Hearth

Occasion: Pig Roast '09 with Mamie
Location: Hearth on E 12th at 1st Ave (restauranthearth.com)
Edibles: first course - frisée salad with gorgonzola, fried shallots and warm bacon vinaigrette; pork terrine with pistachios, served with pickled vegetables; second course - slow-roasted organic baby pig(!!); Swiss chard with breadcrumb topping; cannellini beans with tomato and sage; dessert - blueberry pie with vanilla ice-cream

Musings: Pork extravaganza!! As soon I heard that Hearth was doing this event, I knew I had to go, come hell or high water.

The salad was very strongly-flavored and astringent. It was a good accompaniment to the pork terrine, which was slightly bland. The main course was everything I had hoped for: great sides and a VERY healthy pile of juicy, tender, de-boned pork. Only one piece had skin on it, which was totally unacceptable, so I bummed some extra crackling from the chef. I was very happy indeed...

Everyone there seemed to be having a grand ol' time. The table two down from us, occupied by three cute, foreign-accented guys, asked their waitress for the pig's head. When it arrived, all three busted out their BBs to take pictures, then dove right in with knife and fork. My kind of guys!