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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Shrimp and grits with kimchi reduction, fresh rosemary and roe
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Isabel and James Eckrosh, the husband-and-wife team behind The Dog & Pig Show
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Rosemary-cream chocolate whoopie pies
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Smoked pork sandwich with soy and pork reduction, pickled red onions, and sweet Thai chili-basil mayonnaise
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Spinach bites with collards and kale
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Sweet corn pancake with homemade pimento cheese and house-pickled corn
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Toasted cornflake chocolate cookies
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Boudin with poblanos, pork shoulder, onions, chicken liver, rice and bacon
UPDATE: Contrary to previous plans of opening Black Friday, The Dog & Pig Show has just communicated last-minute snags and pushed its Church Hill opening to Dec. 10. This story has been updated to reflect this change.
Church Hill, meet The Bayou.
The Dog & Pig Show, the quaint 'n' tasty takeout and catering venture from husband-and-wife team James and Isabel Eckrosh, opens for business on Wednesday, Dec. 10 for all your shrimp 'n' grits needs.
James is slinging samples of The Dog & Pig Show's New Orleans-tinged cuisine at the annual Richmond magazine/R•Home Embellish holiday event, swarmed by middle-aged women who can't get enough of his cooking. To be fair, the fare is delicious. It's also impressive, given his kitchen's circumstance.
The new restaurant, opening at 314 N. 25th St. and named after the pair's zodiac signs, is without a full kitchen. There is no hood, and without one, it's commendable that the Eckrosh duo deep-fried each boudin ball in a noncommercial fryer. The new spot is also without seating, making for yet another hurdle: How could they open their new restaurant without a place for diners to enjoy the food? The answer: The Dog & Pig Show would offer takeout only, as well as fill holiday catering orders that include dishes like bourbon pecan bread pudding with butterscotch sauce, collards and kale with smoked bacon, and corned beef, pork belly and sweet potato hash. You need décor for your party? They offer decorating services, too. The couple also hosts an acclaimed Sunday Suppers dining series, which will return in early 2015.
While you won't find a full conventional menu — The Dog & Pig Show will, after all, only be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. initially — you'll find a frequently rotating menu of five or six dishes, and Isabel's creative baked goods like rosemary-cream-and-chocolate whoopie pies, and toasted cornflake chocolate cookies.
"I hate going to a place and leaving feeling played about it," James says, "Like I paid too much, that it wasn't that good, that the portion was tiny for what I paid; I just feel that that's so common and I don't want that to be what we do. I kind of want it to be more street-food level; not expensive."
The hit of the Embellish party, and The Dog & Pig Show's one menu constant, is of course the Creole staple of shrimp and grits. James' creative spin and knack for improvisation leads to a unique and varying take on the dish (the night of the party, for example, he's using kimchi reduction, roe and fresh rosemary). Typically, however, those who stop by the new restaurant can expect a rich, creamy plate that involves a bacon, onion and jalapeño butter compound, Gulf shrimp, beer, fresh herbs and heavy cream.
As to their opening menu, the couple will be serving up more Louisiana flavor with an Asian twist, like you'll find in the the pulled pork po' boy with soy-glazed pork shoulder, spicy cucumber and pickled red onions, or the Laotian-style hot salad with chicken, chorizo, garlic, scallions, and boiled egg.
Though the couple initially hoped to launch their business via food truck, it was a yard sale that eventually brought them to their first brick and mortar.
"We were like, 'Oh, let's stop and see if they're selling any cooking stuff,' " James says. "We got into a conversation with the woman, and she was like, 'I am selling all this stuff, but I'm also trying to sublease the space,' and that's how we got into there."
The Eckroshes are still looking for their dream location with more seating, hoping to make the move to a larger space, ideally in Church Hill or Jackson Ward when their lease ends in two years, though James tells me the New Orleans transplants can't complain about their Richmond surroundings too much.
"It's kind of the only city in Virginia that I would have moved to."
The Dog & Pig Show is located at 314 N. 25th St. and opens on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 11 a.m.
