The Spotted Pig

After hearing all the hype about The Spotted Pig I felt the need to check it out. It was also a good change from the pretentious restaurants I've been going to latley (i.e. Sette Mezzo, Philippe, Nello's etc.). The Spotted Pig is a very trendy low-key pub that's a mix of a hipster hang-out and a place to people watch. The place is always crowded and since they don't take reservations, getting a table can be a bit difficult. With investors such as Jay-Z & Mario Batali its no wonder the place is so popular. Since Jay-Z bought the building where The Spotted Pig is, they've added an upstairs bar and dining room so this has somewhat helped the large crowds overflowing onto the sidewalks. April Bloomfield is the head chef and the menu consists of Italian & English fused dishes. For lunch the menu isn't really anything to rave about. The Spotted Pig serves their 2 staple dishes (Sheep?s Ricotta Gnudi and the Burger with Roquefort Cheese) and basically that's all everyone in the restaurant orders. I saw perhaps one person order the Cubano Sandwich and everyone else either had the Gnudi or the Burger. The whole restaurant is very "hipster" from the waiters in Ray-Bands and plaid shirts to the water served in wine bottles and the brown paper over the table cloths. The food however is very gourmet. As an appetizer I had the special of the day which were Duck Eggs with a salad in a vinaigrette and bacon. The dish was good, nothing mind blowing, the saltiness of the bacon went well with the duck eggs and the contrast between the dressing and the saltiness of the bacon was a nice touch. The Burger is served with Roquefort Cheese and Shoestring Fries. The cheese's sharp flavor actually went well with the large burger and so did the mountain of Shoestring fries. The gnudi, essentially a ricotta dumpling, was very rich and you could tell the ingredients, such as the sheep ricotta, were fresh. The Flourless Chocolate Cake was a slab of rich chocolate fudge that was a bit too heavy to have all by myself, but if you share it the dish is just fine. While I did enjoy my lunch at The Spotted Pig I do feel the place is a bit overrated. The menu has 2 hits and the rest sort of goes under the radar with most diners. If I were in the area I'd return, but if I was told the wait was longer than 45 minutes I don't think the wait would be worth it.