And apparently locals felt the same way, since after only a year, we were freed from corporate branding at 37 Exchange Street and instead welcomed into a great bar that focuses on two of my favorite things: beer and tube meat.
So Friday happy hour at the Pig has become a pretty standard way for my friend K. and I to start the evening. $2.50 Shipyard draughts (they're probably out of the Summer by now, sad) and a good layer of meat to lay down before your night of drinking.
I am a sucker for a hot dog, especially one for $3.50 on a grilled bun with a side. The Pig's other sausage offerings include Sweet and Hot Italian, Keilbasa, and chicken. Each one comes with enticing toppings and condiments, although I customize my hot dog with a local combo: mayonnaise and relish.
The grilled bun and the hot hot dog warm the mayonnaise a little bit (stay with me) and the relish provides a nice, tangy crunch. The grilled hot dog is meaty, juicy, and snappy, but not so as to be an impediment to easy eating. (An aside: someone just told me that a foods' ease of eating carries as much weight for him as how it tastes. Mind boggling, but I'm starting to appreciate that.)
The baked beans that came with my dog were a little dry, but that pickle is one of the best I've had around. It's a la Po'boys and Pickles, a half-sour maybe? Very tart.
A very critical part of any grilled tube meat is the bun, and the Pig pulls it off well- a buttered and toasted split top bun. The salty crunch of the bun adds a nice textural element, whereas most soft white rolls simply serve as a vehicle, rather than a player in the overall taste.
On this particular Friday, our Old Port happy hour crawl was cut short by an invite for a sunset sail. Not a bad way to end a week, I'd say. And I'll see you tomorrow, Thirsty Pig!
