Biscuit & Hogs goes big on twisted classics

"Release your inner pig" is the theme of Biscuit & Hogs, the restaurant that opened last month at 2309 Washington Blvd.

The 15-inch dining plates heaped with food tell you they’re not kidding.

"Part of our charm is our portion size," said Boomer Godsill, who opened his first Biscuit & Hogs restaurant in Meridian, Idaho, in 2020. "We have large portions so that everyone who comes here can never leave saying they didn't get enough food."

So you’ll find pancakes nearly as big as that 15-inch plate. Or thick slices of meatloaf that could easily serve two people. Or Godsill's personal favorite — The Hog breakfast: two eggs, pork belly bacon strips, Idaho home fries and a halved biscuit smothered in country gravy.

Godsill's bigger-is-better theme bucks the current trend "where restaurants are serving smaller and smaller portions," he said. "But that's not what we do. When you’re here, you’re going to eat."

Godsill, from Meridian, Idaho, owns seven other restaurants, with more on the way.

His grandfather, Bob Godsill, and dad, Rob Godsill, started the Sunrise Cafe in 1988. Specializing in traditional breakfast classics, it grew to several Idaho locations.

"Sunrise was where it all started. It became an Idaho institution," Boomer Godsill said. "My grandpa passed away, and my dad took it over. In 2016, I purchased my dad out."

While running the Sunrise Cafes, he and his staffers often thought up new menu ideas. But they didn't fit the Sunrise's old-school concept. He started Biscuit & Hogs to find a place for those dishes.

"Having all those ideas, it was pretty easy to come up with this menu, and provide a twist on American classics," Godsill said.

The name "Biscuit & Hogs" came to him when he woke up at 2 a.m. one night, "and the name just stuck."

It's appropriate, considering the restaurant's buttermilk biscuits and signature "pork belly" bacon.

"We start off with pork belly, cure it and cook it in-house," Godsill said.

This thick-cut bacon isn't just for breakfast. It's layered in burgers and sandwiches, diced into meatloaf and salads, and made into a "bacon jam" condiment for burritos and even Bloody Mary drinks.

It was risky starting a new restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Godsill felt his business would fail if he didn't.

"Most of the Sunrise Cafe's clientele are age 60-plus, and they weren't going out as much during COVID. I had to try a new concept to get new clientele. And it worked," he said.

Now, two more Biscuit & Hogs are being built in Idaho, in Caldwell and north Meridian.

The Ogden site was a former Iggy's Sports Grill, and then Cooper's Restaurant & Sports Bar.

Why Ogden?

"We are putting Biscuit & Hogs out for franchising next month, and we want to prove that our menu and brand can operate outside of Idaho," Godsill said. "Ogden is close enough that we can get here within a day. And the people here have somewhat the same tastes as in Idaho, so it seemed like a logical step."

The restaurant serves breakfast all day but also has a variety of sandwiches, burgers and entrees.

A signature breakfast is the Biscuit French toast — a homemade buttermilk biscuit, halved and fried to golden brown, topped with huckleberry compote and whipped cream. It comes with two eggs and choice of pork belly bacon strips, sausage links, ham or smoked andouille sausage.

For lunch or dinner, the Country Made Finger Steaks are a beefy riff on the usual chicken fingers. Steak strips are marinated in garlic and herbs, breaded and deep-fried.

The top burger is the Bacon Bacon — an 8-ounce prime beef patty topped with pork belly bacon, bacon jam and melted sharp cheddar. Favorite sandwiches are The Club (turkey and ham, pork belly bacon, sharp cheddar and Havarti cheeses, tomato, avocado and lettuce) the Pork Mac Grilled Cheese (smoked pulled pork, cheddar and jack cheeses, and grilled mac and cheese) and The Big Daddy (meatloaf).

Some of the side dishes get a twist too. The mac and cheese uses queso for a hint of flavorful heat. Cob Ribs are corn-on-the-cob that's been cut lengthwise in quarters and roasted.

"So it's like eating a rib, but it's corn," Godsill said. "We slather it with barbecue seasonings and flavors. Man, they’re tasty."

Drinks — fancy coffees, hot chocolate and alcoholic drinks — are important to the business, Godsill said.

"Breakfast is our bread and butter, but our drinks are the cherry on the top," he said. "They make us unique. They’re more fun, not traditional. We have 13 mimosa flavors, and that's more than most restaurants have."

The popular Mango Mingo is served in a plastic lawn-type flamingo, garnished with a fruit medley skewer.

"It's great to have that wow factor," Godsill said.

Biscuit & Hogs

Location: 2309 Washington Blvd.

Contact: 385-469-4647 or https://www.biscuitandhogs.com/menu

Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Price range: Entrees, $16-$20

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