Had dinner at The Purple Pig last night, and overall am looking forward to going back to try some of the items we missed.
We started with the Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Pecorino Noce & Parmigiano reggiano antipasto. The ratio of ingredients leaned very, very heavily toward the cheeses, which I was fine with. My wife was a bit bummed, however, as she was hoping that the brussels sprouts would've been the star of the show.
Next came the Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs, which we both really enjoyed. It sounds like the bones we received were better-roasted than the ones kanin had - they both had nice brown crusts covering luscious, hot, easily-spread marrow. The herbs (flat parsley, cilantro & thinly-sliced onion) and sea salt were nice, mellow accompaniments. I thought the flavor of the toast pieces, with the nice char, was fantastic...however, I do agree that some of them were way too "holey" to be properly "smeared".
The next dish to arrive was the Octopus with acini di pepe & Swiss Chard. The pasta and chard were well-cooked but not all that memorable. The octopus, however, was extremely salty and somewhat overcooked. One large tentacle wasn't bad, but two smaller tentacles and the one piece of the body were dry, a bit tough, and tongue-burningly salty.
After this we had the Calabro Ricotta with Pork Neck Bone Gravy, which was fantastic. We both thought it could've benefited from a little more salt, but this was a minor quibble. The pork was tender, porky, fatty, and rich. The ricotta was bland, sure, but when "smeared" (the word still makes my inner 11-year-old giggle) together with the gravy on the toast, it added a nice, creamy texture.
Finally, for dessert: Butterscotch Budino (a.k.a. butterscotch pudding), topped with either crème fraiche or whipped cream, not sure which. Either way, it took a lot of willpower to not lick the bowl - I have a weakness for butterscotch pudding, and this stuff was damn good. The soft serve ice creams, on the other hand, weren't anything to write home about. The gianduja (fancy Italian word for "Nutella", apparently) was tasty enough, but the olive oil was a bit disappointing; we were expecting a noticeably fruity olive oil flavor, but instead got so-so vanilla soft serve topped with a few drops of olive oil and a few grains of sea salt. We went with brioche rather than cup, so our ice creams came in a split-top brioche bun, which was unmemorable on its own.
The draft beer I had with my meal,
Baladin Nora, is now in the #1 spot on my must-buy list. It sounds odd, but its nose and taste were strongly reminiscent of temple incense. This was a unique, smooth, really fantastic beer. A bit pricey ($12 for a goblet-full), but I won't hesitate to order it again.
The staff members were friendly, helpful, and seemed genuinely interested in getting feedback on dishes. On top of that, I liked the atmosphere a lot - I thought the room had a fun, energetic vibe to it, but felt warm & cozy. I liked the staff, atmosphere, and adventurous (for its location) menu (and the fact that it's really conveniently located for me) enough that the complaints we had about the dishes are easy to write off as symptoms of working out the kinks. I'll happily head back there at the next opportunity.
Incidentally, one of the gentlemen behind the bar (I got the impression that he's a manager or owner or something, he referred to himself as "the guy with the funny accent") said lunch service will begin this Monday (January 18).