Pig: Is Eurydice a Real Restaurant in Portland?

Helmed by Michael Sarnoski, ‘Pig’ tells the story of a once famous chef turned recluse, Rob Feld, whose life is turned upside down when his truffle pig is stolen from his house. Subsequently, Rob embarks on a mission to retrieve his beloved animal from the clutches of the kidnapper, taking him back into the city and the shadows of his former life as a world-renowned cook. The movie spans a variety of locales that bring the audience closer to the protagonist’s heightened trek through both the dingy and upscale neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, showcasing the different facets of human existence. To that end, one such prominent destination is a trendy haute cuisine restaurant, Eurydice, where Rob runs into a former employee with valuable information about his pig’s kidnapping.

Eurydice Was a Real Restaurant in Portland

For the most part, the Eurydice restaurant in ‘Pig’ is a complex blend between fiction and reality that is hard to unentangle from the other. In pure terms, the restaurant is conceived by scriptwriters Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski to perform a particular function in the narrative. However, during production, the shop was brought to life through a real-life establishment called Saucebox in Portland, which is no longer operational. Situated at 214 Southwest Broadway, it was an Asian fusion restaurant and bar that was launched in 1995 by restaurateur Bruce Carey and chef Chris Israel. While it was a staple of the Portland night scene for decades, the store was closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although no longer available to the public, its essence is eternally captured in the scenes depicting the Eurydice.

In ‘Pig,’ Saucebox stands in for the posh, pristine, and fine-dining enterprise presented by Eurydice. While the name may seem incidental at first glance, it has more profound implications centered on the broader contextual details surrounding the movie. The movie is a vague recreation of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers whose lives are ripped apart when the latter is killed due to a snake attack. Subsequently, Orpheus embarks on a quest to retrieve her soul from the realm of Hades, using his musical talent to circumvent the obstacles in his path. Thus, there are loose parallels between the thematic and plot elements of the Sarnoski directorial and the Hellenistic myth, which explains the origin of the name Eurydice attributed to the semi-fictional restaurant.

Eurydice serves as the primary backdrop of one of the most memorable parts of ‘Pig,’ mainly as it showcases Rob coming face-to-face with a former employee named Derek, who has given up on his personal dream for a soulless, passionless venture. Through a harsh conversation, Rob entices Derek to question his inner motivation and self-drive behind building his own pub, which was his once-upon-a-time ambition. However, he compromised on that goal because of the social prestige that comes with owning a high-end restaurant where luxurious food is a staple. It serves as a stark reminder of the differences between modern dining practices and the regular day-to-day cooking that sustains the lives of normal people. Therefore, the restaurant plays a prominent role in the narrative, even though it remains largely fictional.