Several days ago, a cute little piggy named Babe prematurely passed away. He had made a living will and in the will, he had stated his desire to be roasted over applewood and stuffed with housemade sausage at DBGB -- because he was a big fan of Daniel Boulud's cooking. He also said that he wanted me along with 7 other friends to do the honor. So we did.
The ceremony was a joyous one because we were celebrating Babe's life -- it may have been short but in that brief life, he shined as bright as a shooting star. It started with fromage de tete, accompanied with pickled onions, baby pickles, and little tomatoes.
The pallbearers came by and showed us the little guy. We fought back tears but we approved of the way they had roasted him. They carved him up and the 8 of us received a piece of ol' Babe on our plate.
There were several offerings to the gods that came with Babe -- swiss chard-gruyere potato gradtin, red & white sauerkraut, and truffled corn-on-the-cob. The corn was legendary and little Babe would have been proud to know how good it was.
Before we started eating him, we made a toast. In the will Babe had said that he wanted us to have all you can drink beer during the feast. We had a selection of about 12 beers which we would drink throughout the celebration. The selection was phenomenal.
After the toast, we passed around some jus and we poured it over our plates. As I put my first piece in my mouth, I was like....OMFG. The pork stuffed with sausage was just amazing. Honestly. Babe!
We drank and drank some more. We remembered Babe and the stories got crazier and crazier -- particularly the one time that Babe had gone to the city in an attempt to save Farmer Hoggett's farm. Oh the adventures he had there! Babe knew how to party, that's for sure.
As we finished up our plates, we decided to get a little bit adventurous -- one of the most sacred ceremonies involved cutting open the head. In an ancient ritual, we consumed some parts of his buttery brain. This may have been the alcohol. Needless to say, it wasn't very good -- I don't blame him -- It is what it is. I guess none of us would survive the zombie apocalypse. But the tongue, while tough, was excellent.
We had some more beer. Told more stories. Remembered.
Had some pig ear which was nice and crispy. Then for the best part of the pig -- the little hindquarters! Oh man it was good.
But that Babe, he always had a trick up his sleeve. The dessert rolled out -- Baked Alaska - and my oh my! The waiter poured some liquor over the dessert and then lit it on fire! It was truly a fitting way to end the evening. The celebration of life.
We had one last beer before the cake was finished. The 8 of us did a final toast to little Babe. It was the perfect evening - perhaps one of the best meals ever. The best it could have been and a perfect way to remember such an extraordinary figure. That'll do Pig. That'll do.
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