Honey Pig: Does Everyone Here Hate Me? (Annandale, VA)

Ever walked in somewhere and you could tell no one wanted you there? I know it happens to me almost constantly. It’s not because I’m generally unlikable, which I most certainly am, but I guess I just put myself into those kinds of situations. I frequently walk in when people have just had an argument, so both the people just sit there not talking or looking at each other. Then I start talking, and they both speak with one word answers, and with no eye contact. I never know what to do when this happens, so I just stand there, looking like a jackass, then slowly back out of the room. Unfortunately, this happened to me with Honey Pig in Annandale.

I went here on a suggestion from a friend. I at once agreed to go, solely because the places name was Honey Pig. Shortly before I arrived, I was told it was a Korean BBQ place. This made me even more excited to try it. Annandale, VA is like Koreatown, there are many great Korean businesses there. Honey Pig sits right off a major intersection in town. The building is like a big metal warehouse, and the metal and wood design continues inside. I’ve been to Korean BBQ places before, they usually look like your grandma’s dining room but with the large vents over the tables. This place looked more like a Chipotle, but still with those vents. Either way, when we sat down, the waitress came over and told us about the place in somewhat broken English. It was totally easy understanding her, but you could tell this was the kind of place that another language was spoken far more often. Me being there seemed like more of an inconvience to the staff, as I was not as familiar with Honey Pig protocol as their regulars. The staff was polite, but there was definitely an eye rolling like annoyance from the staff about my questions.

The food at Honey Pig is what you make of it, literally. Like many Korean BBQ places, they provide you with the meat, sides, and sauces and you cook it up yourself with the hot plate in the middle of your table. I got sort of a sampler platter, with bits of different meats. All were great. After being soaked in sauces, the meats were amazingly tender. You also get about ten little side dishes, ranging from your standard Kimchi, to stuff I’ve never heard of before. These for me were hit or miss, but you could tell they tasted as they should, some just weren’t my cup of tea.

Honey Pig seems like a great place to hang out with friends and get drunk talking over some Korean BBQ. As much as this place seems fun, I get the feeling the place really isn’t designed for me. As much as they were gracious, I don’t see me being a regular here. That being said, sometimes if the Korean BBQ mood really strikes me, Honey Pig is always an option.