The Ravenous Pig: An American Gastropub

The Ravenous Pig: An American Gastropub

The Ravenous Pig: An American Gastropub…sounds like the title to a juicy compilation of culinary stories. Well, it’s not far off. My personal favorite and named one of the top all around restaurants of 2008 by the Orlando Sentinel, The Ravenous Pig (or TRP to those in the know) is one of the greatest examples of the Central Florida culinary excellence that is often overlooked (by outsiders).

I can’t even remember how I heard about it. I think I was searching another website of a local dairy farmer and TRP was mentioned on there. Curious, I pulled up TRP’s website and was instantly entranced by the concept. Pubs are not known for their great eats since most people visit such establishments for other reasons, namely drinking. So who cares what the food is like? Throw “gastro” in front of “pub” and now you have a whole new concept; one where food not only is more than a side order to your beer but is the driving force behind the existence of the pub. Such is TRP. I’m sure their bar is great and their drinks as well but if you ask anybody why they make the trek to TRP, the response is not going to be: “They serve a cool Bud Light.”

My parents scoped out the place first and were impressed by the all around excellence this gastropub displayed. Then it was my turn. The inside is elegant but not dainty; sturdy in the pub sense but confident in its food quality. TRP is definitely more restaurant than pub as the bar is small and tucked away to one side of the dining room. And it is not big, mind you which is another endearing quality.

Knowing ahead of time what to order, I got the Pub Burger with fries on my first visit. I asked for medium well and the burger came mooing, so we sent it back. The second try was definitely better but the food had gotten somewhat cold in the process. I wasn’t about to let this minor set back stop me. The waitress asked if I wanted ketchup and mustard; and I the champion of slathering burgers in sauce said yes. They shoulda’ kept the sauce. Actually, I’m not even sure why you would even offer. There should be a rule that you can’t eat a TRP Pub Burger with ketchup or mustard. Yes, it’s that good.

First, blue cheese is melted on top. Next is a layer of caramelized onion goodness. Then there are some sort of red-pepper in olive oil thing (I haven’t figured out what that is yet; guess I should just ask). Finally, house-made pickles and lettuce (I think there is lettuce). It is the best burger I have ever had. I had the thought the second time I went, “I never had a burger that melted in my mouth.” How can a burger be melt in your mouth yet be absolutely meaty at the same time?

Granted, the burger patty itself is excellent but the combination of top-notch blue cheese and house made pickles is a stroke of genius. I think I could eat that every week and never get tired of it.

The concept of the menu is that the chef(s) use in-season products, so the entrees are always changing. The Pub Burger is the constant. They also make a banger toffee crunch ice cream. That’s right, the pub makes their own ice cream as well as sorbet. Another twist is once a month they do a pig roast. It doesn’t necessarily involve a whole pig, though they did do that. The first Saturday of every month, TRP creates an entire meal with meat, sides, dessert, and beer for one price. The menu for that day then is limited. For instance, on the first Saturday of December, they did their own house smoked ribs, with pulled pork, collard greens, black eyed peas, seasonal dessert, you get the idea. They also occasionally open the restaurant up on Sunday for Brunch with a limited, specific brunch menu.

Owned and operated by chefs, fresh, in-season ingredients, a sturdy elegance about it, TRP is my restaurant of choice.

Must Have: Pub Burger (don’t leave without trying it)

Next Bite: Cuban Sandwich (if it is on the menu, hint, hint, TRP) or a Pig Roast

What Just Comes to Mind...When I try to Define a "Good" Restaurant

What makes a restaurant outstanding, one-of-a-kind? The sort of place that you would go back to over and over and over and over and would even consider moving into the cooler just so you could get your meals there everyday.

We got our Entertainment Book in the mail yesterday and I, of course, checked out the coupons/discounts for restaurants. As I flipped through, the repetitive phrases began to get a bit wearisome. "Best in Orlando", "From Scratch", "Favorite of the Locals", "Award Winning", "Most Unique", "Cooked to Order", "The Best Restaurant in the World" (ok, that one wasn't in there, but you get the idea). Now, I'm not saying that any of these phrases are wrong or untrue. But they are overused to the point where I am highly suspicious if a restaurant claims to be "the best", "most unique", etc.

So I figured I'd try and define what a really good restaurant is, or even, a good restaurant. First off, anything that claims to be the best is just plain, fooling you, unless they have some credentials to back it up. Here in Orlando, Foodie Awards are a pretty good measure of quality. Even a positive review in the paper helps. But the greatest proof of a "best" sort of restaurant (besides driving by and seeing a line out the door) is a referral from a friend. If I have a friend that tells me they have just seen the most glorious plate of food come out of "fill-in-the-blank" restaurant, I'd be more tempted to try it, especially if I trust my friend's taste in food.

But what about the enticing hook, "Favorite of the locals"? If you are brave enough, grab someone walking down the street, ask if they live in Orlando and have ever heard of the restaurant and whether it is their favorite. For the not so brave of us, for hunger's sake Google the restaurant before you decide to make you meal there! One of the restaurants that uses this phrase in the Entertainment book and shall remain anonymous, I visited for lunch a few years ago. Now it could have changed since then but what I was served was meat, with red sauce, on a toasted hoagie that I could have made myself. Flat out disappointing; favorite of this local? I don't think so!

"Award Winning" has as much authenticity as the "best" claim. Unless they have some food award that is recognizable and not some "Award for excellence in really fancy napkins", don't buy it.

"Most unique"? Really, who are we kidding? There is nothing new under the sun and though there are fun dining experiences and some really interesting means of food preparation, claiming "most unique" is a bit presumptuous. This is the land of Mickey and Minnie remember. If a restaurant has one of our gators as a head chef, however, I may rethink the "most unique" title.

Quite misleading as well is the "Made to order" phrase. Just about anything is made to order these days. Heck, Subway is made to order: they toast their bun, slab on your meat, cheese and veggies all while you stand there and look on. Any take-out pizza joint could be considered "made to order".

As I'm sure you noticed, I skipped the "from scratch" motif. This is one where, if it is part of the restaurant's description, I will sit up and listen. Not that it is entirely safe (Logan's Roadhouse has made form scratch yeast rolls and they are, well, Pillsbury is more impressive). But it takes a lot of guts to claim that you make food from scratch; if the restaurant claims to make most or even all of their food from scratch then it would be work checking out.

So we keep "from scratch". Fresh ingredients, perhaps. If there is an actual, real live chef in the kitchen firing the orders, that is always a plus (and a must in most cases). Never frozen, music to my ears. Local ingredients, now we are talking! Recipes that are created by the owner or chef, yessss; if it is the owner's grandmother, double points. Really made to order, like raw meat in the cooler, bread baked that morning kind of made to order; or better yet, sauces, breads, toppings prepared daily. Not mass produced, definitely. No microwaves, anybody can microwave. And of course, a friendly, welcoming environment is necessary. An ambiance where pride is taken in the great food but even more pride is taken in serving the customers. We all want the Olive Garden tag line "When you're here, you're family" to be true.

So I guess then my definition of a great restaurant is: "From scratch meals with food prepared daily with local ingredients using recipes from the owner's grandmother masterfully created by our esteemed head chef. We'll take care of you, just stop by."