The Painted Pig

Food was very middle of the road. If I could do half stars it would be 2.5. I had a special of the night — pulled pork enchilada. It wasn’t bad, but nothing that knocked my socks off either. The guac wasn’t bad and it had lots of cheese. It came with a side of yellow rice that I’m pretty sure was Goya. The person I was with got the pulled pork sandwich, which looked on the small side. I stole the pickle and it was a salt lick with no vinegar.
We tried the cupcakes and yuck, they were a few days old — dry cake and hard icing. Green tea seemed like a fun flavor but I spit it out before I could really taste anything.
Service wasn’t good. Waitress was very nice but I think this was her first waitress job. Food came out unevenly, missing silverware, and hard to flag down. She also messed up the checks when we were paying.
On the plus side, it’s in a really cool old diner space, with a painted tin ceiling and nice architectural features. They also have live music. I also like they do delivery to Binghamton Brewing
I’ll give it another chance some day but it’s no where I’d rush back to.

yup, so it’s no secret that i’m a huge bbq snob, and when i heard about this place i already had an idea of the kind of food that this place was going to be serving, and i finally checked this place out recently and my suspicions were correct, this ain’t bbq.
the one bbq item on their menu is a carolina style pulled pork sandwich. i’ll start with the sauce… i did like the sauce but i felt like it could have used more, there was just a small drizzle on top, an extra bottle on the table would have been nice. and yes, it IS a carolina vinegar sauce, but it’s not an eastern carolina sauce like one other reviewer noted, because it’s obvious that there’s tomato in this sauce, and tomato/​vinegar based sauce is a western NC thing because when the carolinas were first settled people thought that tomatoes were poisonous, but as time went on and people moved to the western part of the state they found that they were safe to eat, so they started adding them to the sauce. so yes, i did like the sauce, BUT i have a feeling that it could possibly just be a doctored up version of a bottled sauce, because it does taste just like a more vinegary version of a sauce that Cattleman’s makes. so for the meat itself, it was shredded and not very warm and i believe that it was a pre-​cooked product and not made fresh in house. there was coleslaw on it but there was very little dressing on it and it added nothing to the sandwich. the bun was toasted and it was kinda small, i feel that $ 7 for the sandwich was a little overpriced, especially when for the same price you can get a vinegar sauced house smoked sandwich with more meat on it at Big Dipper BBQ in Conklin. i got 2 sides with it, the baked beans and the house roasted potato. the potato was cut up like home fries but seasoned different and didn’t have a very fresh texture, i probably won’t order that again. the baked beans were ok, they were generic canned beans with extra meat thrown in and some house bbq sauce added to the top. the portion was good and i would probably order these again. i ended the meal with a cupcake. it was a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow frosting and bacon. sounded good. then i bit into it. D-​R-​Y. it was probably good when it came out of the oven… 3 days prior to when i ate it. and it also tasted like coffee, maybe they used a chocolate coffee stout in the recipe, i dunno.
as for the menu, it’s pretty limited. like i said, there’s only one real bbq item on the menu, unless you count the nachos too, but i have a feeling that they have limited kitchen space and limited tools because bbq chicken, ribs, and brisket would make a good addition to the menu, but i don’t think they have a grill, or even a deep fryer. their original menu had some items on it that i would be interested in trying, but they took them off the menu and they’re only going to have them as specials. my friend did order something on special the other day and she gave me a bite and i thought it was pretty good. she liked it too but she felt it was something that she could make herself at home.
the space is very nice. wood floors and tin ceilings, a classic vibe that i love and on top of that they have a ton of local art. they also have local musicians playing here a lot too, but most of them don’t play music that i like haha, but it’s very cool that the owner is so supportive. there is a nice bar there but no alcohol. i’m not sure if there are future plans for it, but if there are then maybe they could be a future competitor for Cyber Café West, because i could see this place doing well with late night drinks and music.
as for the service, our waitress just did not seem cut out to be a waitress. she was nice but very forgetful and in the end she messed up our bill. the drinks came out with the cups completely full of ice and then the beverage filling up any space left between cubes, and she was not very quick on the refills. she also never told us about the special for the night, but the owner came over and told us though. our food from the kitchen didn’t come out all at once either, first she brought over my sandwich and one of my sides, then after a few minutes she brought out my friend’s entrée, and then a few minutes later she brought out my final side. and then in the end we asked her what kind of cupcakes they had, and she told us, and then walked away. then 10 minutes later she came back and said she had our bill, and then we had to tell her we wanted dessert even after we asked her about it earlier.
overall, the meal was mediocre in my opinion, but i got a good laugh out of the service. i do see potential in this place and i do hope they work out any issues that they have, because i really don’t like writing reviews like this, i do wish the best for new businesses and sometimes it takes super critical reviews to help them work on certain aspects of their business.

The Southern Tier of NY is not famous for its pulled pork BBQ. In fact, before the Painted Pig, is have never had decent pulled pork in the area. But here is the real thing – east Carolina style, vinegar-​based BBQ but made with locally-​sourced ingredients.
I had the pulled pork sandwich which was piled generously with meat and topped with house-​made BBQ sauce. The owner gladly provided a small cup of Texas Pete’s hot sauce, telling me that he too preferred it hotter but that he had to tone it down for the delicate palates of upstate NY. My only quibbles is that the roll was a bit over-​toasted and that there was no coleslaw on the sandwich as is traditional in BBQ-​eating country. The side of fresh arugula and a dill pickle spear that tasted locally made rounded out a satisfying lunch.
My wife, who does not eat wheat, ordered the pulled pork nachos. Wow! The $ 10 order was more than enough for two. It consisted of a big pile of multi-​colored tortilla chips with lots of pulled pork topped with melted NY state cheese and generous dollops of sour cream and house-​made guacamole. Next time we might well share an order for lunch.
If pull pork is not your preference, the Painted Pig offers a variety of other sandwiches and an impressive selection of salads.
Currently beverages are limited to soft drinks and raspberry iced tea. Personally, I think that the absence of unsweetened ice tea was taking the Southern theme a bit far. Depending on the time of day, you can always pick up a growler of beer at the nearby Binghamton Brewing Company to have with your meal.
Besides the food, the Painted Pig is sort of an art gallery with work by local artists displayed on the walls and on some evenings they feature local musicians.
Located on Main Street in Johnson City, the Painted Pig is well worth a visit.

My wife & I stopped for lunch today. With us, another couple who enjoy dining out & trying new places. We were greeted by a friendly young waiter, who immediately made us feel at home. The other gentleman in our little group, and I, had the pulled pork meal, which consists of an amazing pulled pork sandwich & two sides. One of the ladies ordered the turkey avacado sandwich, and the other lady had the turkey avacado salad. The sides of well spiced beans with pulled pork, rosemary roasted potatoes, and a huge salad. Among us we managed to have each, and the sides were as delicious as the entrees.
Since the Pig has only been open a short while, you’d expect some glitches. Indeed, there were a few, but to be fair, they were inconsequential, all things considered.
From the excellent fare, to the local artists’ work displayed on the walls, the affable staff, and their policy of supporting local musicians, we found a lot to like at The Painted Pig.
Would the people in our group recommend it? The answer is a definite yes. Will we return? Frequently.