Alphabedible Adventures: Hog Heaven

If you are like us, you have lived in Nashville for many years and have driven through centennial park countless times. You have also passed by a little shack with a painting of a pig on it and have thought every time, “I wonder if that place is any good.” When we reached the letter “H” and noticed how many followers suggested it, we knew it was finally time to try Hog Heaven.

It must be said that the 10 AM-7 PM hours of Hog Heaven are not very favorable for dinner, especially if you are commuting from Brentwood (Brian). We arrived at 6:50 PM, just 10 minutes before closing time. Suffice it to say, our food was probably served from the bottom of the barrel. With that said, here is our opinion of the meal we were served, but since so many people we know love Hog Heaven, we refuse to believe that our experience was the norm.

As we sped up the street toward the restaurant we were praying that they hadn’t closed early, and we were happy to see that the metal gate at the entrance was still open. The building is not exactly impressive – cinder blocks and chain link fence welcome you to a dining room of weathered wooden benches, exposed to the elements. We are strong believers that some of the best restaurants are the “hole-in-the-walls” so the appearance didn’t throw us off one bit. We did decide that due to the cold weather, we would be eating in the car! The menu is posted next to their ordering window and once we figured out what we wanted, we ordered and paid.

Tracy went for her barbeque staple, the pulled pork sandwich with slaw ($2.38). She also ordered the potato salad and green bean sides ($1.29 each) because a barbeque joint is only as good as its sides! The biggest complaint Tracy had about her sandwich was its temperature. It was lukewarm at best and clearly not the best of pulls from the pig. The sides were a little on the small side but Tracy liked the spice of the green beans and the mustard based potato salad.

Brian ordered the pork platter ($6.99), which comes with a cornbread pancake and two sides. How could he go wrong with baked beans and macaroni and cheese, the vegetable special of the day? Unfortunately, the pork was a little cold and watery. The baked beans had a unique, peppery flavor. The macaroni and cheese, probably scrumptious when first pulled from the oven, had begun to clump (as anyone who has come home to a half-eaten pot can tell you). The real disappointment of the night, however, was the sweet tea. Either they got confused behind the counter and poured a glass from the wrong pitcher, or they need an introduction to good ol’ brown sugar and molasses.

I guess you could say we were a little under whelmed by our dinner, especially after we heard so many good things about it. Needless to say, we were ready for something sweet to turn our night around. In all the rush we completely forgot to order any at Hog Heaven, so we drove a few blocks east on West End until we arrived at the first local “H” we saw, The Hutton Hotel’s trendy 1808 Grille (We know, it’s a bit of a stretch, but go with it!). We knew we were in for a unique experience as the steps leading up to the restaurant from the valet stand were positioned on an angle – perfect for those with high heels or a small gait. As we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the host who made sure to find us a nice table despite the packed bar and dining room and even checked in with us a couple of times during our dessert. We could tell that this was definitely a place to see and be seen.

After taking in the atmosphere we both got to pick one of the small dessert plates to share. A half dozen banana beignets ($5) were served in a brown paper bag. A quick shake at the table and they were covered in powdered sugar. They were more like bananas in a blanket than true beignets, but whatever their shape and style, they were delicious, especially when dipped in the hazelnut crème anglaise dipping sauce. As a sweet addition to our beignets, we ordered the assorted chocolate truffles ($5). Two each of three truffle flavors (heath, cocoa, feuilletine) were the just the amount of chocolate we needed to make our dessert perfect.