Here's a question of a philosopical bent. What do you say when you see a whole roasted pig in a shop window? Do you curl up your nose and go 'Yuck' or are you the kind of person that goes 'Hmmm, how can I get me some of that?' My reaction was definitely of the latter kind when we passed by the window of Oink on Victoria Street, near the Grassmarket in Edinburgh. However, it was Friday evening and we were shortly scheduled to meet a friend for dinner and drinks, so we decided that we would indulge in Oink for our brunch the next morning.
When I wake up slightly hungover, I crave some water, some coffee and hot salty food. From the minute I woke up on Saturday, I was thinking of Oink. The shop is small and oddly enough, decorated with pigs. The rolls are simple, either white or brown, with crackling or without. Sage stuffing or haggis? Apple sauce, coleslaw or chili relish? The rolls come packed to the brim with flaky, juicy shredded pork, plucked from the pig in the window.
The rolls were simply divine, but the best part of eating in Oink is watching the reactions of passers by in the street. You can see a whole gamut of emotions cross their faces. My personal favourites were the people who snuck back 5 minutes later, having left their companions , to order a roll. The japanese man who didn't know what crackling was, but sure as hell knew that he wanted a pork roll.
Our conversation took another turn when my other half asked me which meat sandwich I'd prefer from our travels. There was the salt beef sandwich from Selfridge's in London, the pastrami sandwich from The Pastrami Queen in New York and now the Oink roll. Hmm, tough choice... I think that I'd have to try all once more to be sure!!
