Chicken & The Pig
No food is hotter these days than the Fried Chicken Sandwich. That crispy golden cutlet, on a soft squishy bun, with all kinds of toppings. And there’s a brand new contender for chicken sandwich champion. Because the folks at ‘Chicken and The Pig’ say theirs stacks up above all others.
Jessica Collins – Chicken and The Pig: “It is the best chicken sandwich you are going to find on the North Shore.”
Joe Espinola – Chef, Chicken and The Pig: “You want to try others, go right ahead. I'm going to say on my end that you're going to like ours the best.”
Guy Ciolfi – Owner, Chicken and The Pig: “Our chicken sandwich is like no other. I've heard more people tell me ‘that's the best chicken sandwich I've ever had in my life.’ And I agree.”
Located at MarketStreet in Lynnfield, Chicken and The Pig is a fast casual spot, decked out in a barnyard chic aesthetic, with plenty of fun art and reclaimed materials filling the bright and airy fifty-seat space.
Partners Guy Ciolfi and Jessica Collins opened this counter service spot in the Fall of 2022, and with the help of chef Joe Espinola, they’re serving up their own take on the chicken sandwich. And it’s all about the cutlet.
Jessica Collins – Chicken and The Pig: “When I have always thought of a chicken sandwich, you think of kind of a heavier breaded chicken sandwich and this is totally different. This is much more in line with an Italian chicken cutlet, hand breaded, hand pounded, every day, several times a day.”
Joe Espinola – Chef, Chicken and The Pig: “It’s a juicy piece of chicken. The coarse panko crumb (EDIT) gets fried to perfection. We have a house made seasoning that we will actually place on top of that. And the texture of the chicken is really above and beyond any other piece of chicken that you probably had.”
Guy Ciolfi – Owner, Chicken and The Pig: “It's freshly cooked, juicy, tender. When you bite into it, everything just explodes.”
There are about a dozen different sandwiches to choose from at Chicken and The Pig. But if it’s your first time here, it’s best to start with something basic, like the deliciously simple ‘Bird is the Word’.
Guy Ciolfi – Owner, Chicken and The Pig: “The Bird is the Word was like the one that we said, ‘okay, it's gonna be our staple sandwich’. We use a brioche burger style bun. We grill it with butter on our griddle, so it's crispy. Then you put the crispy chicken sandwich with it. We make our own pickles, garlic dill. The sauce is a house sauce. It has everything in it. It's got mayo, mustard, barbecue sauce, it's got smoke to it, it's got sweetness to it. Put that on the sandwich, all goes together great.”
Other great combinations include The Vermont, with cheddar, thick cut bacon, lettuce, tomato, and maple aioli, or The Caprese, with fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, and balsamic.
Joe Espinola – Chef, Chicken and The Pig: “You get the smoothness of the mozzarella, you get the tang of the tomato, and then you get the sweetness of the basil. Then with a drizzle on top of that balsamic, kind of gives it that little vinegary type of flavor on top, it's a litany of flavors, it's just layered, and it's just a great sandwich.”
For a little south in your mouth, order The Nashville Hot, featuring spicy pickles, house made hot sauce, and creamy apple slaw.
Joe Espinola – Chef, Chicken and The Pig: “I love the Nashville. I love the apple slaw we make fresh. I love the heat and the sweet of the Nashville sauce. And we make our own spicy dill pickles. It has a combination of all your flavors you can possibly imagine. Salty, sweet, hot, and the apple slaw itself will cool off the sandwich from the heat. It's fantastic.”
If you’re looking to satisfy a big appetite, look no further than The Big Guy, a giant pile of bacon, cheddar, honey ketchup, and waffle fries, stacked right on the sandwich.
Jessica Collins – Chicken and The Pig: “You know, it's nice because you get a little bit of everything on The Big Guy. Or you get a lot of everything on The Big Guy. It's giant. You have some of the waffle fries incorporated right in there on the sandwich. So you need to really put your hands around it and squish it down a bit to go after it and eat it.”
Because this place is named Chicken and The Pig, the menu also offers a delicious selection of specialty Hot Dogs with all kinds of gourmet toppings. There’s the House Dog with chopped bacon, onions, and mustard, a German Dog slathered in sauerkraut, and the Czar Dog that’s wrapped in bacon and finished with Russian slaw. And no matter which one you order, you’re in for something special.
Joe Espinola – Chef, Chicken and The Pig: “Yeah, this is not the average dog. Just because of the size of the hot dog to begin with it's a quarter pound. The brioche bun makes it. That buttery bun, holds everything. And then with our fresh toppings on it, it's a mountain of food. It really is, it’s a meal right inside of the bun.”
On the side, be sure to try some Waffle Fries, whether you get them plain, Truffle Parm, Nashville Hot, or Bacon Cheddar Jack.
Guy Ciolfi – Owner, Chicken and The Pig: “My favorite is the Bacon Cheddar Fry. We take our smoky bacon, we grill, we add shredded jack and cheddar cheese on the griddle. Right when it's melty gooey put it on top of the fries. Finish it off with a chive sour cream. It's gonna make you feel good after you eat it.”
To round out your Chicken and The Pig experience, the half-baked chocolate chip cookie over vanilla soft serve is a must order.
Jessica Collins – Chicken and The Pig: “It’s delicious. It's basically like pulling your chocolate chip cookie out four or five minutes early. So it's still really soft. First couple of bites it's really hot and gooey, and then it kind of starts to harden on the ice cream. And it's a really nice way to end your meal here.”
