Briny Swine - Chicago
Born in Edisto Beach, South Carolina (see
video), Briny Swine has come to Chicago, trailing the scent of beautifully barbecued meat (the swine) and freshly shucked oysters (that's the brine). This is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-dig-in casual place that pleases families and couples with delicious low country cuisine and a party vibe.
It's hard to read the menu at Briny Swine without getting very, very hungry. The food here is not super-fancy, and it foregrounds the importance of skillful preparation of fresh, high-quality ingredients. As reported in Crain's Chicago, co-owner Katherine Rushing reflected that their restaurant in Chicago will maintain quality standards they established in South Carolina: "Y'all know food, you can't run crap past you guys," Katherine Rushing said. "They will call you out on it."
Starting with the raw bar, there's a daily selection of oysters, raw or roasted with bbq butter, roasted garlic and parm, and charred jalapeno. Since Paul Kahan opened The Publican in 2006, Chicagoans have been comfortable with the idea of -- in fact, they now love the idea of -- starting with oysters and moving into pork. Not that marrying the bivalve and the pig was Kahan's original idea, but it excited Chicagoans about such pairings, which have been traditional in the American southeast for many years.
So let's talk pig. There are exceptionally delicious pork ribs and pulled pork, and it seems like this meat will be the centerpiece of what Briny Swine offers, and if you're looking for something a little different, check out the the pimento cheese and pork rinds and the BBQ Cobb Salad of baby greens, pork belly (yay), egg, cucumber, pickled onions and blue cheese with Green Goddess dressing. If if you're not that into pork, there are smoked wings, a smash burger and a brisket melt sandwich with pimento cheese and bacon jam on Hawaiian bread. There are, of course, many down home favorites like hoe cakes with sorghum honey butter, Cole slaw, mac n' cheese and potato salad.
For dessert? What else? Pecan pie, banana pudding and other traditional favorites.