Cochon Butcher

Stopped by Cochon Butcher for lunch today and had to laugh at the Swine Bar Now Open sign.

We ordered the Mac & Cheese - there was a lot of flavor to the cheesy sauce and the little bits of panchetta were a lovely touch. We also split a BLT - the bacon is uncommonly good, the arugala gave the sandwich a nice bite and the pickled onion offered a nice tang. I also liked the homemade kettle chips and my mom loved the bread and butter pickles.

At almost $30 for the sandwich and appetizer, this isn't a place I come to regularly but it sure is a nice treat.

As the interior is small and the seating outside will soon be unbearable with the summer heat and humidity, I recommend going early or taking your meal to go.

Cochon Butcher

A friend of mine owed me a meal so I had her take me to Butcher. More than a butcher shop, Butcher is part of the Donald Link restaurant group. Browse their counter for house cured meats and sausages, order exotic meat like rabbit, venison or a whole pig or sit down at one of their tables for a sandwich or bar food.

I went for the Cochon au lait po-boy. The sandwich wasn't one of those horrendously oversized po-boys but, rather, a decent size for a single individual to eat. The meat was tender and the mushroom gravy were delicious. I would have preferred less cheese on top but, as it kept the meat from falling out, it ended up being a good match. The house made potato chips were pretty tasteless, though.

My dining companion had the tomato pesto sandwich which she almost enjoyed as much as the BLT she had gotten the last time. We split the pancetta mac and cheese (good but not a lot for $6) and I also got a pretzel. Good strong mustard came with it and it reminded me a lot of German pretzels from Oktober Fests. Both of us were kicking ourselves for skipping over the bacon praline--I guess I'll just have to go back.

The one real issue is how cramped the place is. There are not that many tables and they were all full when we showed up at 1:30pm. We ordered our meal to go and it still took 30 minutes for the order to come up. Not ideal when there were four people behind the counter.

I certainly enjoyed my meal and want to try a few of the other items on the menu but I will probably call ahead to pick up my order. I'll also probably stick to Rare Cuts for my butcher needs--$16/lb for bacon is a little out of my price range!