Beast feast: Yesterday, Food Gal Carolyn Jung reported on a Saturday night wallow through Oliveto's Whole Hog pork-a-thon (the annual snout-to-tail dinners ran from Feb. 3 through Feb. 6). Jung does a fine job serving up deft descriptions, and even defter photos ― so what is it that leaves us feeling that sprawling restaurant memefests like Whole Hog are nearing an end, at least as cutting-edge displays of bravado?
Believe us, we're not even remotely squeamish about tucking in to animal flesh. And by Jung's report, this year's dinners drew packed houses. But it strikes us that diners are a hell of a lot more sophisticated than when Whole Hog started more than decade ago, and the idea of eating a pig ear terrine was charged with a frisson of novelty. Of course, we're not meant to survive on a steady diet of hog, even a restaurant one. But there's something unappealing about sitting through five meaty courses under any circumstances, the way sitting through five asparagus courses would seem tedious. These days we crave balance and restraint, with meat consumption respectful enough of the slaughtered animal to accept limits.
What about you?
