Anyway, had a chance last week to hit up a sandwich shop way up northwest, near Cedar Park, where I popped into the Noble Pig for a sandwich. Man this place is great, and I wish it were closer to town. If you happen to find yourself up within earshot of the place, make it a point to stop in. I love what these guys are doing. Everything from scratch, including condiments.
Non-descript little place in a crappy little strip of retail shops, you've got to be on the lookout for it to find it. Only around eight tables or so inside of it, and not much on the decor, but you know it's got to have something with a deli case filled with homemade sausages, condiments and jarred goods in it, which you only notice after looking up at the massive chalkboard with a handwritten menu.
I opted for the Smoked Duck Pastrami. Homemade smoked duck, with homemade rye pickle slices, and homemade Russian dressing, on homemade toasted bread. Catching a trend here? I told you everything was made from scratch. Came with chips, and I added a side of homemade (that's right) pickles for an extra $2, which was well worth it.
Let's start at the top of the sandwich and work our way down.
The bread. Wow, I've never had toasted bread like this. While I expected, and surely would have welcomed, a butter-laden fried to a crisp outer crust with real crunch, what I got was a hybrid between the softest homemade white bread you've ever had, and a piece of toast fresh from the toaster. I have no idea how they executed what they did except to say they likely heated a dry cast iron pan to +/- 1,000 degrees, then dropped the bread onto it, dry, and taken it immediately off without toasting the other side. The outside was perfectly toasted, picking up a fantastic pan-seared flavor, but only to the depth of a piece of paper, or less. Below that perfect crust was the softest and freshest white bread you've had, an incredible hybrid of toast and bread that was perfect for the tastes inside.
The duck. I'll be honest I expected something along the lines of a higher quality and less watery turkey pastrami, but was pleasantly surprised at both the texture and flavor of what they did crank out. Torn strips of smoked duck, that resembled more of a barbecued pulled pork than a deli meat, rich with smoke flavor and incredibly tender and flavorful.
Russian dressing. I don't much care for communism, but the Ruskie's got TANG! Awesome condiment made in house that blows any Thousand Island you've ever had out of the water. Much more flavorful, much more complex, and a perfect offset to the smoky duck.
Rye pickles. I like to think that these guys nurtured these cucumbers in the patch by pouring rye whiskey on them instead of water, but more likely, they brined them in some sort of vinegar and rye solution before slicing them thin lengthwise and using them on this sandwich. I'll admit I couldn't necessarily distinguish the rye from another type of pickle, but that's most likely in part due to the fact they had that duck and dressing on top of them. Still, they were great pickles that provided the necessary crunch in the middle that the outer edges of the bread couldn't penetrate. The briny flavor of them also cut through the mayo of the dressing and the smokiness of the duck to give the sandwich the only thing it lacked otherwise.
Bottom piece of bread. Same as the top. Scroll up.
My only knock on this sandwich was that it could have used more duck to make the meat to bread ratio a little stronger. But hey, they've got to make their margins and if they load it up you'll either pay more and not go, or they won't be there much longer.
The side of pickles was equally as good as the sandwich, and was the perfect compliment. Pickled with onions and carrots, these things were cold and crisp like I like them, and cut in little chunks, which was perfect.
Seriously, great place and they should be proud of what they put out. Go see them and keep them in business despite their far out location. You'll enjoy it.
Summary:
Atmosphere: deli-like, no-frills, good for lunch and good for takeout
Food: innovative sandwiches with fresh and homemade ingredients
Dog Friendly: no
Crowd: can't say other than likely suburbanites, as I hit it at an odd time and was one of only a couple in there
What to Order for the First Timer: smoked duck pastrami
Best Time to Go: lunch
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