Michael Schmidt really misses good Southern food. He grew up in Jacksonville, Fla. around good food, family recipes and worked at restaurants his father owned ? from fancy upscale ones to pizza shops ? and now brings his experience to Union Square.
The Cambridge resident has already caused a buzz around town with his catering from Kitchen Inc., which he helped build, and fans are happy that The Bearded Pig will soon be a brick and mortar business coming to 445 Somerville Ave.
?Having lived in the Deep South most of my life, I can attest that The Bearded Pig is the closet thing you can get to genuine Southern food in Boston,? said Ian Smith, a project manager at Somerville-based Project Greenroofs. Smith ordered catered food from Schmidt for his business twice in the past five months and has become a big fan.
?Even though I loved catering, I wanted to deal with clients face-to-face and decided to look around for a space,? Schmidt said. That was earlier in the spring. The toughest part was finding a spot in Union. Since both he and wife work in the square he said they have really ?become attached? to it.
Currently the Bearded Pig is going through last-minute construction and permitting and is scheduled to open in a week. It will offer counter service, as is Southern BBQ tradition, and will seat 30-40.
?It?s going to be affordable, open for dinner and lunch and we want to offer beer and wine too,? Schmidt added.
The menu is limited but promises wholesome goodness from a North Carolina vinegar slaw and honey-jalapeno cornbread to St. Louis spareribs, pulled pork and sliced brisket. The creamy mac and cheese and a four-bean sweet and sour beans are already popular from parties he has catered. Sauces include the Southern sweet, hot and spicy, East Carolina vinegar and low country mustard. As for the original pit sauce, Schmidt said he?s been making it ever since he was a kid.
?They?re all family recipes or recipes I developed at my grandmother?s,? Schmidt said. That?s why he has honored the creators with Rosalee?s chocolate chip cookies and Alice?s banana pudding on the menu for dessert.
Catering customer Smith said the BBQ chicken is perfect and not too dry unlike other places around Boston; he vouched for the pulled pork and brisket with the east Carolina vinegar as the best meat selection on the menu with a sweet after taste, and swore that the jalapeno cornbread is superb or better than her has had in the South.
?The banana pudding is much better than my mother?s and she?s a good Southern cook,? he added.
The name of the restaurant refers to the large, long-legged species that ?has this crazy little beard? but also harkens to the French word barbe ? queue, meaning from beard to tail, reminiscent of a pig on a spit.
Schmidt ran a barbeque joint in DC before he got sidetracked and became an architect for a few years but is happy to return to his true calling.
?A lot of people come to Union Square and it will be nice to serve something that isn?t here,? he said.
Director of Union Square Main Streets Mimi Graney is looking forward to the opening and thinks it?s ironic that a Southern bbq restaurant will stand next to The Dosa Temple, a vegetarian Indian joint.
?It?s great that Union Square has a barbecue place,? she said. ?Redbones put Davis Square on the map. Maybe The Bearded Pig will become an anchor for Union Square.?
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