9531 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232-2618
http://www.fordsfillingstation.net/
Pork - our favorite meat. It's probably the most versatile of the three primary meats. Everything from snout to tail can and is devoured; from the ever popular bellys and chops to the less mainstream feet, ears and eye balls; each part can be delicious. So when we hear about a "whole pig dinner", we jumped at the opportunity to get ourselves to that table as soon as possible. After rounding up enough people to chow down on an 18-pound suckling pig, we made our way to Ford's Filling Station to "pig" out!
The restaurant is located on a busy stretch of Culver Boulevard which has its fair share of eateries, somewhat like a restaurant row. The interior is quaint with a small bar on the left upon entry, which opens into the main dining room which then peers into the red flames of the giant oven within the open kitchen. We get a short introduction to what is to come from the sous chef and start with the first of four appetizers before the main pig feast.
1. Head cheese crostini, lemon vinagrette, pickled fennel, white bean and sausage soup - A more delicate, almost pate-like version of head cheese. The crostini was tough and crisp and served as a nice foundation. The pork itself felt pushed to the rear as the acidity of the pickled fennel and vinegrette frisee salad was what dominated the taste buds. The bean soup was very subtle in texture and taste. Tiny bits of sausage were parsed throughout, but not enough to really let you know it was pork. Very mild beginning.
2. Dual tongue - pickled tongue and deep-fried tongue on pickled fennel and frisee salad - It was a bit disappointing to see the fennel and frisee repeated in the second course. Remove the crostini from this second course and the flavor and texture profiles were very similar to the first dish. The pork tongue was extremely tender but lacked much in terms of flavor. I did enjoy the tiny heirloom grape tomatoes.
3. Fried pig eyeballs - Deep frying definitely makes this dish more approachable. As over half the table was disinterested, it wasn't difficult dividing these amongst the more adventurous eaters. The consensus was that they were similar to an extremely tender chicken McNugget.
4. Mountain ham flatbread, caramelized onions, tomatoes - The more tasty of the two flatbreads. The mountain ham was bold and savory which was offset nicely by the sweet caramelized onions.
5. Cubano flatbread, pulled pork, fontina cheese, cilantro - Flatbread that was a bit flat in flavor as well. The pork, cheese and herbs were all very mild and disappointing.
6. Home-made egg mcmuffin, braised pork belly, poached egg, micro greens, anaheim pepper - This pork belly did not exhibit the bold flavors we're typically used to from its braised preparation. However, this worked well as the poached egg added the richness that the belly lacked. The muffin was dense and worked well with the proteins. The greens added a nice bit of freshness, but the pepper didn't seem to add any heat. Although I felt that dish was well-constructed, many of the other diners felt that the dish lacked salt, which was a recurring complaint throughout the first four appetizers.
7. Whole pig (chicarron, porchetta, pulled pork) with sides of bacon brussel sprouts, proscuitto & kale, roasted carrot, ham hock - The star of the show. An eighteen pound pig roasted and confit in duck fat. All parts of the pig were tasty - with all bits of flesh being most and tender. The duck fat really seemed to help the roast maintain a high level of moisture, which really made for well-prepared porchetta and pulled pork. The chicarron, though small, was crispy and delicious. We all wished there was more to go around. There was a general concensus that a sauce, like BBQ sauce, would have been greatly appreciated, as more flavor would have been appreciated. As for the sides: the brussel sprouts were roasted nicely, crunchy and sweet. The kale had a slight and pleasant bitterness and salted well with the proscuitto. The carrots were very tender and very sweet and quite tasty.
Halfway through the pork carcass, the head was taken back into the kitchen and severed in half. I partook in eating half of the brain, which is very rich, somewhat like a cross between marrow and liver, with a heavy iron aftertaste. The "best" part was the pig cheek, which was supremely tender and moist. It really is one tasty bite of pork. Although we scoffed at 18 pounds of pig at first, there was still a good amount of food left after the team of 12 diners were finished.
8. Brownie & vanilla ice cream with candied bacon - What's a pig dinner without some sort of pork-dessert? Though the flavor of the candied bacon was spot on, it lacked the correct texture. The bacon was sweet and smoky and undeniably bacon-y. But after the initial bit, it was clear that the crispiness that we love in bacon was clearly absent. Instead, an unpleasantly chewy morsel was in its place, which required some work to get down. The brownie was rich and dense. And the ice cream was fantastic. Strong hints of vanilla and definitely a winner all on its own.
Overall, a very fun experience. Though the food itself was simply passable, having a group of people dine on a whole pig is quite the experience. Not sure what they did with all the offals, but that may have been a nice addition to the meal. At least it would have been for some of the more adventurous eaters. The pig and its accompaniments were all tasty, but the appetizers could use some work. Perhaps a bit more salt on some of the dishes would have helped but some bigger tweaks to ensure a diversity of dishes and flavors would be most welcomed.
Culver City, CA 90232-2618
http://www.fordsfillingstation.net/
Pork - our favorite meat. It's probably the most versatile of the three primary meats. Everything from snout to tail can and is devoured; from the ever popular bellys and chops to the less mainstream feet, ears and eye balls; each part can be delicious. So when we hear about a "whole pig dinner", we jumped at the opportunity to get ourselves to that table as soon as possible. After rounding up enough people to chow down on an 18-pound suckling pig, we made our way to Ford's Filling Station to "pig" out!
