Late yesterday afternoon, I went over to Il Buco‘s “Sagra del Maiale” in hopes to get my hands on a piece of the 200 lb Ossabaw pig that’s slowly roasted between two large iron griddles with wood fire above and below. Alas, I came in late at 5 PM that all that remains is its head and hooves. Damn.
Fortunately, they did have some whole suckling pig to keep this outdoor party going for the next hour and the other stuff is still coming out of their kitchen.
A plate of full food costs $20 (including a lemonade or iced tea) which isn’t bad when you look at it.
The good thing was there’s some greens and vegetables (Farmer’s Market panzanella and arugula salad with red onion, lemon, and pecorino) to balance out the pork-centric plate. Between the two meat dishes – the roasted suckling pig and crackling and the Flying Pigs Farm Porchetta Panini on Ciabatta with Blueberry Balsamic Mostarda, the sandwich would be my favorite – by a slight margin. The blueberry baslsamic mostarda (think blueberries blended with mustard) played along with the pork’s natural sweetness. I just wish the sandwich was warmed.
The suckling pig was delicious, juicy and fatty (also it helps getting a large side of crackling) but the plastic cutlery didn’t do much to get a small bite of crispy skin so I had to go primitive and eat it with my hands. I just felt bad for the older women on my table to watch me eat with my fingers.
Awww… You should have scored the head. The cheeks are one of the best parts. Not that there’s really a bad part on the pig.
Chubbypanda: Yeah, I thought about asking about getting the jowls of the pig but I don’t want to freak out anyone. :/ Next year, I’ll do it.