As promised in my my previous (long!) post on Chicago, this is the start of Chicago week on this blog! Click here to see all my posts on Chicago.
{Photos: thepurplepig.com}
The first thing I noticed upon arriving at The Purple Pig is their beautiful terrace. The second thing I noticed are the beautiful people on that terrace and inside the hip eatery. We got there just in time to grab a table before the after work crowd started filling the place.
The Purple Pig sits right by the river bank, a hop and a skip away from where the Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour departs. It was the perfect spot for Eve and I to grab a snack after our boat tour and before our reservations a few hours later at Girl and the Goat. And by “snack” I, of course, mean a few dishes to share. We settled for 3 at first but foodies being foodies – oh how I love traveling with a fellow gourmande! – we ended up ordering a fourth dish that looked delicious at the next table!
Fried Petit Basque cheese with membrillo
Pork neck bone gravy with ricotta
Burrata Pugliese with peas, radish, celery, spring micro greens & aceto balsamico
The Purple Pig boasts housemade charcuteries and cheese as well as an extensive Mediterranean-inspired menu. The service is friendly, the crowd is hip and the food is generous and tasty. Every single dish we saw go by looked delicious and every one we sampled was. We settled on fried Petit Basque cheese with membrillo, a smear of pork neck bone gravy with ricotta (my favourite!), some pork sweetbreads with fennel & apricots and a burrata Pugliese with peas, radish, celery, spring micro greens & aceto balsamico. Add a glass or two of white wine to the equation and you get two very happy girls!
I was tempted to want to go to The Purple Pig again during our stay since it was just across the street from Hotel 71 where we were staying but there are so many good places to try in Chicago that there really was no time for seconds. There will definitely be a second time in the windy city for me though and a probable second time at The Purple Pig.
Don’t forget to check out my Chicago Google map for more tips on this beautiful city. Click here to see all my posts on Chicago.
The Purple Pig
500 North Michigan Avenue
+1 312 464 1 PIG (744)
Opening Hours
Sunday – Thursday 11:30 a.m to midnight (kitchen open until midnight)
Friday & Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (kitchen open until 1 a.m.)
