I’ve never been one to stand patiently in line, no matter what delights await, which means that I’ve never been much of a bruncher. It’s not that I don’t like brunch – it’s hard to deny bacony, eggy, potatoey goodness – it’s just that weekends seem to get so jam-packed with basketball or baseball, or trying to exercise, that taking 3 hours out of the day to spend on brunch hasn’t happened much. But today was an exception. Monkey and I got to check out the petite, farm-to-table joint, The Naked Pig Café, in Santa Rosa. Post-basketball, natch.
Housed in a former ticket-booth for Grey Hound Bus, in a building resembling a shipping container from the outside, the Naked Pig Café is cozy, shabby chic on the inside with additional seating available outside when the weather is good. Thankfully, there’s a lot of good weather up in Santa Rosa. The focus of the menu, which changes weekly, is breakfast and lunch, with all ingredients sourced uber-locally. The list of purveyors is posted proudly on the door.
From waffles topped with preserves and whipped cream, to the Americana ($11) – pimped diner fare with local baked eggs, fried potatoes and a few greens, and Eggs “Benni” ($15), there’s a slew of yummy breakfast dishes to choose from. If you’re lucky, biscuits with melted butter and honey will still be on the menu ($4.50). With no liquor license, you can’t have a bucks fizz, but there’s a very sparkly kombucha and juices to choose from.
Today’s lunch menu included a roast pork sandwich, a special pizza and a “hand pie” – or pasty to me – with sausage and mushroom filling. The latter is what Monkey chose. With a hand-rolled shortcrust pastry (which was great on top but a little soggy underneath) and a delicious gravy inside, I liked the flavors of this pie. My Americana was solid. The potatoes were lovely and crispy, the tomato sauce homemade and the eggs had bright golden, runny yolks.
I couldn’t resist a half-order of the pork “cracklins” ($8)- deeply fatty, rich, and 100% moreish – I had to ask for a takeout bag early on so I wouldn’t inhale the lot. All in, this is a great find and we will most certainly be back, although at $60 for two, including tip, it’s going to be more of a treat than an every-weekend occurence.
Open from Wed-Sun for breakfast and lunch, you can find The Naked Pig Café at 435 Santa Rosa Ave Santa Rosa, CA 95401, United States
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