pigs take over!

So yesterday we went to a pig roast and champagne dinner at Duck Inn...

here is the blurb they sent out for the fund raising event-

Enjoy an elegant pig roast for a good cause this Sunday.The Duck Inn (2701 S. Eleanor St.) and Krug Champagne are hosting the Krug Rustic Elegance Pig Roast to benefit Growing Power, a local urban farm.  Known for their urban farms, Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization and land trust that works to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in various communities. Growing Power provides hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance to people, all with the mission of making communities more sustainable.

Diners will have a glass of Krug Grande Cuvee and a glass of Krug Brut Rose while dining on a menu of:

• Heirloom tomato & barrel aged feta salad garden oregano & pickled onions 
• Roasted eggplant & watermelon salad red curry vinaigrette | black sesame 
• Tammsworth pure bred heritage suckling pig green garlic chimichurri | calabrian chili romesco Duckfat potato lyonnaisse salad bacon lardon | crumbled duck egg | frisee 
• Epi baguettes & brioche rolls 

we started with - hors d'oeuvres of Foie Gras Mousse Blackberry Jam on Housemade English Muffins, Little Truffle Grill Cheese  while we attempted to wait out the rain... alas to no avail... but the food was fab anyway- even if we didn't get to eat it outside in the stunning backyard -

the watermelon and eggplant-

heirloom tomato salad-

salad lyonnaise- YUM YUM YUM (OK I liked it!)

the pig and his sauces-

the inside dining area has a duck (underwater view) swimming by and I don't think the guys noticed that their heads were right under the swimming feet- LOL

not on the menu ahead of time - we had a really nice bread pudding with fresh fruits- strawberries, blueberries and peaches!

the decor is mid-century (all the rage these days - especially with the hipsters)

and this guy was a happy pig... I found when looking on the Internet for this pig roast- he was promoting another --- must be the time of year for PIGS!!!!

so this week we are dining with Barb and John (our Florida neighbors who also spend summers in the Chicago area) and heading out to CBGB's summer place in Traverse City area- so there will - as always- be more to report back about....

Duck Inn (here!)

So the trip home was actually horrendous- due to a lot of weird things - first I decided since I was done a day early I would leave a day early- BIG BIG BIG MISTAKE!!!!! - That meant leaving Friday instead of Saturday and every single segment of the journey took far far longer than usual and my 10 hour and 40 minute trip took roughly 14 hours with more than three hours spent getting through Atlanta.... aaaacccckkkk... but day two was just as bad because it rained for the entire trip making the 7 hour and 20 minute trip last more than eight hours.... oh and as if that wasn't already the trip from hell one of my cats lost her mind and went insane on the morning of day two- just went effing nuts and started growling at me and her sister and had to spend the entire second day with the curtains down in her kitty condo carrier to keep her calm... which worked nicely but she was still crazed when we got home and she was back on terra firma so to speak... now roughly 48 hours later she seems to be pretty much normal but it just added to the stress.

In the stress relieving category was the nearly eleven hours of sleep I got on the night I returned home and getting the yard furniture out and ready for use when the temperature rises about the 55* we have had the last two days (YUCK!) - so tonight we have our first dinner with friends and we are meeting Mon & Beth for duck and tasting menu at Duck Inn, a gastro pub in now trendy Bridgeport....

the reviews are positive and the food looked excellent before we headed out there with two bottles to share - an 05 Kistler McCrae and a 1996 Corton Renardes from Delarche...

outside and dining room views (from the Internet)

all the wines were excellent- no slackers... and here are some of the menu items (photos from Yelp) - the foie gras- 

various Yelp photos of the duck- 

sticky toffee pudding -

a chocolate beignet dessert

so here is the stuff we actually had for our dinner.....starting with a soft boiled duck egg that had a crunch -hot topping which was fabulous- served over some very tasty kale- I could have this for breakfast everyday- so full of flavor!!!

then our duck course- yum yum- really excellent succulent duck breast and the leg also was flavorful - along with an orange sauce that wasn't the cloying a l'orange style just a bit fruity - 

on the plate you can see it had a lovely salad to accompany the duck- with watermelon radishes and frisee... a perfect counterpoint to the rich duck breast...

then a fish course of halibut in a brown butter sauce and on the side a very light lemon sauce like hollandaise only more delicate-

and we hit the jackpot with the dessert course - my favorite STP- sticky toffee pudding!!! (as you have seen in earlier posts I am a huge fan of traditional STP and this was a good one!)

so duck in to Duck Inn sometime- they have a really fab outdoor - a small deck and a large yard with tables- the area along the river is quiet and this place is a real find! we will definitely return! 

Today we are off to St Louis for a couple of days to visit family and friends Barry & Ellen (Salzburg 1970 Barry) back in time for theater on Friday night! Three plays next week and two big restaraunt events... so stay tuned...