The Spotted Pig: A-

The Spotted Pig

I decided I wanted to try The Spotted Pig a long time ago but never seemed to get around to it. It wasn't the distance that kept me away (it's a mere 5 minute walk...as is everything in the west village), but the mixed reviews of the restaurant. It seemed that depending on the pull of the moon, you could either have a phenomenal, cozy meal or average food with a side of unpleasantness and over-crowding.

The Spotted Pig is a West Village landmark, I'm not really sure why, but it just is. Apparently it's even somewhat of a celebrity hotspot which has always confused me considering it's outter appearance. I wouldn't use the words shabby or dingy by any means but other than the cute spotted pig painting hanging from the side of the building, it's just a plain looking square box from the outside. Appearances can be deceiving though....

Once inside, I realized that the seemingly small building actually gives way to multiple rooms and floors inside. We were quickly led upstairs to a small, warmly lit room shared only by an odd pair of men eating together - I say "odd" because one was completely blinged out in rapper gear and was glued to his cell phone until he abruptly got up from the table never to return, and the other man never spoke a word and then left when his credit card was denied (I'm pretty sure he went to an ATM and came back to pay but i decided to tune out at that point). In any case, we were off to a good, if not interesting, start. The waitor (an ironically nerdy looking fellow who closely resembled Napoleon Dynamite's brother) started us off with a glass of wine (for me) and a beer (for Justin). I believe The Spotted Pig is known for having a nice selection of beer but because I hate beer I can't really speak to that...maybe Justin can update this entry with his perspective later. We wanted to take our time and have a liesurely meal so even though I had already mapped out exactly what we were getting (choosing the two best sounding dishes from all the reviews I came across), we listened to the specials and told the waitor we needed a few minutes to decide. In this time, I ventured to find the bathroom and took in the upstairs scene of the restaurant. I was starting to understand the mixed reviews and unique appeal of this restaurant. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about the restaurant itself and its patrons...sorry that's not very descriptive but go to The Spotted Pig and you'll see how difficult it is to put your finger on the pulse of the restaurant. The crowd was fashionable and many seemed to be distant ancestors of the modern day hipster. These people seemed to be...dare i say...real hipsters, and that in itself made them not hipsters. I felt as if I were actually in the midst of a genuine artist colony, something I thought only existed in "old new york," rather than the paper mache version found in williamsburg.

We finally decided it was time to order - due to our not-so-ravenous appetites and the not-so-wallet-friendly prices, we spit two items: The Pumpkin Salad and the Sheep's Ricotta Gnudi. They arrived at the same time and we dug in. The Pumpkin Salad combined chunks of warm pumpkin pieces, argula, pecorino and a contrasting pucker-your-lips tangy dressing. The dressing was a bit too tart for me, but I had to appreciate the lovely arrangment, fresh pumpkin and creativity of the salad.



The Ricotta Gnudi on the other hand was pitch perfect. I'd never tasted Gnudi before but had always wanted to and this was a very nice first gnudi experience - I just realized it sounds like I'm talking about adult films...well I'm not, I'm talking about the deliciousness that were these little dumplings filled with ricotta cheese. Gnudi is much lighter than Gnocchi due to the fact that it is filled with ricotta and not made with potato. It was like eating a delicious edible pillow filled with ricotta cheese.



Unfortunately, we did not get dessert here because I was hell-bent on trying Rocco's - A pastry shop famous for their canolis that I walk by almost everyday but for some reason, a reason that goes against my personal love for all things chocolately and sweet, had not yet ventured into. I was bound to change this....tonight!! Stayed tuned for my full-blown Rocco's dessert experience.....