Bacon Friends!

Pig Hogs Spotlight at Cavanaugh’s in Hell’s Kitchen

Keeping Tabs Weekly, Winter 2022

Patrons of Cavanaugh’s Brunchery in the 700 block of West 47th Street in The City got a surprise Tuesday morning: a pig serving breakfast for almost an hour!

“That wasn’t just any pig,” said Harlan de Burgh, 82, lifelong resident of Hell’s Kitchen, who was present for the sake of a New York omelette and wheat toast. “That was Griddlegreaser Pete. I caught a glimpse of him in Reno in ’52, I think it was. He’s pretty well traveled.”

Harlan might have recognized the sooey chef, who skated in from the sub-zero temperatures on two sizable strips of bacon (never boaring!) to prepare mountains of griddlecakes (hotcakes if you’re from the Upper West Side, pancakes for the rest of us, and flapjacks if you’re visiting from the West) for the half-dozen patrons inside, but it’s safe to say no one else knew much about the mythical porcine garçon.  

Cavanaugh’s is hardly known for its swine dining, but the lucky few who Griddlegreaser Pete chose to cook for today said they were scared at first. But as Pete skied amongst them, juggling plates and cups and silverware before squealing back to the griddle, they began to wallow in their good fortune of seeing the culinary myth.

Of course, those who purported to have seen him claimed that the moment they took out their cellphones for a photo, Griddlegreaser Pete skated away, so no evidence of his presence exists. 

“Sometimes, you’re just in the right place at the right time,” de Burgh said of the encounter. “I met Sinatra once. Felt the same way.”

And while those customers at Cavanaugh’s who did see the mythical Pete for brunch were pleased, at least one of them didn’t go hog wild for the experience. Janie Jones of Jackson Heights was unimpressed.

“He served us bacon and sausage,” she said with a grimace. “I think that’s one sick pig.”