Purple Pig

Spring Peas with Farro, Feta & Mint

I am quickly becoming obsessed with Purple Pig. It's really close to my apartment, and the food is so good.

Continuing on the food tour with the hometown gang: Bastard Consultant, Dr. Consultant, and Pesky Pescatarian, we hit up Purple Pig with an intention to try more of its spring-themed and seafood offerings.

Shaved Green Asparagus with Pecorino Noce & Parmigiano Reggiano

Shaved asparagus that had a touch of acidity. I prefer my asparagus more when its been steamed or roasted, but there was nothing wrong with this and PP who lives tart foods enjoyed this a lot.

Braised Baby Artichokes with Fingerling Potatoes, Asiago & Salami Toscana


Mussels with Treviso, Serrano Chiles, Citrus Fruit & Gaeta Olives

I really love this mussels dish. I've never had a salad with fried mussels and citrus before, and I wouldn't mind so much if a small craze took on and it popped up in more restaurants.

Halibut Cheeks with Gaeta Olive Aioli

Fried halibut cheeks. We were really excited about this dish, but it turned out to be fine but certainly not extraordinary.

Mixed Greens with Feta, Watermelon Radishes & Fed Wine Mint Vinaigrette

Watermelon radish is an unappreciated root vegetable.

Deviled Egg with Arugula & Caper Berries

Bastard Consultant doesn't like hard boiled egg as it reminds him of foot. BC also can't go to bed if he hasn't showered first. I love sleep, and that seems highly inconvenient.


We drank Rocca "Copertino" with our meal.

Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs

Seeing BC's longing looks, I acquiesced to the Roasted Bone Marrow Order. I didn't approve of the salt choice. It looked like kosher, when clearly sea salt or Maldon salt was called for, and it really made a difference. Of course, the marrow was still good, but I think you need a salt with more texture for a dish like this. I'm not sure why, but I've noticed with other salts, it can really help bring out the unctuousness of the warm marrow.

Sepia with Snap Peas & Toasted Almonds

This was an amazing dish. It's no longer on the menu, so your life sort of sucks until spring rolls back around, but the combination of snow peas and squid was perfect.

Wagyu Sirloin Tip with Charred Green & White Asparagus, Spring Onions & Piquillo Peppers

I don't normally think of ordering Wagyu at small plates joints, but I'm really glad my classmate convinced me to order it at the last visit because I knew Dr. Consultant would really enjoy it. It's meltingly rich and a fine fine plate of meat.

Pig's Tails Braised in Balsamic

Bastard Consultant and I forgot about ordering this dish, but we are happy that we didn't think to cancel it, as the pork tails braised in balsamic topped with some chopped hard boiled egg was really a delicious surprise. The acidity of the balsamic helped cut the fattiness of the tail and the sweetness of the vinegar augmented the flavor of the pork.

Eating this dish made me understand why Laura Ingalls of Little House in the Big Woods so looked forward to eating the pig's tail during butchering time. I have had pig's tail once before at Au Pied de Cochon, where it was deep fried and didn't much like it. I think that restaurant is sort of tacky.

Charred Ramps & Scallions with Romesco Sauce

More grilled ramps. I've decided that I need to order ramps whenever I can because last year I thought they weren't so exciting before and didn't get my season's fill. Never again will I neglect you my beloved ramps.

The Sicilian Iris. As a reminder, it's ricotta and chocolate chip in a fried brioche.

Sinful.

A new devilishly delicious find is the Butterscotch Budino. I wish they would have taken a torch over the pudding after they pulled it out of the fridge because the sight of condensation on the dessert was unappetizing. That aside, however, this was a rich, satisfying, salty-sweet conclusion to a meal filled with a lot of laughter and general feelings of happiness.

Purple Pig, 500 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL

Urban Belly and a Detour

After Hot Doug's, we made our way back to the el stop via a path that would take us by Urban Belly. But then we came upon Carniceria Guanajuato and had to swing in. Why, by the way, is there a big Mexican community in Chicago? One would think that somewhere warmer would be a whole lot more comfortable?

Bastard Consultant and I immediately gravitated towards the aquarium displays of crispy fried chicharrone. But what really made us swoon was something that I don't have a picture for. It is pig's skin that has been slowly cooked until the tough ingredient has become gelatinous, sticky, and infused with the cooking broth.

It is: God Crack. Seriously. Every time a bit of the heavenly substance touched my lips, my eyes widened in wonder. God. How can something taste so amazing before one has even started chewing. Just from the moment it hits your tongue. God Crack.

