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| - Thanks to Jessica H for asking a favorite ravioli question, which reminded me that I needed to write this review. A Pig in a Fur Coat is definitely one of the best additions to Madison's growing restaurant scene. I was fortunate enough to finally try the restaurant out the week I was moving out of town.
Like what others have said, the dishes are intended to be shared with another. Everything on the menu looked ultra appealing, so there was quite a bit of debate on what to order. We ended up settling on the ravioli, pork belly, and lamb carpaccio small plates and the steak large plate.
First my criticism. With a name like "A Pig in a Fur Coat" I was expecting the pork dishes to be the standouts. I have to say that I was a little underwhelmed with the pork belly small plate. I can't give a specific reason why, but there was just something, flavor wise, missing from it. Perhaps, it was an off night. Now onto what they did really well! The highlights were the ravioli and steak. The ravioli with ricotta and duck egg was the best "pasta" dish I've had in Madison (or in Wisconsin, for that matter). What really made it stand out was the brown butter and huge slab of pancetta on it! When describing it, rich is an understatement. Get it and share it with another person or two......it'd be quite a bit for one person! As awesome as the ravioli was, we actually enjoyed the steak the most. A great steak, in and of itself, is a pleasure. Add some fried sweet breads (my absolute favorite thing), duck fries, and mild basalmic sauce, and you have a perfect meal, in my opinion. Basalmic is one of those ingredients that can absolutely destroy a dish by overpowering everything else. A Pig does a great job to make the basalmic compliment the flavor of the other ingredients.
Dessert wise, we ordered these Italian chocolate beignets (can't remember the name). I'm a huge fan of fried dough, and these gems get my approval!
A Pig is a place I definitely look forward to returning to on my next trip to Madison in about three weeks. Not only is the food very good but the service was excellent. Price wise, it's on the middle end for Madison, but portions are rather generous and you'll definitely get a memorable meal!
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