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Meat Has a Moment

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Photo by Jeremy Bowditch

There probably isn't one diet that is universally healthy, something that will keep people of all backgrounds and lifestyles hale till 100. Still, vegetables have been a constant theme in talks of nutrition, and in L.A. we have both the weather and the social inclination to eat nothing but leafy greens and multi-colored roots. But maybe these vegetables are just too easy to get. Maybe we feel we know all there is to know about them. Because lately, everyone's bored of vegetables. Foodists are all about the meat.

Photo by Jeremy Bowditch

It could have something to do with the low-carb philosophy, but frankly we think it's just about deliciousness. Especially that of pigs, which are distressingly cute and intelligent animals when alive, but, you know, have bacon in them when not.

Recently opened restaurants have names like Black Hogg and Pigg (part of Umamicatessen), beer and sausages are a new, extremely popular subgenre of restaurants -- the latest is Link-n-Hops in Atwater -- and restaurants are hosting pig roasts left and right. Wilshire had one, cheekily, on Earth Day. Eveleigh is having a butchering demonstration and pig dinner Sunday.

These are all wonderful things if you don't feel like cooking. But many do, and butcher shop Lindy & Grundy is single-handedly leading the home pig roast revolution. They hosted a pig roast themselves with neighbors The Fat Dog to celebrate both restaurants' first anniversary, but they've been renting out their Caja China to home cooks all year. It's a great excuse for a daytime party, accompanied by a keg, of course. Last time I was in the store, the second pig-roasting customer of the day was making inquiries. It's officially a scene. You'll want to get into it soon ... we hear that crawdad boils will be the next hot thing in house parties.

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