Monday has arrived again…fun fun fun. I had a great weekend in Orlando hangin out with my aunt, mom & sis. It was my aunt’s birthday and wanted to make it an extra special one since she is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer. I’m trying to find out all the holistic ways to beat cancer…any advice?

My aunt & I at dinner

My aunt has been feeling great and wanted to go out for a nice dinner. We went to The Ravenous Pig, which I think is the best restaurant in Orlando. We also went there a few months ago as a celebratory “kick cancer’s butt” dinner for my aunt the week before she started treatment. The first time we went to the Ravenous Pig was amazing! But I would say this visit wasn’t as awe inspiring.

My mom & sis

We ordered a couple apps to start with. The first thing I ate was the Duck Confit & Pear Salad. It had “cubes” of duck that were fried in duck fat, and poached pears with a pear caramel vinaigrette and bleu cheese. The duck was great…crispy and savory. The salad had some really bland bites and some way too bleu cheesy bites.

I love cubes of deep fried meat!

The next dish was one of the highlights of the evening, a date wrapped with crispy prosciutto and stuffed with goat cheese. I could have eaten a dozen hundred of these! It was sweet salty yumminess. The server explained that they featured these for a rehearsal dinner they did, and it was so popular they added it to the menu.

You NEED these!

One of the entrees we shared was the Scallops, it was served with a pink-eyed & black-eyed pea ragú, cornbread sauce, and pickled ham hocks. It’s was so tasty! It was a southern-modern twist on the scallop. Every bite was perfection…the creamy cornbread sauce with the tangy ragu was ridiculously good.

These scallops were the bomb!

The next entrée was the Duroc Pork Platter, which had 3 types of Pork with an apple condiment.
1. Country pork steak (top left) – a little dry, but flavorful and I loved the mini brussel sprouts!
2. Pork belly (bottom) – melted in your mouth but not cooked enough IMO, needed more crisp!
3. Pork sausage (top right) – a little dry, but good bold flavors

A pork lovers paradise

We also ordered a starter to even out the meal… Potato Gnocchi with Stewed Goat. I love gnocchi and had never tried goat so I really wanted to try it. Unfortunately it was my least favorite dish of the night. There was SO much orange that it totally overpowered everything.

Looks can be deceiving!

After all this food we were stuffed (plus we had carrot cake at home)! We got a tasty treat with our check…a chocolate cherry brownie bite. It was just the right amount of sweet (but the sis said my brownies were better).

Everyone loves brownies!

I wish my 2nd trip to the Pig was a good as the first. The dates and scallops were a 10 out of 10, but there were some duds. They change their menu every month, so I am excited to try it again for our next special occasion (aka my birthday, hehe). Plus, the servers are very welcoming, really know their stuff and have impeccable timing. You can’t beat that!