If you think French dining is mostly snooty garçons and fussy
little pastries, The Peppered Pig can provide you with another perspective. The
casual French-American bistro, owned by chef Christopher Woods, celebrates
rustic, down-to-earth French classics like cassoulet, Croque Monsieur, and the
humble roast chicken. You’ll also find American mainstays with a French twist:
a burger seared in duck fat, a grilled cheese sandwich featuring Comté. Salads,
light bites, brunch items, and charcuterie and cheese boards are also
available.
Woods, a
native of Fairport, fell in love with French cuisine while living in Napa,
California, where he attended the Culinary Institute of America and worked at
French bistro The Girl & The Fig. Since moving back
to Rochester a decade ago, Woods has cooked at Monroe’s, Jeremiah’s, The
Radisson hotel, and Route 96 BBQ. But the dream of opening his own French
bistro never went away. When Italian restaurant La Bella Vita vacated 1759
Empire Boulevard to move down the street, Woods snapped up the space. Following
renovations — new floors, a larger bar, a fresh paint job — The Peppered Pig opened
for business in August 2019.
All menu
items are a la carte; if you want frites with that, you’ll have to order them
separately. Woods recommended ordering a few dishes and sharing them around the
table, and I was happy to follow his advice. Ordering to share has become my
favorite way to dine out. Not only do you get to sample more dishes and eat
more adventurously, you’re also relieved of the anxiety that comes with
committing to an entree you may not like. (Nothing ruins a dining experience
like the FOMO of knowing your friend’s entree is tastier than yours). So I
invited four friends to join me at The Peppered Pig on a recent Wednesday
night.
The wine
list features mostly French and California selections, and cocktails and local
beer are also available. Knowing we were choosing a variety of dishes and
likely to linger for some time, we chose one bottle of crisp Sauvignon Blanc
and one bottle of red Côtes du Rhône for the table.
We began
with a bowl of mussels ($16), steamed in broth and wine and served with fennel
and grilled bread for soaking up the juices. The clean, delicate flavors proved
to be an excellent warmup for the decadence to follow.
Next the braised
pork belly ($14) arrived, an impossibly tender, bacon-y slab with a crispy
mahogany exterior that Woods says takes two days to make. The meat is laid over
sweet potato puree, topped with matchsticks of green apple, and encircled by
loops of soy caramel. I found I barely needed the caramel, as the
melt-in-your-mouth pork belly was luscious enough. One of my dining companions
pronounced the dish “exceptional,” as he cut himself a sliver and passed the
plate around.
Our shared
mains included the quiche Lorraine (with bacon, cheddar, and onion; $12) which was
creamy, pudding-like, and noticeably heftier than your average quiche. Woods
explained that it’s made in a springform pan rather than a pie pan, which
accounts for the quiche’s mile-high thickness. If you want to take one home, whole
10-inch quiches are available to order with 24 hours’ notice.
The
bouillabaisse was next, a Provençal seafood stew of various fish, shellfish,
fennel, saffron, and tomatoes. The types of fish in a “traditional”
bouillabaisse can vary based on who you ask, but The Peppered Pig’s version
contains scallops, mussels, and grouper. The stew was bright and richly-flavored,
reminiscent of the seaside without being fishy.
I was most
looking forward to the duck confit ($16/one leg, $23/two legs), and it did not
disappoint. Duck confit is made by salt-curing pieces of duck (in this case,
the legs) and cooking the meat slowly in its own fat. The confit cooking method
was originally a way to preserve food in the pre-refrigerator days, but the
technique continues to thrive in the modern era because…well, it produces a
delicious product. Outrageously rich, duck confit is dish for a special
occasion (or a Wednesday). The dark, oily meat seemed to fall off the bone as
if by magic, and a small mound of peppery arugula and pickled red onions was there
to cut through the richness. I think
the plate of duck made it all the way around the table…when it wasn’t parked
next to my elbow.
The Pig
Burger ($15) was the favorite dish of two members of our party. This decadent
creation is served between two thick slices of sourdough, which are just barely
enough to contain the two beef patties seared in duck fat, plus brie, bacon,
tomato jam, greens, and a slathering of tarragon aioli.
Keeping with
our theme of ordering the seemingly most indulgent items on the menu, we had to
have the cassoulet as well ($20). This rustic, slow-cooked casserole hails from
Southern France and contains a mix of meats and beans. Woods’ version features
pork belly, duck confit, house-made sausage, white beans, and bread crumbs. The
sausage was juicy and tender, the beans pleasantly al dente, and I welcomed the
opportunity to sample the pork belly and confit once more.
Rather than
ordering a side of frites, we opted for Brussels sprouts (all sides are $8),
which are fried and dressed in a walnut caper vinaigrette with scatterings of
bacon. Though we agreed the seasoning was applied a little too heavily, we
loved the crunchy core and blistered exterior of the fried sprouts.
We needed
little prodding to order dessert, which we also shared around the table: a
deeply caramelized crème brûlée, which broke into perfect shards with the
lightest tap; a velvety chocolate mousse with chocolate chips dotted
throughout; and a simply enormous sourdough and cranberry bread pudding with
caramel sauce (all desserts $7).
Though I
didn’t visit the restaurant for brunch, the menu looks promising. Among the
offerings are duck fat home fries, a pork belly breakfast sandwich, and
Cointreau-laced French toast with mascarpone and fig syrup.
Thus far,
Woods says the restaurant has been fairly busy, especially on weekends. As the
self-described “owner-operator-busser-bartender,” Woods estimates that he
himself is averaging roughly 90 hours a week at the restaurant, but that
doesn’t seem to bother him. “We put a lot of time and thought into what we do,”
he says. “A little attention to detail really affects the outcome.”
Mary
Rice is a freelance writer for CITY. Feedback on this article can be directed
to becca@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2020.
