Husband-and-wife team Chris Yang and Marcelle Gonzales are now in their third week of their soft-opening dinner service at PIGLET & CO., their first brick-and-mortar location in the Mission (they opened in the former Southpaw space and short-lived Above Ground).
The concept is non-traditional, Taiwanese-inspired cuisine, taking inspiration from dishes you’d find in night markets but made with local ingredients, and also freewheeling enough to include their favorite Asian comfort food dishes and flavors (Chris loves wings, and Marcelle loves barbecue, so she is way into their mala BBQ pork ribs). The food reflects their way of doing things, and making the kinds of dishes they love to eat, so you may find some Korean ingredients or Japanese influences on the menu, too.
The really appetizing menu includes honey walnut shrimp and pork toast (shokupan), rice porridge, chashao pork ssam, and Chinese-style steamed fish (Mt. Lassen trout with ginger-scallion relish). It’s designed to ideally be a meal you share with friends and family: if you got a four-top together, you could order and try all the dishes on the menu. Coming out of the pandemic, they know many people who want to be dining together again.
You may recognize the couple from their pop-ups (and meal kits!) the past three-four years, like El Chino Grande at numerous breweries, and Hén-zhì. El Chino Grande will reappear (with its famed tacos and burger) at future festivals, like Outside Lands.
When they host their grand opening on January 28th, they’ll be launching their family banquet menu plus a few more à la carte dishes, and Sunday brunch is coming February 5th (10am-2pm). Their beer and wine license should also be coming in February. The space has around 40 seats, with 10 at the bar. The décor reflects things they love since they plan on spending a great deal of time at the restaurant (including Bruce Lee on the TVs). The “& Co.” part of the name is in honor of all the community and folks who have helped them bring this restaurant to life.
Open for dinner Wed-Sat. (Book on Resy.) 2170 Mission St. at 18th St.
Mala BBQ pork ribs, with mala miso glaze, koji mayo, red onion relish, bubu arare. Photo courtesy of Piglet & Co.