The restaurant is located on a busy stretch of Culver Boulevard which has its fair share of eateries, somewhat like a restaurant row. The interior is quaint with a small bar on the left upon entry, which opens into the main dining room which then peers into the red flames of the giant oven within the open kitchen. We get a short introduction to what is to come from the sous chef and start with the first of four appetizers before the main pig feast.
1. Head cheese crostini, lemon vinagrette, pickled fennel, white bean and sausage soup - A more delicate, almost pate-like version of head cheese. The crostini was tough and crisp and served as a nice foundation. The pork itself felt pushed to the rear as the acidity of the pickled fennel and vinegrette frisee salad was what dominated the taste buds. The bean soup was very subtle in texture and taste. Tiny bits of sausage were parsed throughout, but not enough to really let you know it was pork. Very mild beginning.
2. Dual tongue - pickled tongue and deep-fried tongue on pickled fennel and frisee salad - It was a bit disappointing to see the fennel and frisee repeated in the second course. Remove the crostini from this second course and the flavor and texture profiles were very similar to the first dish. The pork tongue was extremely tender but lacked much in terms of flavor. I did enjoy the tiny heirloom grape tomatoes.
3. Fried pig eyeballs - Deep frying definitely makes this dish more approachable. As over half the table was disinterested, it wasn't difficult dividing these amongst the more adventurous eaters. The consensus was that they were similar to an extremely tender chicken McNugget.
4. Mountain ham flatbread, caramelized onions, tomatoes - The more tasty of the two flatbreads. The mountain ham was bold and savory which was offset nicely by the sweet caramelized onions.
5. Cubano flatbread, pulled pork, fontina cheese, cilantro - Flatbread that was a bit flat in flavor as well. The pork, cheese and herbs were all very mild and disappointing.
6. Home-made egg mcmuffin, braised pork belly, poached egg, micro greens, anaheim pepper - This pork belly did not exhibit the bold flavors we're typically used to from its braised preparation. However, this worked well as the poached egg added the richness that the belly lacked. The muffin was dense and worked well with the proteins. The greens added a nice bit of freshness, but the pepper didn't seem to add any heat. Although I felt that dish was well-constructed, many of the other diners felt that the dish lacked salt, which was a recurring complaint throughout the first four appetizers.
7. Whole pig (chicarron, porchetta, pulled pork) with sides of bacon brussel sprouts, proscuitto & kale, roasted carrot, ham hock - The star of the show. An eighteen pound pig roasted and confit in duck fat. All parts of the pig were tasty - with all bits of flesh being most and tender. The duck fat really seemed to help the roast maintain a high level of moisture, which really made for well-prepared porchetta and pulled pork. The chicarron, though small, was crispy and delicious. We all wished there was more to go around. There was a general concensus that a sauce, like BBQ sauce, would have been greatly appreciated, as more flavor would have been appreciated. As for the sides: the brussel sprouts were roasted nicely, crunchy and sweet. The kale had a slight and pleasant bitterness and salted well with the proscuitto. The carrots were very tender and very sweet and quite tasty.
Halfway through the pork carcass, the head was taken back into the kitchen and severed in half. I partook in eating half of the brain, which is very rich, somewhat like a cross between marrow and liver, with a heavy iron aftertaste. The "best" part was the pig cheek, which was supremely tender and moist. It really is one tasty bite of pork. Although we scoffed at 18 pounds of pig at first, there was still a good amount of food left after the team of 12 diners were finished.
8. Brownie & vanilla ice cream with candied bacon - What's a pig dinner without some sort of pork-dessert? Though the flavor of the candied bacon was spot on, it lacked the correct texture. The bacon was sweet and smoky and undeniably bacon-y. But after the initial bit, it was clear that the crispiness that we love in bacon was clearly absent. Instead, an unpleasantly chewy morsel was in its place, which required some work to get down. The brownie was rich and dense. And the ice cream was fantastic. Strong hints of vanilla and definitely a winner all on its own.
Overall, a very fun experience. Though the food itself was simply passable, having a group of people dine on a whole pig is quite the experience. Not sure what they did with all the offals, but that may have been a nice addition to the meal. At least it would have been for some of the more adventurous eaters. The pig and its accompaniments were all tasty, but the appetizers could use some work. Perhaps a bit more salt on some of the dishes would have helped but some bigger tweaks to ensure a diversity of dishes and flavors would be most welcomed.
first! the candied bacon tasted like beef jerky glazed with bacon syrup! baaaacoooon..yumm...droool... :D thanks for inviting us! had a greaaaat time!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics and write-up! I'm trying this soon and I'm definitely looking forward to the pig's cheeks. Yum. Just curious, how long was the meal?
ReplyDeleteJL - thanks for coming! I totally forgot to include your "beef jerky with bacon syrup comment!"
ReplyDeleteDaniel S. - Thanks! Our dinner was the 8:30 seating and the restaurant was definitely ready for us - we didn't wait long at all between dishes. We finished around 10:30, so about 2 hours to finish the meal.