The Spotted Pig

The Spotted Pig.

When I first heard of this New York City hotspot, I thought, the party gods must be crazy. To me the name summons up images of a farmhouse or what might be the name of an old inn during the eighteenth century, where travelers, tradesmen and revolutionaries might have stopped in for a steak and a stein.

The fact that celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal, Mario Batali, who is a part owner of the restaurant, and Gwyneth Paltrow are rumored to spend an evening here and there at a place by the name of The Spotted Pig confused me.

The Spotted Pig and its aura remained a mystery to me for over three years. I was too intimidated to even try going. I didn't want to be that girl sitting in a corner, not knowing the proper protocol on eating at such a place.

I remember reading that the owner, Ken Friedman said, "If I didn't own The Spotted Pig, I wouldn't come here, because I wouldn't know how to get in." This certainly didn't help my nervousness and hesitation in trying it.

What I envisioned Spotted Pig to be was surprisingly accurate. I pictured a dark place with little lighting, a dark wooden interior and bright beautiful people hunched over their plates of burgers and good steaks. I walked into The Spotted Pig and thought, "Aha!" I am a sucker for dark cavernous restaurants with exposed brick. The Spotted Pig has windows that wrap around its corner location, so it's anything but dark. The brick archways add even more to its charm. Everything except the food is done on a small scale. The tables are tiny. The room is tiny. The bar is tiny. The shoestring French fries are tiny, but no tastes are tiny.

Though the restaurant's appearance matched what I envisioned, my preconceived notions of what the clientele and staff would be like couldn't have been more off. I assumed the staff would be a much stiffer, ruder and impenetrable crowd. Instead they were warm, welcoming, friendly and easygoing.

When we first decided to go, I figured I better dress up to the tens or we'd be dining on the curb that night. I have since been to The Spotted Pig twice. Once with FunStar and once with Fashionista. I had to return because the first time I made the mistake of eating too much of a free lunch at work, and had no interest in trying the burgers for fear of turning into a spotted pig. When I saw the servers parading around all night, flaunting the enormous heaps of fries and burgers in front of me I knew I had to come back.

I sat at the bar waiting for FunStar and saw a martini come out with dark olive juice. I died. What a brilliant idea. I asked the bartender for one immediately. And here's how it looked. It was the perfect blend of dirty, and what I liked is I could actually see the olive juice in it, and I felt better about myself for not drinking straight up vodka. It was delicious -- so delicious I helped myself to another before tactfully switching to beer.

The wait wasn't very long for a table, which was a pleasant surprise. And I learned very quickly that the staff at The Spotted Pig is catering and attentive. They kept coming up to us, reminding us we were on their radar and we would be seated as soon as possible. Was I in the right place?

We sat down at one of the small circular tables off the front windows. It was a tight squeeze for three of us but we made do, and the staff is constantly checking for empties to make more room. I sat in the same table my second time as well.

For our appetizers we ordered the devils on horseback -- they came highly recommended by our server. I'm not sure if the devils are the prunes or the bacon, but these juicy bacon-wrapped prunes are my new favorite snack. A lot of sweet goes a long way with the salty bacon.


Next we tried the sheep’s ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage. I wish I could click my heels and be at the table biting into these buttery globes. Gnudi means "nude" and it tastes like ravioli without the pasta skin. I'd never tasted anything so heavenly in my life. I don't have any other gnudi experience to compare Spotted Pig's to, but the bar is now set very high.

We also tried an antipasti plate. It looks like a prosciutto pizza without the crust. I would have preferred if some bread was served with it. It was awkward grabbing big slices of prosciutto off the plate. The prosciutto was moist and chewy -- just the way I like it. I could have lived without the peppers -- they didn't really add anything to the dish.

For our entree we shared the slow-roasted salmon with soy beans. This was our least favorite dish of all, partly because I'm not a salmon lover, and partly because the flavors just didn't match up to me. Something was off. The thick sauce reminded me of a Hollandaise sauce -- not something I want to be eating with a light, healthy fish like salmon.

For dessert we tried the lemon and lime tart. It was a cross between a sweet lemon bar from the local bakery and a key lime pie. The crust was on the bland side. It was nothing to write mom about -- I wished we had saved room for another side.

The second time I went to The Spotted Pig I made sure of not eating a big lunch so I'd be ravenous for the burger. And I was.

If you go to The Spotted Pig, do not be shy about ordering the burger. I'm sure everyone thinks the same thing, "Oh I want to be different, I'll order something else besides the burger." Do not fall into this trap. It is a mistake. They're ordering the burger for a reason. The chargrilled burger with Roquefort cheese and shoestrings is one of the best thing I've bitten into. Even the bun was toasted and buttery. It reminded me of the old Fuddruckers buns I used to love and crave as a kid in Conn. I've never been a fan of fries with a twist. Give me big Belgian fries, please. But I could get used to these shoestring fries, especially with the Rosemary. I felt rude grabbing a chunk with my fingers and shoving it in my mouth. But when I glanced over to the table of elderly metro-sexuals doing the same thing, I didn't feel too bad.

The staff was just as charming my second time as the first, so it wasn't just a fluke. And if you go late make sure to end your dinner with a drink upstairs in the bar. I am often asked what my top five restaurants are in the city, and I am never 100% confident in my answers. But now I can assertively say that The Spotted Pig is up there. I'll take its burger over Corner Bistro's any day.

314 W. 11th St. at Greenwich St.
212-620-0393