Cork & Pig is West 7th heaven

It’s been almost a year since AF+B unceremoniously tossed in its white kitchen towel in the West 7th location that is now home to Cork & Pig Tavern.

But so go the ways of the restaurant world — particularly, it seems, in this neighborhood — and when one door closes, chef and owner Felipe Armenta seems to know what to do with the proverbial open one.

The San Angelo native first made his entry into Fort Worth with The Tavern, a convivial Hulen Street bar and grill; garnered more followers, especially the ladies-who-wear-tennis-skirts-to-lunch variety at Pacific Table; and has hit pay dirt with the near-bucolic, Trinity River-adjacent Press Cafe. Why not add another venue to this winning hand?

Emphasis on the winning. At his latest, Cork & Pig Tavern, comfort and competence are bywords and, even after just being open over a month, the place seems to be almost running itself.

On a recent Saturday night, our reservations were held in good stead, and we were swiftly led to a deep booth at the back of the dining room, past the same windowed open kitchen of its predecessor and underneath requisite Edison-bulb chandeliers, at the appointed hour.

Shabby-chic is the design theme: Tables are unadorned, brick walls are whitewashed, and tasteful, unthreatening art hangs from the walls, as if Joanna Gaines from HGTV’s Fixer Upper oversaw the whole transition from urban hipster to Odessa oil-magnate chic.

Armenta has two other Cork & Pigs — in that West Texas town as well as in San Angelo — subverting the notion of small-town success, for if you can make it in Odessa, you can really make it … in West 7th!

We certainly took to the offerings, which span salads, sandwiches, pizzas and ribs. A fried calamari appetizer ($12) looked most appealing to our group, and it was a safe bet: Well-breaded and seasoned, it was not particularly exciting or crispy, but it helped get the evening off on a good note. Random pieces of broccoli (also fried in the same batter) were mixed in, which was a bit odd since there were maybe three, total, in the entire dish. The excellent tartar sauce, studded with garlic, made for good dipping.

The ahi tuna burger ($15) had shades of Pacific Table, with a citrusy Asian slaw and avocado slices conspiring to good effect atop perfectly rare, very spicy tuna. The brioche-like bun was just the thing to contain the ingredients. Salty, solid fries came on the side, and disappeared fast.

The restaurant has six wood-fired pizzas, including The Pig ($15) — Italian sausage, pepperoni and pancetta — but a lighter and no less successful pie was the Napa Valley ($14), with wild mushrooms, kalamata and green olives, kale, mozzarella, and garlic.

When it was deposited on the table looking more like a soufflé, with its crust attractively puffed out, we were enamored, especially since it proved a good vehicle for the outstanding kale and escarole salad ($13). The salad was a family-sized portion with smoky rotisserie-chicken chunks, red grapes, pickled onions, chopped bacon and white cheddar, which covered it like a downy, nutty cloak.

A special on the evening, a braised short rib ($32), was terrific, with an outward char matched by tender meat almost falling off the bone. Painted with a honey barbecue sauce, it was well-matched by the mac and cheese, fusilli pasta swimming in a cast-iron vat of melted sharp white cheddar, fontina, smoked gouda and goat cheese.

Desserts are made in-house, but there are currently only two choices: Mexican chocolate cake or tres leches ($8 each). The cake was moist, dusted with cinnamon and complemented by a generous scoop of cinnamon-vanilla ice cream. A coconut-fueled granola dusted the dish, providing delicious texture.

A well-priced wine list was a nice surprise (as was the Rock and Vine “Three Ranches” cabernet, $27), and craft cocktails are an agreeable hold-over from the previous tenant, as is the retro-style bar off the front entry.

A small weekend brunch menu is already making waves (Fruity Pebbles French toast, anyone?), as will a new, small patio, which our server said is soon to be under construction. About nine tables will offer yet another dynamic to the crowd-pleasing experience that is Cork & Pig.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Cork & Pig is West 7th heaven."