Salt Wood Kitchen goes high on the hog with weekly pig roasts.

They say that nothing good ever happens after 2am. But what about 2pm—and on a Sunday, no less?

The glass slipper shatters. Brunch service comes to an end. In one stroke of the clock, eggs Benedict becomes an ordinary English muffin with some Canadian bacon. The promise of bottomless mimosas proves to be empty.

“At 2 on a Sunday you still need a place to hang out,” says chef Jonathan Rodriguez. “It just so happens there’s a pig roast.”

Rodriguez and his team at the Marina destination Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette are filling the Sunday post-brunch void with a weekly suckling pig roast—an all-you-can-eat, buffet-style affair with salad, macaroni and cheese, other sides and meat turned over an open flame until it is a glorious deep amber fading into somber, smoky black, like the waning moments of a day.

Guests leaving after brunch service stop and gawk at the trussed whole pig, an unusual sight in a restaurant. Many can’t help but move in close with their cell phones. It is, however, more than just an image.

The pork is exceedingly tender with a savor at once nutty and herbal, with a mineral tang and husky sweetness. But your palate chases something more elusive, wavering between coriander and star anise—beautiful against the mellow character of the meat, but frustratingly spare in further clues.

Spruce, wands of which are part of a brine of Monterey Beer from Alvarado Street Brewery (two cases worth), brown sugar and other seasonings. It flatters the skin and gives a unique quality to the flavor. 

“I’m in love with this brine,” the chef says. But Rodriguez also stuffs the pig with rosemary, fennel, apple, carrot and the like, so different cuts offer different sensations. And other than the brine, in which the pig rests for six days, the roast is a work in progress.

“We were smoking it,” he explains. “We’re still playing with it.”

In some places the skin is soft. In others it is ruddy and crackling, with a richness reminiscent of roast duck from a well-used hearth. A bit more rendering might be in order here or there. Always, however, is the glistening meat and its transcendent flavor. And around it, trays of kale salad, a brisk, apple-hued cole slaw and house-fried tortilla chips with a fire-roasted salsa that challenges the pork for your attention.

“We wanted something more casual,” Rodriguez explains. “Making it something special may take a while.”

Rodriguez took over as executive chef in October of 2022. A few months ago he conceived of the pig roast idea. Salt Wood has been offering it for six weeks, starting with a whole 40-pound pig on Sunday and carrying the special over to Monday.

The idea, he says, is to snack, have a few cocktails, hang out for a bit and then come back for more. “You don’t have to have a big dinner,” he notes.

The event happens each Sunday and Monday from 2-5pm and costs $45, all you can eat. And it solves a Sunday dilemma. Something good does happen after 2pm.

“[If] you missed brunch, you still have a pig roast,” Rodriguez says with a smile.

Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette, at The Sanctuary Beach Resort, 3295 Dunes Drive, Marina. 883-5535, saltwoodkitchenandoysterette.com