Best Public Pig Roast in New York Coming This Thursday

I'm sure that somewhere in the five boroughs of New York City, somebody roasts a pig better than Il Buco chef Ignacio Mattos's succulent swine, but I don't know how you'd find out about it.

So sometime tomorrow between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., I am going to head down to Il Buco's fourth-annual "Sagra del Maiale," an outdoor pig festival on Bond Street (b/n Lafayette and Bowery) commemorating the Autumn Equinox. Mattos will roast a 160-pound Ossabaw pig "infernillo" (little hell) style, which means the pig is roasted between two large iron griddles sandwiched between a wood fire above and below. I went last year (see photos above), and Mr. Mattos and company sure know their way around a pig.

Here's what the Il Buco folks are going to serve:

• Whole slow-roasted pig
• Flying Pigs Farm porchetta panini on ciabatta with mostarda
• House-made Stone Church Farms pig, apple, and peperoncino Sausage
• Farmers' market panzanella
• Julie's wild arugula with lemon, red onion and pecorino
• Apple ricotta fritters with saba
• House-made lemonade and iced tea

The cost: $20 a plate, including the lemonade and iced tea. Last year, the event's organizational structure left a little bit to be desired, resulting in long, slow lines, so I'm hopeful the Il Buco folks have learned from their mistakes.

This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.