Maybe it was a fellow foodie's disappointed Facebook posts. Possibly, sheer pragmatism. But with Orlando's Swine Family restaurant group expanding so quickly in recent months, I couldn't imagine that its new restaurant, The Polite Pig, could be extraordinary.
I don't do dessert. And, I thought Orange Blossom Honey Cake sounded overly sweet. But in the name of research, I ordered a slice for $7. I then proceeded to wolf down this entire confection, minus the one bite The Hub shared (he only overeats cakes when they're chocolate). It's not sickly sweet at all. In fact, it's ridiculously, spectacularly moist, with a tang in the frosting, and just sweet enough. I'm only sorry I didn't bring half home for breakfast.
It's a counter-service barbecue joint, after all, and it's located right off the Lime parking garage in heavily-trafficked Disney Springs. Surely the culinary and service teams couldn't keep up the standards they set at Winter Park's The Ravenous Pig and Swine & Sons, right? I haven't gotten to try the outfit's airport restaurant, Cask & Larder, since it moved in there a few months ago.
Here's the Polite Pig Disney Springs menu, along with three of the sauces and the Tequila & Grapefruit draft cocktail. See the photo below for sauce details.
But my stove isn't working (the propane piping leaks, so my heat source is blocked off for now), so I met The Hub for dinner at Disney Springs.
This is far from a full-on review: The Polite Pig is too new to critique; plus, I only tasted a few things.
You may have to tilt your head to see the sandwich fillings, but here's most of our meal:
In the front, you see super-sweet, charred corn cobs with lime butter and breadcrumbs.
Center top are the -- don't laugh! these were the highlight for me in a meal of all good foods -- barbecued cauliflower with paprika sour cream. My serving had too little of the sour cream. Luckily, the florets stood on their own. They were also good with assorted sauces.
To the left is The Southern Pig, a sandwich of intensely flavored pulled pork, plus apple slaw, mustard sauce and Duke's mayo.
To the right, a smoked chicken salad is enhanced by whole grain mustard, celery and grapes.
Confession: I loved every single one. This meal did not come cheap, by the way. Our little sampling tallied to about $85. But we did order a whole lot for only two people.
Read the photo captions to follow along on our culinary adventure, but here are the basics: The Polite Pig is counter-service, with indoor and outdoor seating. Cask & Larder beers, a few wines, and five mixed drinks (the tequila-grapefruit cocktail is especially refreshing) are all on tap (fun, right?). The sauce bar has five housemade options, plus a hot sauce or two. The food is barbecue-ish; smoked meats are the crux, but the menu has a whole lot more.
Did I mention the Bourbon Bar? The Polite Pig also has 50 or 60 brown spirits on the menu, with flights available.
Once he saw this pretzel delivered to another table, The Hub had to try it. What a great presentation. Here, a server agreed to pose with the oversized twisted, salted bread. The Hop Salt Pretzel is served on that hanging gadget with a crock of beer cheese fondue and a cup of IPA mustard.
And once you sit down, with a gizmo allowing your food to be brought to you, eager service staffers pretty much dote on you as they would at, say, The Ravenous Pig. "Can I bring you anything? At all?" "Would you like another drink?" "Please let me know if I can help in any way."
With that, I introduce to you The Polite Pig at Disney Springs.