Porchetta

Just like with fashion, food goes through trends and phases as well. And this year, pork is king! It seems like everywhere I go, more and more restaurants are serving pork and more people are eating it. So it seems appropriate that we take time to talk about Porchetta, a brand new spot in the East Village that specializes in pork.

The menu is short and sweet. You either get the porchetta sandwich or plate. I went with the sandwich. Stuffed into the incredible Sullivan St. Bakery roll are large, juicy pieces of pork, slow roasted with garlic, sage, rosemary, and fennel. The meat is cooked to perfection, tender, juicy, and aromatic. While I really enjoyed the sandwich, I do have one thing I would like to note. On top the pork on each side of the sandwich is a piece of crispy pork skin. This one piece was so hard, I could've sworn that I shattered my teeth biting into it. Once I broke it apart, the flavors that came out of it were great, however, the price to pay could have been pretty high. I ended up taking it off my sandwich. Risking injury was not on my agenda when I placed my order.

I also ordered a side of crispy potatoes with burnt ends. This was great. The seasoning on the potatoes was great and they were crispy, just like I like them. My only criticism of this dish is that the burnt ends (pork) were very chewy and not only got stuck in my teeth, but didn't come out very easily. My buddy and I had both our hands in our mouths digging it out of our molars. Maybe they should serve the dish with toothpicks? Either way, it was delicious.

The atmosphere of this place was pretty cool. They have 3 roasted pigs on the front counter and a few stools for people who decide to stay and eat there. You've also got to give them props for running the entire operation out of a space no bigger than my bedroom. With new restaurants like this, I can't see the pork fad going anywhere anytime soon.

Report Card

Food: B+

Price: B- (my lunch described above with a soda was $16)

Atmosphere: A-

Overall: B+