Pig & Khao

Anyone who knows me knows how big a fan I am of Top Chef. I've been to Dale Talde's Talde Brooklyn as well as Harold Dieteltre's kin shop. Next up to bat was Leah Cohen's Pig & Khao. There were a few things that kept me from wanting to try her food. I was really turned off by the great reviews from Steve Cuozzo of the New York Post. I mean, how can you take a news publication seriously when Snooki is on the cover every other week? Pete Wells also gave it a two star review, but I feel like Wells had a pow-wow with an intern and asked "where do the cool kids eat these days?" Another larger factor was Leah herself. I know it's television but every week I was scratching my head and my balls, and asking myself "how the fuck is she still on the show?" But if I believed everything I saw on TV, I'd be 20 pounds lighter and have a twelve-inch penis with just two pills a day.

The only thing Pig & Khao did have going for it was it was a Fatty Crew joint, so I bit the bullet and rolled over to 688 Clinton street on the lower east side. The place was pretty packed for a Sunday, and the sounds of Shyne's "Bad Boyz" bumped in the background muffling the sounds of the conversations at the table and the bar which faced the open kitchen in the middle of the room. The smells from the kitchen would make someone with a full stomach hungrier than a pot head at an Action Bronson concert .  A friend of mine took full charge of ordering and this is what we ordered:

Sizzling Sisig ($14) - Pork head, chilli, whole egg. The dish comes served on a piping hot cast iron plate with a raw egg on top that you mix into the dish, dope!  I never had pig head before so it is hard to say if the texture was good, but the taste was on point. Hints of lemongrass rolled onto your palate with hints of spiciness every so often. 

Crispy Red Curry Rice Salad ($12) - Minced pork, crispy garlic, shallot, coriander, ginger, peanuts, lime-fish sauce. This rice dish, crispy in texture, served with lettuce leafs, had hints of sour and sweet that switched back and forth with every bite. My favorite dish of the night, and I would straight up catch a case for this one.

Quail Adobo ($15) - Soy sauce, vinegar, Szechuan peppercorns, and crispy garlic. Not bad, but not great. Although the bird was crispy and juicy, the flavor was lacking. All I really could taste was soy sauce from beginning to end. 

Khao Soi ($16) - Red curry, coconut milk, chicken, egg noodles, pickled mustard greens and shallots. Pieces of chicken swam in a coconut curry broth, filled chewy dense egg noodles that were topped with crunchy egg noodles. Every bite started off with heat but ended with cool sweet flavor from the coconut milk. This dish should've come with a warning in the description "may cause boner." 

Grilled Curry Lamb Ribs ($24) - Yogurt, pickled beets, whole wheat roti chapathi. The ribs were perfectly cooked and juicy, but the dish had more of a Mediterranean flavor than an Asian one. Needless to say I sucked the meat off the bone. 

The bill came to $146 with drinks but without tip. I couldn't come up with an elaborate ending like I do in the rest of my reviews. All I can say is that I was wrong in every which way and the hierarchy of the food review game were right. 

Pig & Khao

68 Clinton Street New York, N.Y. 10002
(212) 920-4485
pigandkhao.com