The Swinery on Main

CLOSED — ARGH
I work down the street from this place. I was absolutely ecstatic when I heard they were taking over from the Skillet walk-​up window AND I had never had a chance to hit up the Swinery on Beacon Hill. Easily one of the better burgers in the city.
It’s a shame, and I’ll definitely remember them if I’m ever in West Seattle, which is sadly almost never.

Sadly most of my team is vegetarian so I don’t get to venture out to meat places to often but one day I was the only person in the office so I ventured over here.
I got the burger with the pork belly and fries. The burger was damn fine and would gladly get it again. I had some fries quickly on the way back which were nice but by the time I got back to the office they just weren’t really good anymore.
–1 star for poor packaging which results in a deminished food experience.
Sadly I just heard today that they are going to close down and wait till the kitchen space in west seattle is ready.

I got the cassoulet. Longish wait (although, to be fair, it was about 12:15 on a weekday), not all that tasty, rather small size for $ 10 … and it had chunks of bone in it.

I happened to stumble on this joint on my way back from International District a few days back when it was in the teens. Given the Arctic temperatures (for Seattle at least) that day, it was inarguably not the smartest idea to go to an outside establishment to pickup something warm to eat. I do wish to note for the record that I was not the only one hopping back forth on my feet blowing into my completely frozen hands waiting for some porcine goodness, though.
My first experience thus far has been their charred burger with a side of fries. I appreciate this may not be the best example of their fare given their emphasis on porcine deliciousness, but it was a very much a gourmet burger cooked to medium rare splendidness. The fries appeared to be hand-​cut with the skin still attached; my favorite. I definitely will be returning to rotate through their menu; but, I suspect no real surprises other than more delicious food.
Aside: I started the day out with a head cold. While I think that drowning myself in green tea went a long way to healing what ailed me; I definitely attribute the consumption of this delicious burger and fries to delivering the KO punch. I went home that evening feeling all better!

I’m not sure why I would expect a deli opened up as an afterthought to a butcher shop to be anything more than that. The food and its execution are what I would imagine people whose passion is preparing and selling meat would be able to do. This is a non-​judgmental statement — I think it simply serves as a reference point against which one should calibrate the palate to before eating here.
The honey-​glazed pork belly sandwich was a fine bite to eat. The pork belly, generous and of the highest-​quality, practically melted into a savory, succulent experience in the first bite. It’s a testament to the quality of the meat that it was able to cover up the poor-​quality bun, the treacly goop masquerading as a honey glaze, and the sad sprigs of parsley drowning in the tears of the pork who sacrificed its belly for such an ignoble cause. My friend got the brat burger, which tasted like a really really great bratwurst. Because they use the same bun for every burger, it was again an unfortunate distraction to the enjoyment of the food. Another friend ordered the triple bacon burger, which other than providing the opportunity to sample their truly perfect house-​cured bacon, was underwhelming.
The beef-​fat fries also had some problems in terms of execution. First, there were green fries in my serving. As in, coming from a green potato, which conveniently carries a lethal toxin if ingested. Secondly, the fries could have used about 45 more seconds in the oil to really get a nice crust. However, the savory bovine perfume from the beef fat elevated the sweetness of this homely starch, and the perfect salting of the fries tied everything together.
The truly impeccable meats anchored many of these orders, and made it possible — even enjoyable — to overlook the otherwise glaring errors. I will definitely be back well before pigs fly, because I strongly believe in their mission and their panache. But perhaps they need to re-​visit learning to walk, now that they’ve sprinted out of the gate.

Food was amazing. Porky Belly Sandwich special was totally worth standing in the pouring rain. It’d be nice if they had a canopy to keep customers dry while waiting but the lady working the register informed me that the city of seattle wouldn’t allow it. Bummer, but worth getting wet in the rain. Beef Fat Fries were also to die for. Prices were very reasonable too! Watch out Skillet, the Swinery has arrived!
Pics of the counter and food @

Crispy pork bell hot sandwich. Sexier words hath never been spoken.
I spied the walk-​up window open today. I’d be hoping that they would open it up, because I’ve seen The Swinery truck sitting nearby the last couple of weeks.
In our group, we all ordered different things… and everyone was extremely happy.
The pork belly sandwich, a (cold) porcetta sandwich, the bratwurst, the boss hog, the chili, and a bacon burger. The meat they use in the burgers… 75% ground beef and 25% crisped bacon.
With Salumi only a stone throw away… are we seeing the beginning of some sort of Pork War in the Pioneer Square?

Hooray! I have a great breakfast place to go to at the old Skillet walk-​up space — The Swinery! As you can probably tell from my past reviews that, like Chili Palmer, I too like to dine on swine!
Breakfast this morning was a very delicious breakfast burrito that had: chorizo, scrambled egg, potato and pepper jack cheese. The accompanying salsa was definitely awesome — pablano pepper and smoked tomato! Yeah, I’m still drooling just thinking about it. I will probably hit this place for lunch later, so stay tuned for the update!
What is great about the The Swinery is the crew. They are so happy and outgoing that it’s infectious. A great way to get the day started!
These guys are open every day from 7am — 7pm; until mindight on game days!
Okay, I am recycling my map from my Skillet review because I need to get to work!
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Until Unilocal updates the address, the correct address for The Swinery:
220 Fourth Avenue South at Main Street
Seattle, WA 98 104
The menu:
* An aside — I was the first person to place an order here! Woo hoo! =)