For a long while now, I’ve always wanted to go to The Spotted Pig but I never have because I keep forgetting to go there because it’s somewhere hidden in the crazy maze of West Village and the fact that I need someone else to eat with me since I don’t want to make multiple visits. But finally, I went there the past Thursday for lunch with my friend (that I know from Kim) Eno.
As my original fear for coming, Eno had a bit of trouble finding the place (thankfully I was prepared by remembering the map online) and we eventually found each other by talking to each other on the phone and I moved my butt over to the busy intersection off Hudson Street to make it easier for her to find me. Anyway, we exchanged greetings and complained about our apparent state of starvation as we walked to the Pig.
The Spotted Pig
Interior of first floor
As you can tell from the photo above, this place was already packed when we arrived. The hostess told us that it’ll be a ten minute wait so we walked over to a nearby waiting area of sorts that is adjacent to the stairs. By the time it passed, the hostess took us upstairs to the second floor, passing by interesting pig themed knickknacks and mirrors strewn along the walls. Once we’re seated, we’re greeted again with another bar and noticeably a lot more dimmer and quieter.
Interior of second floor
Bar area of second floor
After deciding what we want to eat, we took photos of the place…and each other eventually. After waiting five minutes or so, our waiter took our orders and we chatted about life as well as wanting to eat off our neighbor’s plates since we saw the humongous plates of their burger and fries. And oh the lovely aroma of grilled meats…we were drooling and dying.
Eno!
Fortunately, we didn’t harm anyone or touch anyone’s food since our food arrived! Eno had the sheep’s ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage, while I had the Roquefort burger with shoestring fries.
Gnudi
Burger and fries
Innards of burger
Mmmm…wedge of burger
I tried one of Eno’s gnudi and it reminds me of ravioli but more cheesier. If that made sense? The pasta’s very delicate and thin, while the sheep ricotta flavor was quite potent and tangy and it is very creamy. It worked well with the earthy-minty sage and nutty brown butter sauce.
My burger was huge! Good thing I had an extra mouth to share it. Initially I thought I needed ketchup for the burger but I refrained from adding any first just to judge how the burger is by itself. After the first bite, I was blown away how delicious this beefy burger is. It’s cooked to a perfect rare. It’s juicy, salty and pungent from the Roquefort, and it’s sandwiched in a buttery, toasted brioche bun. It’s so delicious but oh so bad for me. It felt like I ate a heavy, greasy, tasty brick by the time I finished my burger. Odd way to explain it but that how my stomach felt. I should note that their shoestring fries are pretty damn awesome from the aromatic rosemary and garlic fried with those long, skinny fries.
Despite my stomach slightly groaning from being bombarded with heavy food, I still wanted dessert. Since I felt chocolatey that particular day, I proposed to Eno that we should split a slice of flourless chocolate cake since she was quite full herself and she agreed.
Cake!
Innards
We initially thought this was a typical chocolate cake since we just see a blob of crème fraîche accompanying a slice of cake. But once we took our spoons and get ourselves a bite, man, what a cake! This silky, mousse-like, dark chocolate cake was divine. I told Eno that this cake would be good if either of us broke up with a boyfriend or when you have PMS; it’ll totally take your mind away from your problems at that moment. It’s just that good.
Address:
The Spotted Pig
314 W 11th Street
New York, NY 10014
I don’t know what Gnudi are but they sure look good!
Gnudi are basically the filling of a stuffed pasta without the pasta. Gnudi (a.k.a. ignudi, nudi, or nudi ravioli) are called “gnudi ravioli” (naked ravioli) because they are doughless — ravioli without the wrapper. They’re similar to gnocchi, but without the flour and potato.
manggy: They were tasty.
Kathyrn: Oh…thanks for clarifying that! :)
just looking at that huge delicious slab of meat makes me want to get on a treadmill. And hooray for dessert! That chocolate cake looks enough to ward off an army of dementors =D
Was the cheese on top of the burger patty or inside? It probably doesn’t make much difference flavor wise, but I’m a sucker for the sight of cheese oozing out from inside a burger.
Dana: Oh I agree that after eating that burger (and dessert) I felt like I needed to walk a few miles just to burn something. It’s pretty heavy stuff but really tasty.
Chubbypanda: The Roquefort’s on top of the juicy burger. I’m a sucker for oozy cheese, too!