With a side of burgers

I'd heard of The Spotted Pig, but not only had never been, I didn't know what they were famous for, so when my brother suggested we go for burgers, I readily agreed.

Even at 4pm on a Sunday, we had to wait half an hour. (Ah, the Village...)

We shared an apple salad as an appetizer. It was so good and so unusual, I was apparently wolfing them down (ah, dining with family) because my brother moved the plate to the other side of the table. The salad was mostly chopped apples with a vinaigrette and a negligible amount of cheese and greens as garnish. The flavor was so unusual, I asked the server what was in it and she duly told me there was cider vinegar, prune juice, apple juice, and a bunch of other ingredients I cannot remember. How I wish I'd written them down, despite my siblings' mocking!

I'd tried to substitute beets & greens for the shoestring fries that come with the burger, but they wouldn't let me... so I had both. (At my brothers' insistence I might add.) The beets and greens were very nice - the greens were more black than green, but the whole side had a nice flavor.

I've never had such delicious fried potatoes in my life. The shoestring fries were thin, which meant extra crisp. Apparently they fry them with rosemary and garlic IN THE FRYER so every helping comes with a healthy dose of fried rosemary and garlic slices. Genius! Fried rosemary is so tasty!

The burger itself was disappointing to me. Adding a healthy dollop of blue cheese to an already juicy burger is gilding the lily and while a few bites justified the paroxysms from the foodie press, mostly it was just too greasy. If I went back, I'd get the apple salad and the beets & greens - and steal someone else's fries.