The Spotted Pig opened on a quiet corner of the West Village in February of 2007 – New York’s first official gastropub. April Bloomfield is the reigning “Queen of meat” here, bona fide pork expert with a Michelin star to boot.  Snacks like the deviled eggs or pot of pickles are a good place to start, moving on more robust dishes like the Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Brown Butter and Sage or an exceptional Braised Beef Short Rib with Peperonata The Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese and Shoestring fries is one of the most notable in the city. There’s enough pig paraphrenelia (albeit mostly ceramic) in the intimate and usually crowded space to scare the bejesusus out of Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web, and a hodgepodge of vintage fabrics, plants and dark woods make it a homey place for winter in particular. Wash everything down with a cask-conditioned ale (the traditional beer of Britain), we recommend the Six Points “Chocolate Rye Porter.”