Location: Riverside, CA
Rating: F%#KING AWESOME!
Price Range: $5-$20
Another great food find in the Inland Empire! Surprising, I know. The Inland Empire isn't really known for great eats but things are looking up! We have to say we really hadn't heard about The Salted Pig until my mom told us about it, sent us a picture of an article she read then asked us to try it and give her our honest opinion. Yeah, we are the family's restaurant guinea pigs. So we headed to Downtown Riverside to try The Salted Pig.
As soon as we walked into the wooden double doors it felt like we stepped into a different city...a totally hip city. It was like we were in downtown Boston, downtown Seattle, downtown somewhere way cooler than Riverside. The place was completely packed with the "younger crowd" and some oldies too:) We were sure the university kids got wind of the only non-chain restaurant in the city. The best part of the whole restaurant vibe was the exposed kicthen bar. It had a very fresh sushi bar feel but with all the fatty guilt of gourmet bar food.
We both ended up getting burgers off the menu. We added an order of mac n' cheese just for the heck of it and because the people sitting next to us order the mac n' cheese and it looked freakin' AWESOME!. WE could have ordered everything off the menu but that was our eyes doing the talking. The menu has everything from burgers to bacon fat popcorn. Yeah, BACON FAT POPCORN! Where has this menu been all my life?! If we weren't so hungry we would have grabbed a couple drinks and a few (or all) appetizers. Oh and as far the drink menu goes it's pretty much LEGIT! Beers, wine and everything in between. It was a real gastropub people!
This mac n' cheese is heaven in a bowl! It was creamy bacony goodness. Made to order by the chef. Yeah, we knew this because we saw the chef cook it right in front of us. It doesn't get any better then that!
Oh, and if you think made to order mac n' cheese was unheard of then check out their burgers. How about fresh bread buns....made at the restaurant! The fresh baked bread isn't your normal burger bun. This one was like a fresh buttery croissant. Who ever thought about adding this kind of bun to a burger is a genius in our book. And the person that who designed the ketchup is GOD! If you go The Salted Pig for any reason other then the food and drinks please...I beg you to try the ketchup! We won't even try to describe it. We were so close to asking for a tub to take home. SERIOUSLY!
The Salted Pig has been added to our favorite restaurant list. Done and done:)
peace & grease,
been there (had that)
