The Spotted Pig

Part of the reason we were late for Ricky was that we had dinner at The Spotted Pig first. I've been wanting to go since April Bloomfield was voted one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. We figured going at 6pm on a Saturday we would be able to walk right in (they don't takes reservations), but we definitely underestimated the popularity of this place and had to wait 1/2 hr for a table. For starters, we each had the signature dish of sheep’s ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage ($13), matched with a glass of the decent Tempranillo Bodegas Breton "“Loriñon” Riserva ($10). Basically, a take-off on gnocchi, this dish was great - the cheese was SUPER sharp and the sauce was not too heavy.

We followed that up by splitting the chargrilled burger with roquefort cheese & shoestrings ($15), paired with a bottle of Red Stripe ($6). Typically, I love a good blue cheese burger but after all of the sharp cheese in the gnudi it was a bit too much even for me. I've heard in the past the burger there is INSANE, but I have to disagree - it was definitley decent but I still prefer the burger at St. Andrews and it wasn't even in the running for one of the best I'd ever had. The shoestrings were really good though, basically homemade potato sticks.

Eating at the Spotted Pig can be extremely uncomfortable. The tables are crowded and VERY small and much of the seating are low stools. I'd recommend hitting this place on EXTREME off-hours to really be able to enjoy it.

On a Gawker Stalker note, Ty Pennington was drinking pints at the bar right near us and after a few he dropped one, it shattered on the floor, beer sprayed on everyone nearby, and I even had a big chunk of glass hit my shoe. Nice one buddy, especially right after getting a D.U.I!!!!!!!!!!!