Ratamacue Stew

Carrying on a bit of a swine theme, I had dinner earlier this week with my friend Dan at The Ravenous Pig in Winter Park, FL.  The Ravenous Pig is an American gastropub experience, set against the backdrop of the cozy and comfortable neighborhood ambiance of downtown Winter Park.  Their extensive menus range from traditional pub fare to raw bar offerings, creative salads, house-made pastas and the freshest seafood and bistro classics available anywhere.

I must say I really like the gastro pub scene.  Whether it's The Green Well here in Grand Rapids, The Purple Pig in Chicago, or The Ravenous Pig in Winter Park, the food is fantastic, the ambiance is casual and relaxed yet trendy and energizing.  Another great new venue Cindee and I have recently started frequenting that should also be mentioned among these other fine establishments is Brewery Vivant.  It's a new brewery/pub here in Grand Rapids devoted to using local sources for ingredients and running their business according to the three pillars of sustainability; Environmental Integrity, Social Equity, and Economic Viability.  But, I digress.  I'm sure I'll come back to blog about Brewery Vivant in the future.

Back to dinner at "The Rav".  Reservations are recommended as when I tried to make same day reservations, the earliest we could get a table was 8:45 (on a Wednesday night).  We took our chances and went there hoping to be able to find a seat in the bar where we could eat from the full dinner menu.  Luck was on our side and we were able to slip in to the last two seats in the bar without having to wait.

We started with drinks.  I had The Ravenous Pig Old Fashioned which used bacon infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, vanilla maple syrup, and bitters.  A very similar drink to one I make myself with my own homemade bacon infused bourbon.  Dan had a Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti beer.  It's from Denver, CO and is a Russian Imperial Stout infused with espresso and aged in oak barrels.  A phenomenal beer to be sure.  Later on I had a second drink, a Rye Mule, which is Michter's Rye, Captain Eli's Ginger beer, and muddled lime.  Another familiar drink given I got my start with whisky drinking that traditional Canadian mixed drink, Rye & Ginger Ale before I eventually moved on to single malt's.

Below are pictures of what we had for appetizer's, dinner, and dessert.  A note to Kathleen that Dan not only ate goat cheese at this meal but also one other night this week . . . . . and liked it!  I wasn't supposed to tell you that. ;-)

Shrimp and Grits local royal red shrimp, c & d mill grits, green tomato chutney, chorizo oil

House-made Charcuterie and Artisan Cheese sopressata, pepperoni, brown sugar fennel, grilled speck-wrapped dates, chicken liver mousse, smoked rabbit sausage, benon chalais soft cow's milk cheese, beecher 'the truckle' reserve cheddar, lardo, house pickles, grain mustard

Veal Chop wild mushroom bread pudding, roasted garlic puree, porcini oil

Suckling Pig and Bay Scallops lantern bay scallops and braised suckling pig, king farms romanesco, apple salad

"Pig Tails" warm cinnamon-sugar tossed fritters, chocolate expresso sauce