Pigg Heaven

Last Saturday night a couple of girlfriends and I went to the movies and then out to eat after.  I had been wanting to go to Umamicatessan since it opened, and not just because I am a fan of Umami Burger, so off we went!  I wasn't sure what to expect since I knew there were multiple restaurants there, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the menus were combined into one.  I immediately focused on the P!GG part of the menu and we all agreed that we would order both appetizers, the Crispy Pig's Ears and the P!GG Style Fries.  Admittedly, what intrigued us the most was the brainaise.  So I asked our server what it was, and he said, simply that.  Pig brains whipped into mayonnaise to make a tasty dip.  I was skeevish at first.  Sure I'd eaten pig ears and pig cheeks and I strongly believe that bacon is a gift from the gods (though, not sure who those gods are), but I've never had pig brains before.  Heck, I'd never eaten any brains before!  Its not like I'm a zombie!  But my friends talked me into it, and it wasn't all that bad as long as I didn't think about what I was eating. Brainnnnsssss.......

Crispy Pig's Ears (parsley, lime, brainaise)

P!GG Style Fries (pickled peppers, ham puree, brainaise)

And even though my friends chose the Kosher section of the menu for their entrees (because Kosher food always follows a nice helping of pig!), I remained loyal to the pig.  What appealed to me most was the P!GG Breakfast Sandwich as it sounded yummy and I didn't care what time of day it was.  It was amazing!  Admittedly I am not the biggest fan of maple, but there was so much pig there that I barely noticed!  I was anxious to find out what pig ear bacon was and was disappointed to see that it was just more crispy pig ears.  And don't be nervous about the hot sauce because it was barely negligible.  I would recommend this sandwich to any pig lover for any meal of the day, including second breakfast and fourth meal.

P!GG Breakfast Sandwich (maple poached egg, sausage, pig ear bacon, cheddar cheese, hot sauce, house-made English muffin)

And if you can, save room for dessert.  It was so freaking amazing that we forgot to take pictures.  According to our server we ordered the two best desserts they have, and you must order them as well.  Our doughnut selection was the Tres Leches (tres leches, cajeta, ceylon cinnamon) which is a cake donut.  The menu says to allow 5 minutes to soak, so we asked if we had to wait once it was delivered.  Thankfully the answer was no because, as I said, we couldn't wait long enough to even take a picture!  And for our ice cream we selected Honeycomb.  Again, freaking amazing.  Our server had unfortunately delivered the items at separate times, but we all agreed they would compliment each other really well.

Next time we're going to plan ahead and order the P!GG Penn Dinner and further enjoy their piggie offerings.

A word to the wise: if you've had the stomach flu recently, stay away from the pig fiesta and get the matzo ball soup.