One thing is for sure, besides crawfish, Louisianans sure love their Cochon! And Cochon Butcher is a pork lover’s paradise. To clarify, Cochon is the restaurant and Butcher is the sandwich shop created by Chef Donald Link. It isn’t just that they serve pork, it’s how they serve it. And if there is a new way to serve it up, Donald Link will find a way. We visited Cochon and Butcher on two separate occasions. The first time was on a rainy Friday afternoon for lunch. The setting is rustic inside of a renovated warehouse. Their cocktail menu looked intriguing, but I passed seeing how it was lunch.

There were many flavors of Cajun country on the menu. We started off with fried livers with pepper jelly on toast. It was simple but yet flavorful and delicious. For our entrees I had the pork tenderloin salad and my fiancé had the ham hock with spaetzle and roasted Brussels sprouts in a mustard cream sauce. Both were delicious and the ham was so tender it fell right off the bone! Everything was great and we couldn’t wait to return to try Butcher.

The key to eating at Butcher is to arrive early. At 11 a.m. the place is already busy and at 12 p.m. there is a line out the door. Walking in, it appears to be just like any other deli with their meats on display and homemade pickles. The bonus is that it is also a wine bar. You can order a charcuterie plate or pancetta mac n’ cheese. The choice is yours! We ordered from their sandwich list. The cochon muffaletta made with their house meats and olive salad, and the cubano with roasted pork, ham and Swiss, pressed and grilled. The cubano is served with a jalapeno chimichurri, so beware if you can’t do spicy! My muffaletta was fantastic! The house made meats and breads were scrumptious. I also thought the olive salad was just right, not too salty or oily. I would love to go back and try more on their menu.

Until we meet again Cochon Butcher!