First Look: Pig & Pickle in DeBaliviere

Editor's Note: Pig & Pickle has closed.

Chef-owner Ryan Lewis is putting the finishing touches on his new restaurant, Pig & Pickle, opening at 5511 Pershing Ave., on Friday, Sept. 29.

Those who’ve passed through Springfield, Illinois in recent years may have stopped at Lewis’ previous restaurant, Driftwood Eatery & Cocktail. As The Scoop reported in July, he decided to close the popular restaurant this summer and open an updated concept with a new name in St. Louis.

Lewis, who grew up across the Mississippi River in Bethalto, said the St. Louis market was a better fit for the type of food he wanted to do. He described Pig & Pickle as a “southern-inspired small plates restaurant” offering sharable dishes of veggies, meat and seafood with southern accents like buttermilk biscuits or pimento cheese.

The space that formerly housed Atlas Restaurant received a fresh coat of paint, new floors and barnwood shelving behind the bar. Lewis said he was attracted to the neighborhood’s residential density and hopes to fill the roughly 50 seats with area regulars.

Some Driftwood favorites like the fried chicken and biscuit and pretzel-crusted cheese curds have landed on Pig & Pickle’s menu, but Lewis said he’s looking forward to new items like a gremolata-style mushroom small plate and a charred octopus dish.

Lewis will continue relationships with several Illinois purveyors like Garden Gate, who produces his grits and cornmeal, but he’s also working with new area vendors like Ozark Forest Mushrooms and Theis Farms.

Once Pig & Pickle receives its liquor license, the bar program will feature house cocktails (Driftwood once boasted a 70-drink menu) and local brews on four taps and in 20 to 30 bottles and cans.

The restaurant will open with dinner service Tuesday to Saturday from 4:30 to 10 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday brunch soon to follow. Here’s a first look at what’s to come from Pig & Pickle:

Catherine Klene is managing editor, digital at Sauce Magazine.