The Purple Pig

One of my favorite aspects of working in the advertising industry is its propensity to attract people who really appreciate a good meal. Since my former co-worker Katie definitely falls into this category, it's no surprise we'd been talking for weeks about a night of wine and swine -- aka a trip to The Purple Pig. We finally made it happen this past Wednesday, which was also the day that Bon Appetit named The Purple Pig one of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America. (So I guess that's a vote of confidence for our ability to choose a decent restaurant!)

I'd like to start by noting that the menu is vast and so much of it looked amazing that we had an extremely difficult time regulating ourselves when it came to ordering our small plates. I am not kidding when I say that I want to go back again and again until I've tried every single dish on the menu. (You can accomplish this more quickly by going with a larger group, if you prefer.)

I'd also like to mention that although the restaurant is called The Purple Pig -- and there are certainly tons of pork dishes on the menu -- there are also many other amazing options to try. I highly recommend mixing in some non-pork dishes with your pig selections so that you keep things interesting and don't burn out at any point. (Remember, small plates meals are more like a marathon than a track meet!) I think Katie and I did a great job of balancing out the various elements, so if you'd like, you can use our experience as a gauge when making your own selections.

One last thing to know before you go: The Purple Pig does not take reservations. At all. So when you go, be prepared to spend some time waiting for a table -- especially now that they're getting heaps of press for being one of the best new restaurants -- in the entire country. On the plus side, you have time to enjoy some wine and good company while you wait, whether you choose to do so inside the restaurant or outside on the benches leading up to the outdoor seating area. Katie and I opted for two glasses of a Barbera that we enjoyed so much as we sat on the patio awaiting our table that we continued to drink it throughout our meal. This wine, should you care to try it, is Tenuta Arnulfo "Costa di Bussia." It's from the Piedmont region in Italy, with which I am 100% obsessed since dining at my cousin Shannon's amazing restaurant Perbacco in San Francisco. (Fabulous food, fabulous wine, fabulous staff. If you're going to San Francisco... hit up Perbacco. You will not regret it.)

All right, back to The Pig. Once seated, the first dish we tried was the pork fried almonds with rosemary and roasted garlic. The flavors were excellent. The almonds are especially tasty if you combine each of the elements -- an almond, some roasted garlic and rosemary -- in one bite. However, I was slightly disappointed to discover that the almonds themselves were not super crunchy. I'm sure it has something to do with frying them in the pork oil; perhaps they weren't fried long enough? Or perhaps the oil saturates them so much that they can't retain the crunchy texture of a roasted almond? Regardless, the texture was only slightly less than ideal and they're still pretty darn good.

Then we tried the heirloom tomatoes and cucumber with feta. This was a solid dish. Ripe heirloom tomatoes, cool cucumber and creamy feta tossed together with a very light vinaigrette. This is one of those perfect summer salads that also acts as the perfect foil to all of the pig and fried goodness we'd be enjoying.

Next, our waitress ambled on over with some chorizo stuffed olives, which were then deep-fried (probably in more pig oil) and served atop an aioli. I can't tell you what this aioli was, but this dish was perfect for an olive lover such as myself. The olives were salty, the chorizo was slightly spicy and the texture of the fried provided a satisfying crunch. Lastly, the aioli provided a cooling agent to balance everything out. (Naturally, I tried to avoid most of the aioli, but I can appreciate the purpose it's intended to serve.)

Moving right along, our server brought out the little bowl of charred summer veggies with farro and tomato vinaigrette, which she mentioned was her favorite dish. I mean, it was good, but certainly not extraordinary enough to be my favorite dish of the meal. There are too many knock-outs on the menu for that to be the case. However, it did act as a nice complement to all of the fried items/pig-centric plates we'd lined up for ourselves. Just given the sizable number of interesting veggie options on the menu, I think there are a couple of others I'd try over this one next time I go back. Decent, just nothing to write home about.

But now, the writing home begins: next we had the milk-braised pork shoulder with pork gravy and mashed potatoes. Mother of God. It was like an amazing pork pot roast dinner in a tiny cast iron baking dish. The meat was so tender and so well-seasoned, just sitting there on top of some creamy mashed potatoes... it literally tasted like home. Do not miss this dish.

We also ordered the scallop spiedini (don't be scared; it's just Italian for meat on a stick/skewer) with chickpea aioli. The scallops were cooked to perfection. They were absolutely phenomenal. I was very pleasantly surprised, since I figured mostly pig dishes would be the stand-outs at this place and wasn't really expecting anything extraordinary from these scallops. Especially since it's pretty easy to screw up the texture of scallops and turn them to rubber if you overcook them even slightly. Shows what I know. I'd order the scallops at The Purple Pig again in a heartbeat.

Next came the pigs' tails braised in balsamic. Both Katie and I were both excited and a little apprehensive at the prospect of eating some pigs' tails. Kind of weird, kind of awesome... Could be great, could be terrible... This sort of culinary adventure is always hit or miss. But in the case of the pigs' tails, it's a definite hit. Like, crack-the-bat-in-half-home-run kind of hit. The meat is extremely tender (think pigs' cheeks), but what really blows them out of the water is the marinade, a combination of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar that gives the meat a sweet tangy flavor unlike any I've ever had before. You should also know that the tails aren't served in little curly cues or anything, so it's unlikely you'd ever know that's what you were eating if you hadn't placed the order yourself. No visions of Babe dancing in your head here. Your taste buds will be too busy dancing for you to think of anything other than the amazing meal before you.

As an avid dessert aficionado, I am happy to report that The Purple Pig definitely saves the best for last. Katie and I knew we wanted dessert, but were debating between a few options. Naturally, we asked our server for her input. Without hesitation, she recommended the Sicilian Iris, which is their best-seller. The menu describes it as "ricotta and chocolate chip filled brioche." I would like to be the first to say that they need to rewrite this description immediately. Not only does it not do this dessert justice, it doesn't even make it sound that appetizing. But we trusted our server and ordered it anyway. Thank God we did because it is absolutely one of the best desserts I have ever had in my entire life. Like top 3. I am pretty sure I almost died while eating it -- and due to the description on the menu, I hadn't even been sure I wanted to order it!

So let me attempt to do it justice here. Basically, think of a cannoli. You know how the filling is a sweetened ricotta? Yeah, same thing here, but it fills a delicious pillow of brioche and shares the space with some semi-sweet chocolate chips. And then they take this little stuffed brioche and throw it in the deep fryer, where it becomes something better than you could ever have imagined. After that, they seem to roll the entire thing lightly in some superfine sugar and sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top. It is like a chocolate chip cannoli, wrapped in funnel cake batter or some sort of giant doughnut and then deep fried. Katie and I were completely amazed.

After we devoured Sicilian Iris numero uno, Katie looked at me and said, "I mean, I kind of want another one." Of course, I was anything but opposed to this idea. We hemmed and hawed for a minute or two, just based on how much food we'd already eaten and how really full we were -- and ultimately determined we'd flip a coin to help us decide if another SI was in order. And flip a coin we did. Five times -- until it finally came up with the right answer. And then we ordered our second Sicilian Iris.

This time, we decided to wait a couple of minutes longer before cutting into it so that the flavors would have more of a chance to meld together and the chocolate chips would be completely melted. As a result, the second Sicilian Iris was even better than the first, which I'd previously never have believed possible. If you go to the Purple Pig for nothing else, go there for this dessert. It is without a doubt one of the best in the city -- and arguably, per the ranking in Bon Appetit, one of the best in the country!

To learn more about The Purple Pig, located at 500 N. Michigan Avenue, visit their website here.