Pig Out, Boulud-Style
Chef Olivier Quignon and beer sommelier Jon Langley of Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen and Bar have created a mind-blowing, large-format, swine-centric celebration: the Summer Suckling Pig Feast, a whole slow-roasted suckling pig dinner, served to you and up to seven of your friends at the Bowery gastropub. The private meal costs $495 and includes a spread of seasonal side dishes as well as a crisp-skinned pig, from Pennsylvania’s Green Village Farms, stuffed with Niçoise olives, tomato, fennel confit, pork loin, garlic, and fresh herbs.
The dizzying array of sides—preceded by a house-made fromage de tête—is almost as irresistible as the main course. “Because the pig is prepared in the style of the French Riviera, my side dishes are inspired by the South of France and what’s in season,” says Chef Quignon. Think roasted fingerling potatoes with ramps persillade, a pile of craquelins (crispy fried pig skin), gorgeous grilled asparagus, sautéed English and sugar snap peas, and a Provençal vegetable gratin layered with zucchini, tomato, garlic confit, and thyme. This is a summertime spread that would make both a Viking and Alice Waters weep, let alone a beer- and pork-loving Manhattanite.
For an additional $200, bona fide beer aficionado Langley will curate a selection of endlessly flowing craft brews to accompany your meal. On a recent night, he went with a simple, cleansing Reissdorf Kölsch, a pale ale from a local Bronx Brewery, and a Left Hand Milk Stout to accompany the porcine feast.
Do save room for dessert—specifically, a sizable and ornate baked Alaska, whipped up by pastry chef Myriam Eberhardt and filled with layers of blackberry sorbet and pistachio and vanilla ice cream.
Be sure to reserve your suckling pig feast soon (the kitchen needs 72 hours advance notice), before DBGB is all booked up. Or buy a ticket for the July 18 Swine and Wine event at the restaurant, at which Quignon will roast five pigs to be shared among 55 guests, and sommelier Kerrie O’Brien will pour wines from the Finger Lakes and Long Island.
DBGB: 299 Bowery, 212.933.5300
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