Melissa and I had dinner at a trendy little joint called The Salted Pig a few months ago. It was really really great. We spent some time on Yelp! looking through the menu and really had trouble choosing what we would eat because everything sounded so good...
The restaurant is very open with an open bar, but not an open kitchen, unfortunately. That's one thing I really like about contemporary restaurants these days is being able to see the chefs at work. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have that.
Appetizer: Bacon-wrapped deep fried dates with maple aioli. This was really great, but the creamy, sweet aioli sort of added more richness to the already fatty, fried date. I would have preferred something spicy, sour, or tangy to dip these in. Kind of a rookie mistake if you ask me. Cut through that richness!
Melissa peruses the menu.
Entree: Melissa ordered the maple grilled chicken with parsnip purée and roasted root vegetables. I thought it was absolutely delicious. Melissa thought it was just okay.
Entree: I had The Pig Burger. This was a masterpiece. Served on a soft, delicious bun, the patty was 50% ground beef/50% ground bacon. It was seared perfectly and had this amazingly crunchy crust on it. I was blown away. It was also topped with a fried egg and a spicy ketchup. Loved it. The fries were handcut and delicious as well.
We also ordered some mac and cheese to share (man, what a fatty meal) which was really good. We didn't finish it.
Dessert: Finally, we ordered the doughnuts and candied bacon ice cream. Life changed. The ice cream was made in-house with candied bacon lardon. It was creamy and some of the best ice cream i've ever had. The doughnuts were also made in-house and came in a variation of chocolate, peanut butter, and sort of a crusted maple. Needless to say, by this point we were stuffed, but not too stuffed to finish it all.
I was very pleased with the meal, as you can see.
The check came in a cute mason jar. It was just a great experience for dinner. Expensive, but really really great. If you're in Riverside anytime soon, check it out. And bring me along!