God Crack that we ate huddled in the doorway of a closed real estate agent's office. Because it was cold. 40 degrees cold. Even though it was May. I swear, if it weren't some of these recent food finds, I'd be seriously depressed about this town.

After we had had our fill of surprise Mexican market delights, we made our way to Urban Belly, where we got the Asian Squash & Bacon dumplings, which though a touch too sweet, are pretty good overall.

The real reason why I wanted to come was to check out the Rice Noodle with hominy, kimchee and spicy pork broth. I had previously tried the Urbanbelly Ramen and been none too impressed. But Art Smith had gone on and one about the Rice Noodles in The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Okay, this is a lot better than the Urbanbelly Ramen. The broth is fantastic, though the need for the hominy was debated amongst the Bastard Consultant and the Pesky Pescatarian. I like it well enough, though I guess it's not utterly critical.

Carniceria Guanajuato, 3140 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL

Urban Belly, 3053 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL

Hot Doug's

My NYC friends descended upon the Windy City to do some serious chowing down. Hello, Bastard Consultant, Dr. Consultant, and Pesky Pescatarian.

Pesky Pescatarian, I'll call her PP for now, was mildly useless at Hot Doug's. Luckily the two C's can pull their weight, and we allocated 2 dogs a person plus one to serve as ballast for our food-crawling ship.

Wow, what a supremely crap sentence that was.

I got pretty gosh darn excited looking at the piles of links behind the counter.

BTW, I recently found out that one of my classmates thought I was attracted to him when we first met because there was always a sparkle in my eye and excitement in my voice when we spoke. It stood out because he generally perceived my energy levels to be on the low side of things. (What can I say, we usually saw each other at big sports bars, which I do not dig.)

Well, needless to say, over time, he realized that said flutter in my voice was due to the fact that we were always talking about food. And much as I think the fellow is a decent dude. Let me just say now that I think it was best for both of us that said fellow was able to come to the proper interpretation of our social interactions before he decided that it would be worthy of further inquiry. Because that could have made for some supremely awkward moments!

Anyways, back to more important matters at hand. Doesn't a site such as this put a dimple of joy in your heart?

The foie dog. The dog that helped Hot Doug's wage the foie wars. A dog to be handled with respect, anticipation, and general efforts to not drool and make more of a fool of oneself than usual.

Us three meat eaters cut the dogs into three pieces each, so all go to sample everything. I think this is the Corned Beef Sausage with Horseradish Mustard, Chicken Liver Mousse and Hickory Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese.

It was 40 degrees in May while we waited outside, and I was feeling pretty curmudgeonly by the time we rolled in. It helps to have a table covered with dogs to make the bitterness go away.

Bacon and Jalapeno Duck Sausage with Blood Orange Dijonnaise and Goat Cheese. This dog could use some further tweaking, as I couldn't pick up the blood orange flavor nor much of the Jalapeno.

Saussicon Alsacienne.

We made the mistake of arriving 15 minutes after opening on a Saturday morning for our dogs. By then, the line already snaked down the block. Who knew that on a 40 degree Saturday morning, that there would be a line snacking down the block for hot dogs?

A standard Chicago dog. Remember, this was our ballast.

Okay. Hot Doug's uses different buns for different dogs , and the bun on this one was nice and soft. PP got the vegetarian version and she had one of the thicker buns, which really did not sit well with her. What is up with that? Slap a soft bun on that dog!

Duck fat fries, that the Bastard Consultant claims he has waited years to order. These are tasty fries, but not so redolent of ducky goodness that one needs to wait an hour in the bloody cold in freaking May for them. I think Sam had it right when he took me on a regular weekday to go. Oh yes, milk that grad student status to bypass the hungry hoards!

I think this is the Swiss Cheese Smoked Knockwurst with Chili-Garlic Mustard and Smoked Gouda. Good job on the Smoked Gouda, it had a really strong punch.

This. This was easily the best dog of the day. Alligator Sausage with Shrimp Remoulade and Irish Whisky Cheese. Very juicy, it was an incredible incredible experience.

Hot Doug's, 3324 North California, Chicago, IL

Publican

Let's talk about dinner in no apparent order except for the order of backwards. Hit up Publican again the other day. But this time not for Sunday dinner, but a truly legit meal.

We ended on this waffle with honey butter. If you're a waffle person, this I imagine, must be pretty up there. Light, crispy exterior that crackles as you bite down to a fluffy center. Mingled with some melting sweet honey butter, it packs a sugary punch. Too much for me.

