pig at the palms
pig at the palms
MENU
9/15/24 12-5PM @Royal Palms, Chicago IL
MEATBALL CHOPPED CHEESE $14
Meatball, Crispy Parm + Mozz, Sunday Gravy, House Giard (Dairy, Gluten)
PALM CEVICHE (VEGAN) $10
Hearts of Palm, Chickpeas, Avocado, Coconut Leche de Tigre, Herb Salad, Tostada
DOUBLE PEPPERONI FOCCACIA $9
House Confit Garlic Focaccia, Pepperoni, Peperone Whipped Ricotta, Lemon Herb Oil (Dairy, Gluten, Sesame)
PORK BELLY TANG $7
24 Hr Tang Braised Pork Belly, Tang Dust, Chicharron Crumble, Orange Pickled Daikon (Sesame)
The stories behind the menu
The stories behind the menu
Meatball Chopped Cheese
As a through plot for the whole menu, we wanted to pay homage to Brooklyn and Chicago cuisine—because those are the only two cities that Royal Palms and Jazzy Pig have existed in!
Out of all the iconic Brooklyn foods, there’s nothing more iconic than a chopped cheese. To this Bodega classic, we brought in some Italian heritage, which is ever present in both cities, by subbing the burger and American cheese for a 1/4 pound meatball and a slab of crispy mozz and parm (Nonna’s trying to fatten you up ok? Deal with it). From there, we go full Chicago, layering on a house giardiniera to pack a punch of heat and acidity. Are we in the Big Apple or the Windy City? Idk, you tell me.
This sandwich means a lot to us because it’s one of the first items that we ever served at a pop-up in Brooklyn, and we could not be more excited to share it again with you today in Chicago :)
Double Pepperoni Foccacia
It was important to us to highlight this pop-up as a true collaboration between the Royal Palms and JP, and we thought a fun way to do so would be to highlight shuffleboard in the food we serve. So early on in the menu building process, we got to know the sport a little better, trying to pick out any symbols or themes that could play well conceptually in the food.
Almost immediately we learned about “pepperoni,” shuffleboard slang for when a player scores all four biscuits (the pucks) in one turn. We had to run with this because it’s one of the best possible achievements in the game! But what would be even better than one pepperoni? A double pepperoni.
With this dish, we were chasing the impossible: double pepperoni, one frame. We begin with the board, the iconic triangle formed by a thick, pillowy foccacia with enough garlic to make your breath stank so good.
Then the obvious, yet delicious pepperoni that we all know and love. Why is this common pizza topping called “pepperoni”? Fun fact, that’s not even an Italian word! It’s an English word that originates from the Italian word “peperone” or chili pepper, the very ingredient that’s used to flavor and color Italian-American pepperoni.
^That right there, that little word evolution, we love that, so for the second (or double pepperoni) we wanted to make it a true “peperone.” With some experimentation we landed on a smoked red pepper whipped ricotta that tastes like a second cousin to pepperoni.
Palm Ceviche
At Jazzy Pig, we like to have fun and we want everyone to have fun. So, it was important to us that anyone could enjoy something on our menu, and though we love pork (le pig, of course) we also love a refreshing cold-healthy… thing!
We are at the Royal Palms, so naturally we wanted to do two things with this dish: make something that paired well with the cocktail menu, and somehow incorporate palms. A lot of the cocktails are very tropical, and what’s more tropical than a palm tree?
That’s when we landed on hearts of palm, a vegetable that’s harvested from the hearts of palm trees (crazy name right?) and we believe is a slept on plant-based source of protein and fiber. We turn the tropical up a notch mixing it into a vegan take on a coconut forward, Peruvian ceviche. Think of this as an edible pina colada… so yeah, you might be morally obligated to go order a pina colada at the bar after this.
Pork Belly Tang
Continuing with the shuffleboard themes, “tang,” or the name for shuffleboard sticks, stuck out. It’s a rather funky name for a stick, but that could just be because we associate that word with the orange powdered beverage that so many Mid-Westerners grew up with.
Tang has a special place in Evan’s heart because it reminds him of his Dad who has a strange obsession with it. The story goes that his Dad would come home from school as a kid, grab the jar of Tang, sit in front of the TV and eat it like fun dip using his finger. After a while, the Tang would burn his finger and dye it orange, an obvious sign for his Mom to tell that he was yet again double dipping into the Tang jar.
We love that story, so we wanted to share it with you here. The pork belly is braised for a day in Tang to add faint orange color and that signature citrusy sweetness. After skewering on an orange skewer, we sprinkle on Tang dust that’s fortified with orange zest salt and MSG to hit all the senses. We wanted this dish to be sweet and savory, soft and crunchy, sour and comforting—overall contrasting to represent the back and forth competition in a great game of shuffleboard. We hope it lives up to all that hype and more :)