3 reasons why Pig in a Fur Coat is in my top 3 favorite restaurants in Madison:
1. It's lovely and quaint. The wooden tables make you feel like you're in some upscale log cabin or something. It's a small room and sometimes they'll sit multiple parties at the same long table. Very conducive to conversation. Good place to go on a date or with a small group of friends.
2. Fun, nice staff. I'm always writing about how nice the staff is at restaurants...but here they're also a lot of fun! It adds to the communal vibe of the spot in that they're having fun with you, sharing your good time!
3. DELICIOUS FOOD!!!! The dishes are "fancy" without being unapproachable and the menu is diverse enough that there's something for everyone. Pig in a Fur Coat manages to turn intricate, high end food into comfort food! I recommend sharing a bunch of plates with your group as it's a tapas style menu. The food is really decadent so you'll probably want to try a few magnificent bites of each dish before moving on to the next one. Here are some favorites:
*Foie Gras Mousse: Perfection. The closest thing to a foie gras donut you'll ever try (or until greenbush comes out with one ha!). They should change this to "foie gras for beginners" on the menu because a lot of my friends ate this as their first foie gras experience and loved it! A lot less intense and just an amazing combination of flavors.
*Rabbit Rillette: if you can get over thoughts of your 2nd grade class pet, you'll love this! It comes with tart cherries which compliment the fatty, salty taste of the spread. Super rich though so it's enough to share with a large group.
*Ocotpus: yummmmm, beautiful dish
*the only dish I didn't like was the dates. Kind of tasted like a weird eggplant parm.
Don't forget to ask your server for help choosing a wine!