This Little Piggy Went to Citizen Public House Dan Gazaille

I live in the great neighborhood of Fenway in Boston. If Boston is the city of champions, my wife and I live in the champions’ back yard; home of my beloved Red Sox and many new great bars and restaurants. Just three blocks from my front door is Citizen Public House. A real hip steampunk-style public house. They have a whiskey list the size of most fine eating establishments’ wine lists. The bartenders are some of the best dork mixologists in the city, state, maybe even the world! I often sit at the bar enjoying a Rye Old Fashioned, with no fruit but a simple twist of a lemon rind as a garnish. My mouth waters just thinking about this drink. I also enjoy their homemade beef jerky, it’s so addictive and the dried meat pairs extremely well with the whiskey.

The thing this restaurant is best known for is a pig roast. You need at least eight people for this meal and its cost is $38 a person. But it comes with a whole roasted pig, a few plates from the raw bar and a few family sides of snap peas, truffled cauliflower and small potato skins. When the pig is finally done cooking they bring it out to show the group and explain that it comes from a local farm. They then bring the pig back in the kitchen and butcher the meat for the group. Before the waiter could take his hand away from the meat we all attacked.

The skin is crunchy and delicious, like bacon jerky. The meat is so soft and divine. I couldn’t stop eating it. Toward the end they come out and take the head back to the kitchen. They then butcher the head and bring out the best parts of the pig. You get a plate with the brain, cheeks, oysters (meat from around the jaw), eyes, ears and snout.

I love this part the best, mostly because many people think its gross and won’t eat it. I jumped for one of the eyes first. Pig eyes taste like escargot cooked in bacon fat. Next, the cheeks and oysters, which are so soft and fatty. Just some of the best meat. Last, I went for the brains. It’s not the first time I’ve been like a starving zombie and ate an animal’s brain and it won’t be the last . So soft and fatty, just like foie gras. After people watched me eat two bites of brains, they were more willing to try it for themselves. One person described it correctly as bacon butter. If you ever get the chance to make it to a pig roast at Citizen Public House jump for it, you will not be disappointed.