the thirsty pig

maybe we caught them on an off day? the food was fantastic! the cheese quesadilla with hot pepper relish was a great combination of crispy tortilla and melted cheese giving this appetizer textural contrast. the hot pepper relish was the perfect combination of sour, sweet and hot. pretzel was fresh from the oven. hot mustard was good. cheese sauce appeared to be cheese whiz, but it worked.goodselection of beers and cider. customer service was not poor, it was just absent. their self serve style did not appear to be working, at least on this day anyways. one person was taking orders, cooking, pouring drinks, and serving tables. he was friendly and was an effective multi-tasker, but the customer service suffered and wait times were long. when another person arrived to help, she didn't appear to be much help. for this reason, i would not go back.goodfood, but a customer service fail.

this place has made so many compoundedgooddecisions (not justgoodbeer, but allagash>not just allagash, but an allagash stout that most places wouldn't be able to sell) that i don't have room to discuss them all. this place understands sausage. makes every other fresh-stuffed sausage i've ever had look like garbage (with one exception 3,000 miles away). and i'll be honest, i've had a lot of sausages. like a loooooooot of sausages. anyways, try the kielbasa. there was also a sausage with ghost peppers that was amazing - most places can't sell anything that spicy, including any restaurant that issues a printed warning on their menu depicting a thermometer with red stuff bursting out the top. the starvin' hog is a gleaming pearl in the sea of superb restaurants in portland.

all in all, it was agoodexperience. i never should have ordered the italian sausage and the next time i go i think i will try the greek chicken (so many people have been raving about it).

friday happy hour at the pig has become a pretty standard way for my friend k. and i to start the evening. $2.50 shipyard draughts (they're probably out of the summer by now, sad) and agoodlayer of meat to lay down before your night of drinking. i am a sucker for a hot dog, especially one for $3.50 on a grilled bun with a side. the pig's other sausage offerings include sweet and hot italian, keilbasa, and chicken. each one comes with enticing toppings and condiments, although i customize my hot dog with a local combo: mayonna