Back in 1996, when most contemporary art dealers were operating out of Soho, David Zwirner told New York magazine that, for the newly ascendent Chelsea neighborhood to become a viable art destination, “you should be able to get a decent meal.” Plenty of strong restaurants have since filled that void—Cookshop, Izakaya Ten, Co. and the whole Tía Pol group, to name a few.
But for art pilgrims and neighborhood workers looking for a quick, delicious grab-and-go lunch, the offerings have remained paltry, with Bottino’s to-go spot one of the rare beacons of light.
Enter Rocket Pig, a new restaurant from the proprietors of the Swiss standby Trestle on Tenth that opens to the public today. (Eater has declared it the best restaurant name of the year.) It’s located next door to Trestle on West 24th Street, just east of 10th Avenue, and it offers eat-in or take-out service. There is only a single main item, the Rocket Pig Sandwich. Here’s the full, wild description from the menu:
smoked spice-rubbed pork on ciabatta roll with red onion jam and mustard sauce house-made pickle and side of rocket pig hot sauce
The sandwich is tagged at $14, about twice the price of Bottino’s hearty Italian sandwiches, so it is going to have to be one seriously delicious item to make inroads among the neighborhood’s workers. We’ll have a full review in the days to come.
The restaurant also has wine and beer ($6 and $5 a serving, respectively), as well as oysters, bacon caramels (whoa!) and other delicacies, and it’s open seven days a week from, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Rocket Pig.