I originally didn't want to get these ribs, but I'm glad the other fellas won out because it was super fatty and savory. Nicely charred up so people couldn't really tell I was mainly just eating fat.

These ramps with romesco, which I was so excited about, were a bit too raw for my tastes.

A pretty decent pig's ear salad, which I was happy to foist upon the other dining companions who had not yet experienced the happy surprise that is pig's ear salad. I prefer Purple Pig's rendition, but my friend thought that the buttermilk dressing was a nice, slightly acidic, counterpoint to the richness of the fried pig's ear.

Fries with a fried egg on top. There was much "Oh we must get this" brouhaha over the ordering of these fries, and all I've got to say is, "People. It's not that special." I'll take L'Express or Balthazar fries any day.

Grilled duck heart on some nicely charred toast. It was a bit difficult to appreciate the duck hearts as we split this amongst four, but I'd definitely order it again. I really like eating heart. Oh my, sounds a bit bloodthirsty, no?

Burrata with cauliflower. I enjoyed this, though the cream in the burrata was a bit more set than is my usual preference. I've had fun watching burrata gain prominence in American menus over the past few years, and it's illuminating to see new burrata ingredient pairings.

The general verdict on Publican is that if you are a pig fellow, it is definitely worth visiting, and worth visiting on a regular dining night.

Publican, 837 W. Fulton Market, Chicago, IL

The Purple Pig

I've been dancing around this Purple Pig post for awhile now. Just thinking about the meal makes me tired. Aside from the Alinea fluke, I hadn't done any epic gourmet meals since I dragged my parents to Avec and Publican. Actually, maybe I should just end this train of thought because clearly I'm a lucky bastard.

Okay, deep breath. First up: Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Pecorino Noce & Parmigiano Reggiano. Yes, it as good as they say.

Salt-roasted Beets with Whipped Goat Cheese & Pistachio Vinaigrette. The whipped goat cheese is also smeared into the inside of the ramekin so the beets have a good shot at picking up some of the goat cheese.

Pork Fried Almonds with Rosemary & Garlic. This I got to try at home. So easy! So indulgent! Oh wait, I'm trying to eat healthier. Crap. Crap. I tell you, I seriously need to rent two teenage boys, so they can help me deal with the fallout from my cooking bursts.

Lardo Crostini. One of the things I miss most from the one month I lived in the center of Florence was the ability to walk two blocks to the local corner store and buy pre-sliced lardo and balls of mozzarella (only a euro each!). Oh lardo, how I love thee.

P.S. Confession. After having tried the whipped lardo at Del Posto, dealing with the sliced lardo is significantly more technically complicated.

Calabro Ricotta with Pork Neck Bone Gravy. I had high hopes for this once, but it actually turned out to be less satisfying and exciting than some of our other dishes. The pork neck gravy in the tomato base was good, but it almost seemed like rustic home cooking in comparison to the decadence flavors in the other dishes.

Okay that's it. I officially loved fried pig's ear salad. This Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Marinated Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg was crazy crazy good.

And when you crack open the yolk and let it run over the crispy ears, creating a rich dressing. Lord, I've met some people who don't like runny egg yolks. It's a dying shame I tell you.

Sardines with Lemon Vinaigrette. Did you know the last U.S. sardine cannery just closed down? I suppose I'm plenty to blame as well. I only order the suckers at restaurants, though I'm nearly always happy when I do. The fennel and caper salad is a great complement to the oily fish.

Mussels with Treviso, Serrano Chiles, Winter Citrus & Gaeta Olives. A surprise hit. The mussels were shucked, lightly breaded and fried and then tossed with some citrus and olives that served as great bright foils to the briny pockets.

We planned in a salad to help clear our palates. Mixed Greens with Feta, Watermelon Radishes & Red Wine Mint Vinaigrette.

Octopus with acini di pepe & Swiss Chard. Tender, smokey, meaty. All one wants from grilled octopus.

Charred Scallions with Romesco Sauce. These had me dreaming of ramp season. If you are in the vicinity of any grilled ramps, do yourself a favor and order them. Make that two orders.

Wagyu Sirloin Tip with Bone Marrow Vinaigrette. I was leaning towards not ordering this dish when we were plotting our attack plan, and boy am I glad that I lost that battle. Wagyu. One remembers why it is revered.

Sicilian Iris (Ricotta & Chocolate Chip filled Fried Brioche). Yes. A light fully fried donut ball filled with goodness. I could only handle about one bite of this, it was so rich. Luckily, my dining companions had more fortitude.

Purple Pig, 500 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL