Full Review: The Polite Pig at Disney Springs

We live somewhat locally to the Walt Disney World resort area (well, locally enough that we can drive).  I believe I’ve said this before, but on our final day we like to visit Disney Springs to do any last minute shopping, grab lunch, go for a walk, and buy some Sprinkles Cupcakes to home (thus preserving some of our vacation for longer).  We were recently in Orlando for MegaCon, which will be featured in an upcoming post, and made our way over to Disney for a few days as well.  On our way out, we stopped at The Polite Pig for lunch, which is a “modern BBQ outpost with Florida cuisine and an array of libations on tap,” according to disneyworld.disney.go.com.

“Rules” at the Polite Pig. We definitely said no to the dessert menu, though.

Sign for the Polite Pig and and some of the outdoor seating

The Polite Pig logo. He looks pretty classy.

It is actually a quick service BBQ restaurant that has a full bar (indoor and outdoor), with indoor and outdoor seating.  You place your order at the counter, they give you a pager, you go find a seat and they bring you your food at the table.  While we were there they also came around with samples of blondies and oatmeal cookies which were pretty great, although not great enough to make us actually purchase one.

Menu behind the counter at the Polite Pig – it was actually this hard to see in real-life, but there were paper menus available for the visually challenged

Sauce bar at the Polite Pig

Because it was lunchtime, we decided to split a few things instead of ordering our own individual meals.  The menu isn’t too extensive, but has some great options on it.  We ordered the pork shoulder ($14), the mac and cheese ($6), and the hop salt pretzel ($10).  I found the menu to be pricy as the sides are à la carte, but since we were splitting all of this it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and trust me this was plenty of food.  We also didn’t have any alcoholic beverages on this trip (again, lunch, and we needed to drive home), which kept the cost down.

Pork shoulder, pretzels, beer cheese fondue (top left), IPA mustard (hard to see in the middle).

Better view of the beer cheese fondue and IPA mustard, plus some of the sauces from the sauce bar.  I’m not positive what these were, I found them un-remarkable.

Better view of the mac and cheese and one of the pretzels.

The Polite Pig actually doesn’t get great reviews on Yelp, although I think most of it is due to the food cost issue.  We actually really enjoyed everything we had, particularly the pork shoulder.  The Polite Pig has a “BBQ sauce” bar (… actually, its just dispensers, like ketchup/mustard dispensers, and paper cups), which has a variety of options you can see on the menu, but we found that the pork shoulder really didn’t need any sauces to make it enjoyable, it was actually very flavorful on its own.  We did dip the pretzel in each one of the sauces, and while good, they were nothing to write home about.  The pretzel itself comes with beer cheese fondue (a HUGE AMOUNT OF IT) and IPA mustard, both of which were incredibly tasty – so much so that I usually couldn’t decide which to dip my pretzel into.  Finally, the mac and cheese was REALLY GOOD GUYS.  Sometimes mac and cheese can be kinda flavorless, but I really enjoyed it.

A very tilted picture of the Polite Pig interior.

Outdoor bar seating at the Polite Pig

Lets talk about seating.  There is indoor and outdoor seating, and its a pretty big place, we didn’t have to wait long to find a table.  They seemed right on top of cleaning off the tables as soon as one party was done, so even though we had a minute of “table-hovering,” we still sat down at a clean table.  There is also a lot of bar seating available, or I suppose you could get your food to-go and sit somewhere outside at Disney Springs.  The only thing I’ll mention about this is the day we were there was really hot (around 95 degrees), and while there were still people sitting in the “patio” area as it was partially shaded, I don’t think this would be the best place to sit in the middle of August, which would cut out some of the seating options.

Taps at the bar

Taps behind the counter where you order food

I’ll also say that while we didn’t partake, the bar options certainly looked intriguing.  I don’t really like bourbon, but there is a bourbon bar with options ranging from $9 to $99.  I suppose if I liked bourbon this would entertain me more.  There are also a variety of beers (I really like Florida Cracker from Cigar City, you should give it a try if you can find it in your area or if you happen to go somewhere that has it), and cocktails on tap.  Again, you can see all of these options on their menu.

Polite Pig Merchandise!

So Drinking Ever After, what are your thoughts on the The Polite Pig in Disney Springs?

Well, I liked the Polite Pig. I thought it was a good option for lunch and we definitely got plenty of food, despite not ordering our own meals. We actually brought one of the pretzels home because it was too much (and BBQ is really heavy). I do think its pretty expensive given that you need to order the sides separately, but I would go back, possibly sit at the bar, and try some of the beers or cocktails.

And yeah, on a slightly unrelated note, if you can find Cigar City beers anywhere, definitely give them a try.

If You’re Ever In: Boynton Beach FL, Try Copperpoint Brewing Company

Hi everyone.  I’m going to take a break from Disney content to review Copperpoint Brewing Company in Boynton Beach, FL.  Its on a side-street in Boynton Beach FL, close to Due South Brewing Company.

My mom was insistent that we go here the day after Thanksgiving.  Absolutely no argument here, sounds great mom!

The Taproom at Copperpoint Brewing Company in Boynton Beach FL

Copperpoint has a GIANT taproom, very clean, lots of tables and seating for a variety of group sizes, and an outdoor porch area.  They also have various food trucks, and Troy’s BBQ was there that day.

Copperpoint Brewing Company and Troy’s BBQ Food Truck.  Yep that’s a smoker on the back.

They have a fairly extensive beer list, with some flagships and a few collaborations.  You can’t see it in this photo, but the bar itself is pretty cool, its copper (hence the name!).

Copperpoint Brewing Company Taplist

We sampled the Copperpoint “G” (Grapefruit) Saison and the Trick Shot IPA Collaboration with Civil Society.

Copperpoint Brewing Company “G” Saison and Trick Shot IPA

I love saisons, they are my favorite style of beer, and I usually jump at the chance to try one that has an interesting note – in this case grapefruit.   It was an enjoyable saison, though the grapefruit wasn’t very pronounced, more of a nondescript “fruitiness” that added a unique note to the beer.  The bartender described this beer as having some tart to it but I didn’t get any, possibly because I also drink a lot of sours, so “tart” to me is usually more pronounced.  Overall, solid and easy to drink, the fruitiness adds some lightness to the beer.  The Trick Shot IPA was a standard IPA, but on the hoppier side than other IPA’s, so if you like that you’ll like this beer.  Overall recommended, despite the added hoppiness it was on the lighter side.

Mac and cheese, pulled pork sandwich, and fries from Troys BBQ food truck

We also grabbed some food from Troy’s BBQ.  We got pulled pork and brisket sandwiches, with sides of coleslaw and mac and cheese, and a large fry to split.  Okay, guys, if this food truck is here GET A SANDWICH.  Even if you’re not that hungry, split one.  It was gigantic (I could only finish 1/2), the BBQ sauce is great, the meat was tender, and it had that awesome smokey flavor you totally want from BBQ.  The sides were… sides… The sandwiches came with them.  Get the fries, they were hot and crispy, and we actually finished that mountain of fries between the 4 of us.

So, Drinking Ever After, what are your thoughts on Copperpoint Brewing Company in Boynton Beach FL?

Occasionally, you might be visiting Disney and want to take a trip to south Florida.  Or maybe you’re driving from south Florida to Disney.  Or maybe you have family in the Boca Raton/Boynton Beach area.  Whatever the case, give this place a shot.  Take your relatives!  Everyone who we spoke with at Copperpoint was exceptionally friendly and nice, and the atmosphere is great.  Definitely give it a try if you’re in the area.