A tasty addition to St. Louis’s technology corridor, the year-old Chocolate Pig was a natural progression for managing partner Kate Turner, who cut her culinary teeth in the catering industry with 23 City Blocks and the Caramel Room. For her sit-down kitchen, Turner and her team collaborated with interior designer Brett Clark of the Savvy Design Group, who used natural elements to soften the building’s modern aesthetic. The result is an inviting, open-concept space that works for a cozy date night, lively Sunday brunch and everything in between.
Similar to its seamlessly integrated wood and tile flooring, the Chocolate Pig’s provisions are contemporary without being standoffish. “Cortex brings inclusive tech jobs to an underutilized district,” explains Turner. “We wanted to do something similar with our inclusive menu.”
What’s an inclusive menu? It’s a comprehensive seasonal docket designed to please everyone. Yes. Everyone. “Our goal is to take down-home cooking— those things your grandmother makes really, really well—but do it in a very luxurious, super approachable way,” Turner says.
Fried chicken, for example, tossed over white cheddar and pimento-based mac and cheese. And there’s the roasted beet hummus, a shareable blended with honey goat cheese and sumac, served alongside homemade buttermilk crackers. The Chocolate Pig does fried green tomatoes, too, as well as standout pulled pork, shrimp and grits and buffalo-style cauliflower, but Turner’s go-to is the CP Power Bowl, an ever-changing heirloom grain dish topped with seasonal vegetables, chimichurri, the protein du jour and an egg, sunny side up.
While corporate executive chef Nick Miller oversees general operations across the restaurant, it was chef de cuisine Candice Poss who streamlined the joint’s unique approach to classic cooking. Turner, who names every Chocolate Pig cocktail after a person who has inspired her, finally gave herself a drink last fall— The Queen Bee—a Four Roses bourbon, Big O ginger liqueur and lemon/honey concoction owing its additional swagger to the angostura bitters. A dollar from every Queen Bee sold is donated to the Save the Honeybee Foundation.
