Chicago: The Purple Pig

To the uninitiated, the Purple Pig is to be regarded with suspicion. It is incessantly plugged in visitor’s guides and travel books. Everyone has heard of it. It’s on the Mag Mile, for Christ’s sake. Not tucked onto some side street. No, there it is, smack dab in the middle of one of the most tourist-trodden streets in America, next to a Nordstrom. To a New Yorker like myself, this is like going to a restaurant in Rockefeller Center, or even worse, Times Square. No self-respecting gourmand does it.

But then there’s that cheeky little tagline under the brazen purple sign. “Cheese, Swine and Wine.” Those three words are the first sign that this may not be your typical tourist trap of a restaurant. They embrace the kind of devil-may-care, hedonistic, and progressive attitude towards food that isn’t usually directed at the camera-toting fanny pack set. And while the focus is decidedly Italian, like so many other restaurants in Chicago, a glance at the menu of small plates reveals a carefully picked over roster of Mediterranean-influenced dishes, traditional in their elements, but reassuringly modern in their execution.

Razor clams with oregano, lemon and olive oil

Charred cauliflower, toasted breadcrumbs, cornichons, parsley

Prosciutto bread balls

Such precursory clues may assuage some of the fear, but any lingering trepidation dissipates when the first few plates hit the table. Razor clams on the half shell, playfully arranged like Jenga tiles, are fresh and plump, their toothsome meatiness offset only by some lemon and the faint herbal nuances of oregano. An antipasto of green cauliflower retains just enough crunch, and the charring imparts a smokiness that never crosses over into bitterness. They are again dressed with a bit of lemon, but the initial tartness eventually gives way to the delicate sweetness of the vegetable.

Milk braised pork shoulder with mashed potatoes

Pork neck bone gravy with ricotta

Pork, naturally, is king at the Purple Pig, and the kitchen pays its respects in several standout dishes. The milk braised pork shoulder is one of the restaurant’s most ordered items, and it isn’t hard to see why. It is a crowd-pleasing simple dish done right. The potatoes are creamy and lump-free, and the shoulder is tender with a rich savoriness. Pork neck bone gravy with ricotta, dubbed a ‘smear’ on the menu, sounds perplexing in theory, conjuring up images of a watery, country gravy rustled up with scraps from the neighborhood butcher. However, it arrives as a ramekin of red sauce, anointed with a little mound of ricotta, to be heaped onto thick slices of grilled country bread. The first bite is deceivingly disappointing, fooling you into thinking you are just eating bread with tomato sauce and cheese, a poor man’s cheese lasagna. But as you chew, you are alerted to the ropes of silky neck bone meat, the undercurrent of heat in the sauce, all coddled by the milky ricotta. It is startlingly good in both its familiarity and novelty - this isn’t your Nonna’s Sunday gravy.

Olive Oil Poached Tuna with Greek Lima Beans

The kitchen veers off course a bit with a cold appetizer of olive oil poached tuna with Greek lima beans. The tuna is tough and dry, its gristly texture giving no indication of the gentle poaching it was purported to have gone through. Although the beans are cool and appropriately creamy, the dish is entirely too salty.

Toasted cinnamon soft serve ice cream

Panino con Nutella: chocolate hazelnut spread, banana, marshmallow spread

The dessert menu clings to time-honored classics, with a few twists along the way. Instead of the usual gelato offerings, the Purple Pig opts for the trendier soft serve. The toasted cinnamon version is big on flavor, but the ice cream lacks the staunchly smooth mouth feel of a good soft serve; miniscule ice crystals are discernible throughout, compromising the creamy texture. A panino of Nutella, bananas and marshmallow cream is frivolously indulgent enough, but certainly nothing that couldn’t be whipped up at home.

Stacked up against its counterparts in other cities, the Purple Pig seems to have achieved the impossible: an enviable location on a glitzy thoroughfare, easy access to impressionable tourists, and the respect of locals, all the while maintaining culinary integrity at prices that won't force you to subsist on Saltines for the remainder of the week. It doesn't seem quite fair, but try as you might, you just can't hate the place. So you resign yourself to being another shameless groupie, only to realize, when you finally set down your fork, that you really don't care.

The Purple Pig

500 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-3777
Phone: (312) 464-1744

Best dishes: Razor clams, pork neck bone gravy, charred cauliflower, milk braised pork shoulder

Hours: Sunday - Thursday 11:30 a.m to Midnight (Kitchen open 'til midnight); Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (Kitchen open 'til 1 a.m.)