When I toured full time I kept an ongoing list of places I wanted to eat. I researched upcoming cities, made a long list of restaurants and visited as many as I could. It was both frustrating and invigorating because as soon as I’d eaten at one great place on my list, I’d read or hear about 12 others that I really should visit and my list never got any shorter. Ultimately I stopped updating The List because I like crossing things off and it was borderline stressful to see all the many places I would never be able to eat because my life was too short and my stomach too small.

See how I made something pleasurable into a chore? It’s like an anti-super power.

I found The List last week and realized that The Purple Pig was on it, which I’d forgotten when I suggested it for a late lunch with college friends of mine. The Pig was on my list because of Bon Appetit’s recommendation, a great pedigree of Chicago chefs and the second most popular restaurant concept of the 21st century: pork.

Chad and Lisa and I have been friends for many years and every time I see them, I’m reminded that I made really good friend choices in my early 20s. Isn’t is lovely when that happens? We met up on a cold grey day and spent 4 hours eating lunch, drinking wine and telling stories.

Is there a better beginning to lunch than this?

or seating with partial views?

How about these salt roasted beets with whipped goat cheese?

Acorn squash with balsamic and burrata

Eggplant caponata with goat cheese

Charred cauliflower

Empty bones where marrow used to be

Fried olives with chorizo

And pig’s tail, because too much pig is never enough pig

And after that surfeit of food, we pushed ourselves out into the cold and actually tried to go here for dessert

But it was closed. Booooo! Next time, Chicago… Next time.

PS: yes, I crossed The Purple Pig off The List with great satisfaction.

Onward!