The Other Critics

Hirsch Addicted to Pig & Pie; Miller Warmly Welcomes Plaj

Trusting the chefs whimsy.
Trusting the chefs whimsy. Photo: Pie & Pie

Jesse Hirsch laments the fact that he lives a mere block away from Pig & Pie because he can’t stop pigging out there. His frequent visits span breakfast, lunch and dinner, in which he’s enjoyed plates including the Sriracha-drizzled egg and sausage roll, the pickle sampler (headcheese, tart green tomatoes, curried cauliflower and a potent scarlet kimchee), and pickled beef tongue sausage, and affirms chef Nate Overstreet’s assertion that the gooey, cayenne-spiced pecan pie is the “[b]est thing we serve.” Says Hirsch about his trust in Pig & Pie chef Nate Overstreet’s “whimsy:” “Whether it was a fanciful pig’s ear and watermelon salad, a Korean blood and vermicelli sausage, or a pig trotter terrine with peppercress pesto, his sharp instincts — and ingredients — were apparent.” [Examiner, Earlier]

Virginia Miller is thrilled will her meals at Plaj and hopes the new restaurant will inspire more Scandinavian chefs to fill the void in the local dining scene. She notes that chef-owner Roberth Sundell hails from Stockholm — his culinary family history spans two generations — but has been living in Northern California for the past few years, in which he’s learned how to put local ingredients to good use in his Nordic-influenced dishes. Miller finds that the the Fjord-seafood section of Plaj’s menu highlights the best parts of Scandinavian cooking, such as the “taste of herring” trio, Krondill (crown dill) poached lobster, and the Norwegian salmon belly gravlax. For a cocktail pairing, she recommends the “garden-fresh” Misommar, which is a Pernod absinthe that delivers “herbaceous notes” to a Flor de Cana light rum, lime, and dill simple syrup, and she says the all-Scandinavian beer list is “spot-on.” [SFBG, Roth’s earlier take]

Hirsch Addicted to Pig & Pie; Miller Warmly Welcomes Plaj