This little piggy went to Woodstock

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

We received a very interesting letter, from a very interesting person, about a very interesting restaurant. The letter was from Pierre Pollin. If his name does not sound familiar, allow us to enlighten you. He is a world-renowned French chef and former owner of Le titi de Paris Restaurant in Arlington Heights. We were surprised to receive a letter from him, and even more surprised when the restaurant he recommended was Porkies in Woodstock. Because of this, us two little piggies had to go and “pig” out one Saturday afternoon.

Everyone at one time or another has driven by Porkies. It’s that little shack on Route 47 in the Harley Davidson parking lot near Route 14. While some restaurants have designated parking, like carry out, handicap, etc., Porkies has piggy parking designated by metal piggy heads on poles. It is a handicap accessible venue, Jim can attest to that. This was his first outing since he received his bionic knee.

This massive pork palace has six tables, and don’t even think about making reservations. The restaurant is a husband and wife endeavor. She waits on the tables, and he is the chef. You can hear him yell, “order up” when food is ready.

We saw something on the menu that we never saw before, namely Porkie Wings. Since pigs can’t fly, we questioned our waitress about the wings. They are four ounces of meat from the lower leg with shank bone intact. Our waitress could sense we were first timers, so she graciously brought us one porkie wing and a sampling of all four of their side dishes. These were au gratin potatoes, baked beans, butter sautéed mushrooms, and tangy coleslaw. The porkie wing was fall-off-the-bone tender lean meat covered with a tasty barbecue sauce. Our favorite of the side dishes was the baked beans, and Jim liked the buttered fungi, which as you all know is not something I would put in my mouth.

Since we noshed on all the free samples, we thought it would be nice to order a sandwich. Nancy wanted to try Oink, Moo, Slaw ($11) which was homemade creamy coleslaw piled on top of beef brisket and pulled pork on a freshly baked roll. For her side, she upgraded to Garlic Parmesan Fries ($1). That woman can find garlic anywhere! She was in “hog” heaven with that huge sandwich, and I’m going home with half of her sandwich for lunch tomorrow.

Jim wanted everything on the menu since he is such a pig. They serve their food in plastic baskets, not troughs, so pick one I told him. He went for the Moo ($10) which was beef brisket stacked high on a freshly baked roll. He chose the Sloppy Cheese Fries ($1 up charge) as his side. The brisket was tender and tasty, and he forced himself to finish his whole sandwich.

They have two homemade barbecue sauces to choose from. The original, which is a tasty barbecue sauce or their spicy barbecue sauce. We both fell in love with the spicy sauce since it had just enough heat for our taste buds.

If you have a taste for good barbecue, plain and simple, this is your place. Reasonable prices, friendly service, huge portions, and delicious food. You can’t go wrong. Don’t thank us, thank Chef Pollin for this hidden gem.

The cost for our “pig” out today was $26.00. As Chef Pollin would say, “We went oui, oui, oui, all the way home.” That’s all folks!

Jim’s take: I could eat those porkie wings all day long, they were that good. Maybe pigs can fly…

Nancy’s take: I like pulled pork the most, so next time it’s just the oink and nothing but the oink!

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.

---

---