Recently we had the pleasure of trying The People's Pig, a BBQ joint on N. Williams in Portland. The People's Pig began its life as a food truck, but recently moved into their new brick and mortar digs a few blocks down from the heart of the N. Williams food scene. Once Fooditka got wind of this development she just had to try it, and I just had to tag along. I'll keep this review short and to the point. Here goes: The People's Pig is really good, and you should go there.
Fine, I'll elaborate.
Atmosphere:
The restaurant is on N. Williams a few blocks south of Fremont. It is a simple no frills kind of place, but that does not detract from the experience. As soon as you walk in, you're greeted with the telltale aroma of delicious BBQ that makes your mouth water. The space is not very large, big enough to sit and enjoy your food without feeling crammed in. There are several tables, a few booths, and a counter to sit at, and the menu items and specials are clearly displayed above the cash register. They have a full bar as well, with a variety of cocktails if you're so inclined.
Food:
There are a few main menu items to choose from, including pork shoulder, ribs, smoked fried chicken, and BBQ pork. You can get these items as sandwiches, or as plates with one or two sides. There are a variety of sides including black eyed peas, collard greens, coleslaw, potato salad, and hot links. You can also get any of the plates as a salad for the same price. The large plate with 2 sides goes for about $12, so we each got our own. However, the portions are very generous and we ended up taking a bunch home and eating it a few days later.
Pork Shoulder - Fooditka ordered the pork shoulder with potato salad and coleslaw as her sides. The platter also comes with a good sized hunk of hot, toasty bread and some BBQ sauce for dipping the meat. It was all delicious, especially the pork; tender in the middle, chewy towards the edges, smoky and beautiful with just the right amount of salty, tangy flavor. The sides were top notch as well, especially the potato salad.
Smoked Fried Chicken - Smoked chicken; great. Fried chicken; also great. Smoked fried chicken; redonkulous. The texture of the meat was just incredible, with the crispy battered outside giving way to the slight resistance of the smoked chicken skin. The inside of the meat was moist and delectable, as all of that flavor is locked in there beneath the two outer layers. For my sides I picked the black eyed peas and the hot links. I guess that's kind of cheating as I got two delicious meats on my platter instead of one, but good for me. The sausages were as well executed as the rest of the meats, with a perfect outer texture to complement the tasty inside. They were a bit spicy, as their name suggests, but not too bad. The black eyed peas were great as well, and in case I felt I wasn't too stuffed to walk out of there upright, the beautifully toasted hunk of bread cured me of that notion.
Service and Cost:
It's an order at the counter kind of place, so there isn't traditional waiter or waitress service, but the people working there were super friendly and our food came right out. As I mentioned before, the portions are very substantial; most likely, the two large plates with two sides each would have been enough for 4 people to share comfortably. Even still, we probably got out of there for about $15 per person including a beer and the tip, and we had plenty of leftovers for dinner later in the week.
3 Mmmms
The People's Pig - 3217 N. Williams Ave Portland, OR 97227
503.347.2357
facebook.com/PeoplesPig
This week's happy hour stop was at Lincoln, a restaurant on North Williams Ave. in North Portland. We went with some friends on Friday evening, so everyone was truly in the happy hour frame of mind. Right off the bat, I'd have to say that Lincoln's menu items are a little more ambitious than some of the pizza and taco-centric happy hours we've been to in recent weeks. Not to say that's good or bad, but you're going to be eating something closer to rabbit-liver fois gras or pancetta and romesco with fontina cheese than meatball sliders or brick oven pizza.
Atmosphere:
Located on the up and coming strip of restaurants, shops, and bars north of Fremont on N. Williams, Lincoln exudes a classy atmosphere when you first walk in. It is warmly and dimly lit, with a modern simplicity to the interior fixtures. The bar made a nice impression visually, and all of the staff looked very dapper in their black on black attire. It wasn't very busy when we arrived, but it wasn't empty either. Fashionably late, of course, the rest of our group was already seated when we got there. We sat right down and got to work breaking down the happy hour menu. Happy hour is from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Food:
There are a variety of choices on the menu ranging in price from $3 - $10 and ranging in complexity from toasted bread to the aforementioned rabbit liver mousse. My curiosity overcame my squeamishness, and I ordered the fried pig ear. Fooditka had to have the rabbit liver mousse bruschetta, and we split an order of the poutine. For a cocktail, I ordered the Pimm's cup, which was the bartender's choice for happy hour.
Fried Pig Ear - I like pig. I like fried. I like ears. Well, that last part I wasn't too sure about, but I figured, two out of the three, I may as well give it a shot. The dish certainly looked very appetizing; a perfectly fried, deep brown color with a wonderful outer texture and a creamy pink sauce for dipping. The first bite wasn't what I was expecting. The outside had that great crunch, but the ear itself had a pretty gummy, sticky texture that kind of surprised me. The flavors were nice though, and I couldn't quite decide if I was grossed out by it, so I took another bite. Still strange, but less so, and this time I put the creamy mayo on it. By the third bite, I was hooked. I now eat three pig ears a day as part of a weird and balanced diet; I'm eating one right now in fact.
Rabbit Liver Mousse Bruschetta - This was Fooditka's choice, and I only tasted a little bit of it. I've never been a fan of liver mousse, and in all honesty, I was still a little shell-shocked from my first two bites of pig ear to give it a real attempt. I will say the bit I had was very creamy and rich, with an interesting, if not exactly appetizing flavor, but that's just me. Fooditka enjoyed it quite a bit from what I could tell and I'd say that if you like that sort of thing, you will enjoy it also.
Poutine - Lincoln's poutine was a little on the fancy side as well with root vegetables, fontina, and a nice piece of pancetta complementing the french fries and gravy. Overall it was a very tasty dish, and a little less exotic than the other two dishes we chose. I enjoyed it, although I would say that the french fries themselves were a little limp for me; I prefer a nice crispy fry.
Pimm's Cup - I thought the drink was tasty overall, but to say it packed a wallop would be overstating things quite a bit. As our friend Rollston put it, it was pretty watered down and weak. If I had one complaint about Lincoln, it would be in the cocktail department. I will say I was torn between ordering the bartender's choice cocktail and a glass of the house red which was a Portuguese blend according to the waiter. Next time I'll just go with the vino.
Service and Cost:
One note about the service; they automatically added a 20% gratuity onto the bill, possibly because we were a party of six. Normally when gratuity is added onto my bill, it's around 18% and I say something like "Well, that's kind of presumptuous, but Ha! Their loss, because I would have tipped 20%..." On its face, I'd say adding a 20% gratuity is very presumptuous, except in this case, the waitstaff definitely earned it. So essentially, they tipped themselves exactly what I would have tipped them anyway but they took the decision out of the patron's hand, and simply delivered exceptional service. Our waiter was very nice and patient as we hemmed and hawed over all of our different choices, and his partner was lovely as well every time she brought out a dish. They were happy to answer any and all questions, but weren't overbearing or pushy.
As far as the cost, including drinks, and a 20% tip, our party got out of there for about $22.00 per person. It was definitely a pricier happy hour than some other places in town, but ultimately worth it for the atmosphere and interesting variety of food.
2.75 Mmmms (minus .25 for the sub par cocktail effort)
Lincoln Restaurant - 3808 N. Williams Ave, Portland OR, 97227
503.288.6200
lincolnpdx.com
