second time. Next time I will get the really good or the pig burger.

My Pig Sammy came out last and was, by far, the best thing I ate at this restaurant. Who could argue with candied bacon inside ice cream between to maple cookies? I mean honestly I do not think that it would be possible at any restaurant to mess up that combination and The Salted Pig did not disappoint. Not only did the ice cream taste like bacon but there were pieces of candied bacon inside the ice cream. Almost every creamy bite of the ice cream came with the delicious somehow chewy and crunchy texture of the candied bacon. All of this was balanced by the maple cookies. What a great way to end the meal!

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at the Salted Pig. Some issues with the dishes and the set up of the kitchen counter but it was a fun meal with obvious thought behind the dishes. I would order the brussel sprouts again but I would ask them to drain out some of the liquid. I am not sure if I would order the pork belly again there are other options that I would rather try. I would recommend this place as a nice lunch hangout and hear that their happy hour deals are great. Next time I will go after work to try some of their many beers on tap. I mean this place calls itself a Gastropub so I need to test out its beer selection. By the way, the filthy fries were awesome. I mean roasted garlic and beer cheese on fries? How could that not be awesome!

Rating: 6/10