Ahh - The Spotted Pig. It was THE hot spot almost 10 years ago with celebs abound and rumors of a secret room. So when I was craving a burger last week, I figured that all the hype had died down and that it was safe to go back. Apparently I was wrong. Even after all this time, it was still as crazy as ever - with a wait time of 2 hours quoted to us at 7pm on a Friday. Apparently it was so crowded that there was no where at the bar upstairs or downstairs to wait it out, so Holly and I high tailed it to the closest bar and drank our away our wait time. Around 8:45pm, we made our way back to the restaurant just to check in and they told us it would be another 20 minutes.
Finally after 4 glasses of wine and several cocktails between us, we sat down at a tiny table that was probably the size of a stamp. Luckily we are good friends because we were practically sitting on top of each other - it would make for an awkward situation if you don't really want to get cozy with your dinner date.
I was here with one food in mind - the famous burger ($21). Since it was past 9pm, we were starving so we started with Devils on Horseback ($9) and the Burrata appetizer ($18) and Holly got the grilled skirt steak (#35). As you can see, it's not a cheap endeavor, but I guess that's the price you pay for being in the cool club. Devils on Horseback are essentially bacon wrapped dates - they were a good snack to pop in the mouth although I kind of wished that I gotten the deviled eggs just because I thought the dates were lacking in some salt although the bacon did help with. Next came the burrata with grilled vegetables and it was delicious! It was a really unique twist on burrata which is usually served with tomato and basil. But this came as giant pieces on warm crostini and topped with delicious warm hen of the wood mushrooms and beans. It was fantastic.
Then came the burger. It's famous for having it topped with a block of roquefort cheese (it's very similar to a blue cheese) and nothing else - no lettuce, tomato or onions. And honestly, it works without all those other toppings because that cheese is super super strong. I asked for my burger to be medium rare and it was perfectly pink in the middle and incredibly juicy and the bun was perfectly soft and was never soggy from the meat juices. It was the ideal drunk burger. But my big complaint with the dish was with the fries. I really hate shoestring fries. To me, they are a poor excuse for fries because they don't taste like anything. I prefer a nice thick cut steak fry where you can really taste the crispy crunch but yet can still taste the potato. It was a total let down to what's an otherwise excellent dish.
All in all, yes the burger is still fantastic (especially if you've had a few drinks in you) and the place is still as popular as ever. But as I've gotten older, I've really grown tired of waiting 2-2.5 hours for a table - even when the food is tasty and worth the wait. The wait + the shoestring fries are the reason why I didn't give it 4 forks, but if you haven't had the burger there before, do yourself a favor and just go really really early one day and enjoy it. Total bill: $150 for 2 with tax, tip and a few cocktails
Photo Credit: Yelp
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