Review: Copper Pig in Southampton

The next time Copper Pig features Peruvian Cornish game hen as a special, order it. It comes with fries and a can of Inca Kola, Peru’s iconic and disturbingly bright yellow soft drink. As owner Nhat Nguyen described the dish to me, a plate of the slow-roasted bird flashed by, wafting hints of garlic and cumin. It was the last one. Eighty-sixed by 7:39 p.m.

Such is the case at buzz-worthy restaurants, and Nguyen’s immensely popular addition to South Hampton has been buzzing nonstop since it opened four months ago. Nguyen formerly owned now-shuttered Urban Lounge on South Grand, where he mixed cocktails as exquisite as the ones here. Cinnamon simple syrup adds warm, sweet notes to his CP Sidecar; mezcal adds depth while a bit of ancho chile liqueur gently heats up the Gaucho, a smokier version of the margarita; Spanish Harlem, boozy with rye whiskey, balances the heat from that ancho chile liqueur with sweet vermouth. 

This habit of messing around with the expected can be found throughout Copper Pig from the decor to the menu. Look down just before entering to appreciate a mosaic of the restaurant’s coppery namesake embedded in the subway tile foyer. Inside, look up while waiting for a table and take in the bare-bones simplicity of the exposed ceiling, animated with floating wooden parquet panels.

Nguyen’s sense of style and design provides the unifying motif: If the parquetry elicits images of clouds, then the room glows with the glamorous amber starlight of Edison pendants – some hanging naked, some encased in skeletal wooden orbs. Brocade wallpaper on one side is contrasted by exposed brick walls dotted with colorful, surrealist local artwork. Even the copper-topped bar is crafted with wood salvaged from a Cupples Station warehouse. And when warmer months return, those beautiful floor-to-ceiling bistro windows facing the street will crank open for almost-alfresco dining.

Copper Pig has been likened to a gastropub, but the vibe is more modish and the menu much more eclectic – even random – showing off influences of Nguyen’s Vietnamese heritage, chef Andrew Cisneros’ Peruvian roots and a fair amount of comfort food cookery. The current trend of starters looking more like side dishes than preludes to a meal is annoying. That is, except Copper Pig’s Brussels sprouts with miso and bacon: a dish that will enamor anyone upon first bite. Flash-fried sprouts laced with crispy bacon provided the earthy, salty flavor and texture expected from this ubiquitous dish, but the surprising sweet and savory twang of miso sent it into must-have territory. If Copper Pig is looking for a signature dish, this should be it.

Then again, there were the plump, thumb-sized lemongrass beef rolls made by Nguyen’s mother, Nhung Tran. This special saw ground beef marinated in a miraculous lemongrass-oyster sauce mixture, rolled up in grape leaves, chargrilled and served with shredded daikon radish and hoisin-peanut dipping sauce. I suggest putting Mom on the payroll to keep these as a permanent menu item.

Somewhere between the deviled eggs with bacon chips and the duck confit poutine (pretty much as messy and delicious as it sounds) there was chao tom, a classic Vietnamese grilled party dish of shrimp meatballs wrapped around sticks of sugarcane. Using lettuce leaves to remove the shrimp and dipping it all in nuoc cham (a Vietnamese condiment of chiles, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice) made a fun, fragrant nosh with a chaser of sweet juice from chewing on the sugarcane.

The four larger plates include a colorfully composed bibimbap bowl of tender bulgogi beef, bean sprouts, Chinese sausage slices, cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon, pungent kimchi and a sunny-side-up fried egg on a bed of seasoned rice. The gorgeous lamb shank I had one evening glistened from its long braise and was embedded in a bowl of citrusy, creamy barley risotto. (It’s now served with a risotto cake, winter veg and au jus.)

Both the bulgogi cheesesteak and pork belly Cuban sandwiches are successful twists on their original concepts: the former with bulgogi beef, kimchi and slivered apples, the latter with the addition of maduros (fried sweet plantains). There’s usually a burger special, like The Fredo: two patties topped with sun-dried tomato jam, basil aioli, bacon and melted mozzarella and drizzled with balsamic syrup, all on a grilled Bosnian lapinja roll. Yes, it’s over the top. Even the standard burger – double-stacked patties, grilled onions, pickles, cheese, a fried egg and, if you want, bacon – tries too hard.

Desserts are decidedly Latin, including a chocolate tres leches cake and a rotating selection of churro ice cream sandwiches; mine had Clementine Creamery’s strawberry-balsamic ice cream with a whisper of white pepper to balance the sweetness.

Copper Pig has already embedded itself in SOHA’s growing restaurant scene along Macklind Avenue, joining Russell’s on Macklind, Grapeseed, Onesto Pizza & Trattoria and its neighbor, The Mack. The area is capable of supporting a variety of eateries, especially one that serves bibimbap next to Peruvian Cornish game hen (when it’s available).

AT A GLANCE

Where
Copper Pig, 4611 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, 314.499.7166, copperpigstl.com

Don’t Miss Dishes
Crispy Brussels sprouts with miso and bacon, bibimbap bowl, pork belly Cuban

Vibe
Skeletal, sophisticated but warm and inviting with a loft-like exposed brick and wood motif

Entree Prices
$13 to $19

When
Mon. to Sat. – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. brunch – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.