Back in Michigan - Pigs and Space

Closeup of FARM egg and fennel pork sausage on pizza at Prato 

I was in Florida for just 4 days, although it seemed longer. I was there to visit and to help a daughter with a few days of special needs.

The trip had its highs and its lows:

One night of good sleep and one night of hardly any.

Hot, sunny afternoons and frigid interiors. (But yet, perfect nights).

window view

One plane ride that went from roasting to freezing. (I asked the stewardess and she got word to the pilot. It was soon pleasant).

One almost perfect flight. (The flight to Sanford, FL was a little late but an absolutely smooth sail, with non-talking seatmates and a beautiful setting sun in a red sky as we landed).

(With all the temperature changes and close contact with people, I was somewhat concerned about getting sick--and not from the dreaded Ebola virus. (I even bought some orange juice which I usually avoid due to the high sugar content, and ate two apples) No masks were in use on this flight, but Allegiant Air crammed us in like pigs in a poke, in their budget saving, no frills, seats always upright, way. At least no one can recline in your lap--or laptop! They do not light their no smoking signs and save thousands every year on light bulbs! I can respect that. Of course there is no smoking--everyone who flies knows that!)

One pat down--just to be ornery.

 One paper-less boarding pass. (First time I used my new smart phone for a boarding pass!)

 (What if your phone dies just as you are passing through security or boarding? Printing one out at the airport would have cost me $5. My son-in-law who took me to the airport said he would never want to waste $5 by not having a boarding pass. So I decided to go with the phone version! But I probably spent twice that on my mediocre airport lunch!)

And one good pizza.

Perfect evening temps!

 It was a specialty (wood-fired in an authentic Italian oven) of Prato on Park Avenue in Winter Park. So I had to have yet another pizza. I chose the one with an egg in the middle! It was called the Widowmaker--with cacicoriallo, fennel sausage, romesco and FARM egg.  I couldn't read or pronounce most of the menu items, but have since learned that cacicoriallo is a stretched curd cheese that translates "cheese on horse back." There was some Long Island duck in a small portion of fancy pasta. So I shared a little pizza, a little pasta and a little bit too much prosecco--at Prato!

I ate the whole runny egg. I don't know why food now must be garnished with an egg to be well-dressed, but eggs are a near perfect food (second only to breast milk?) and I am glad that they are so fashionable.

Widowmaker pizza at Prato on Park Ave with a FARM egg in the middle.

Also fashionable of late (and not just because of their beauteous bacon) are the porcine pals of my past. These three little porkers grace the back wall of Prato and were represented in my pizza sausage I presume...

When I gathered my fresh FARM eggs for my mother and helped my father with the arrival of the baby pigs (even making a pet of one) on the farm of my youth, I had no idea that these cackling idiots and lowly mud-puddle-loving grunters would continue to be so important in the trendy restaurants of the next century!

Do you recall the campaign (launched in 1987) to popularize pork? Pork--the other white meat. I don't know how much difference those ads made, but today, pork in all its forms, has certainly arrived!

Previously enjoyed and blogged about on a visit to the Orlando area: The Ravenous Pig. Chicago has The Purple Pig. I just ate at The Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis last month--at the top of Minneapolis native Andrew Zimmern's list of faves. New York's West Village has a gastropub called The Spotted Pig.

Can you think of a good pig name? Do you have a favorite "pig" restaurant?'

 Millennium Park area in Chicago could have The Porker and the Bean...

I just discovered a chain of Pot Belly Sandwich Shops, but those have nothing to do with pigs!