I vote for taking the afternoon off to watch basketball!!! Not sure what else I'd be capable of doing after this meal

It is 4:26am, and I am sitting in the lobby of my hotel in Austin. I am really excited about this lunch and am looking forward to it. Though my original plan of showing up with my bags is slowly fading away, especially with the pound of brisket and sausage in my carry on!

Just wanted to express my excitement and to thank Jen for all the planning work!

safe travels CrazyC! See you soon, with or without your meat souvenirs!!!

Y'all might see me enjoying a quick panino at the bar. Not enough time today to do the full LTH lunch thing, but I might swing by for a bite.

Thank to boudreaulicious for a fabuluous and delicious event!!

How about a post tax day April 16th lunch at CND?

Yes, excellent lunch. I don't feel nearly as stuffed as I thought I would (which is definitely a good thing). All things pig (ears, braised tail and shoulder) were excellent.

So how was it?
Anybody take any pics?

It was a most delicious lunch. I too, feel comfortably full but not overstuffed which allows me to be moderately productive back at work (uh, as soon as I get off LTH). I was lucky to have one of four seats at the counter and could watch the kitchen work its magic on pork. Wave after wave of terrific dishes came at us and I'm sure I've lost track of all that we ate. Most memorable for me were the neckbone gravy with ricotta smeared on thick, crusty toasted bread and the milk braised pork shoulder. I was surprised that I enjoyed the pig's ears as they were crunchier and less chewy than I expected. And the butterscotch pudding was my favorite of the two desserts. A nice, subtle burnt sugar note all the way through. My other three counter mates probably had to pry it out of my hands at one point. Service was terrific, efficient, super friendly. Much as I missed talking with the larger group of LTHers, it was a great treat to be at the counter and have a front row seat to the workings in the kitchen. The guys on the line were most gracious given how incredibly busy they were. I loved watching and listening. I think on my next visit, I'll plan to sit at the same spot. Many thanks to boudreaulicious for for such excellent organizing and ordering!

Indeed the meal was excellently planned, thanks Jen! Purple Pig has definitely been a welcome addition to the Loop/River North area.

Great meal, great company. Thank you, Jen!

Ronna

It was a great meal indeed! I was really looking forward to Purple Pig after hearing/reading so much about it. It did not disappoint. My favorite dish was the crispy pig ear dish with fried kale, fried egg and slivers of pickled peppers...a perfect dish! And the desserts were phenomenal! And I'm not a dessert guy at all.

Thanks Jen for organizing! Great to see familiar faces as well as make new friends!

thanks all--fun group and great food today! Loved everything but, in particular, the chicken thighs and pig's ears were especially delicious "old favorites" and the octopus with israeli couscous and arugula treviso hazelnut and grapefruit salad were a couple of new ones. While I don't live in the neighborhood, I feel like PP is already a go-to spot.

After about a month 'off the circuit,' it felt great to finally get out again today with a group of LTHers. I'd been looking forward to trying the Purple Pig since I first read about it, and the meal definitely met my expectations. I thought everything was at least good and found more than a few of the dishes outstanding. Please, forgive the lousy pictures. I brought my 'little' camera today and after several weeks of not shooting, I was a bit shaky . . .



Like-minded folks



Chicken Thigh Kebabs with Tzatziki



Calabro Ricotta with Pork Neck Bone Gravy



Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale, Marinated Cherry Peppers and Fried Egg (definitely my overall favorite dish)



Pig's Tails Braised in Balsamic



Chef Bannos and the crew

Thanks again, to Jen, for putting this together and doing the pre-ordering. I enjoyed the lunch and very much look forward to returning to try a lot of tempting items on the menu that we didn't get to today.

=R=

Thanks for posting the pics Ronnie--whenever you're ready to go back for bone marrow (or any of the other dishes we didn't get to order), just let me know Glad you're up and around and best wishes for a continued speedy recovery!

Thanks Jen for organizing this. It was great food and great company. I've been meaning to get to Purple Pig for quite some time and now I'm kicking myself that I haven't gotten there sooner. There really weren't any misses in the whole bunch of dishes, but I think my favorites were the milk braised pork shoulder and the Sicilian Iris.

The neckbone gravy and milk braised pork shoulder were fantastic. The sardines were also surprisingly good, especially the thinner piece with the spine. I would have overlooked fried fish at a place like this so I was glad to try it.

Thanks again to Jen for organizing!

Although I didn't have time to make the event, it was fun seeing such a jovial group of LTHers while I enjoyed my quicker lunch next to some friendly vacationers at the bar. Big kudos to Jen and the restaurant, who managed to pace the LTH feast just right, getting the large group in and out right on schedule, despite the restaurant being completely full and then some.

My lunch consisted of the justly-praised neck gravy, and some roasted endive with anchovy vinaigrette, which I found overpoweringly vinegarry.

Interesting because I tried to order the endive (one of the few items on the menu that I hadn't tried) and Katie gently steered me away from it. Sorry to hear it wasn't great.

I can't say enough about how efficiently they handled our large group (and w/another one of just slightlyy smaller size right next to us).