Porking

Phillip Foss Wonders Whether Chicago’s Love for the Pig Has Gone Too Far

Foss's 4 Preparations of a Southern Style Pig
Foss’s 4 Preparations of a Southern Style Pig Photo: courtesy The Pickled Tongue

Never one to shy away from expressing a totally uncensored opinion, Lockwood chef Phillip Foss wonders if maybe our city’s culinary obsession with pork has gone too far: “There is something disturbing and over-the-top regarding Chicago’s collective love of the pig,” he writes on his blog. “It seems to me so much more exaggerated than what one sees in other major cities … the Chicago dining and cooking community takes the love and passion beyond admiration. Coveting may be a better descriptive. Why? My best guess is that the winters here are so cold that anytime we can get pig fat to stick to our bones and warm us up, the happier we are.”

But of course, even Foss isn’t immune to what he describes as the “guttural” moans of pleasure that the “gustatory ecstasy” of the pig gives rise to on the palate — all this buildup is, after all, by way of introducing a new dish on his menu: the epic 4 Preparations of Southern Style Pig - Bourbon & Cola Barbecue Sauce, Collard Greens, 3 Sister’s Grits & Candied Pecans, which unabashedly makes use of a pig’s ham, shoulder, ribs, and tenderloin. Even the collard greens are flavored with glazed ground ham. [The Pickled Tongue]

Phillip Foss Wonders Whether Chicago’s Love for the Pig Has Gone Too Far