I had the perfect warm weather lunch at the Spotted Pig today.
A friend and I split the Cuban Sandwich and the Pork Tonnato. For dessert a bowl of Frog Hollow Farm Cherries in ice water.
The Spotted Pig Cubano is the best in the city and maybe the world. The Balthazar roll is crunchy and yeasty; chef-partner April Bloomfield uses heritage pork shoulder to sublime effect by brining it for three days, slow-roasting it, and then cooking it in duck and pork fat; the pickled jalapeno peppers add just the right amount of heat; Prosciutto de Parma or speck (smoked prosciutto) is a better quality ham than you will find in any other Cubano around the city; and the aged gruyere lends the whole thing a deeply funky flavor. How a British chef who worked at the very Italian River Cafe in London manages to produce the best Cuban sandwich I'll never know. Heritage Berkshire pork is used in the pork tonnato, which is creamy and salty and so damn porky. Both dishes came with a spritely arugula salad, properly dressed. The Frog Hollow cherries were perfect, each one cold and ripe and plenty sweet with just the right touch of acidity.
You have to go to the Spotted Pig for lunch during the week to get the Cubano, because that's the only time it's on the menu. But the SP is infinitely quieter and more comfortable at lunch, anyway. In fact, it's downright laid-back
Spotted Pig
314 West 11th Street (corner of Greenwich St.)
New York, NY 10014
Ph: 212-620-0393
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