Charcuterie Basics Part 2: Whole Muscle

Charcuterie Basics Part 2: Whole Muscle

Have you ever ordered a charcuterie board and once it landed in front of you (even after the waiter tells you everything that is on it) you have no idea what is on it? Yeah me too. Guin—what? Ndja—huh? It’s soooo confusing! Luckily it’s not all as complicated as it sounds or looks.

There are Three Categories of Charcuterie

There are just a few key categories you need to know to be able to navigate a charcuterie board like a pro. If you haven’t yet read through Charcuterie Basics Part 1. You’ll learn all about what charcuterie is and how its made. Our first category of investigation? Whole muscle charcuterie.

  1. Whole Muscle
  2. Sausages
  3. Spreadables

Let’s Talk about Whole Muscle Charcuterie

I know, I know, this does not sound great. I tried to think of another term, but honestly, this is the most precise way to describe this category. These are pieces of meat that are cured whole and then sliced. Generally speaking, the parts of the animal used for this type of charcuterie are the belly, the jowl, the loin, the shoulder or collar, and legs. The undisputed king of this whole muscle charcuterie? HAM!

Ham Defined

A ham is basically the cured leg of a pig. There are versions of these all over the world. From France to the US and beyond, ham is beloved around the world.

Italy

Prosciutto: This is traditionally a cured pork leg, but can be from any animal. Prosciutto literally means ham in Italian, and it comes in two styles: cotto and crudo.

  • Cotto: This version is brined with herbs and spices and then cooked. It is sliced thinly and light pink. It is moister than prosciutto crudo. If you grew up on American deli ham, this will seem familiar!
  • Crudo: This version is dry-aged and never cooked. It is shaved paper thin, is dark red, and known for its meltingly unctuous fat. Prosciutto di Parma is aged at least a year, some go as long as two years.

Speck: Also in the ham family, unlike prosciutto, the cure for speck includes salt, bay, and juniper. Once it is rubbed down with the cure, the ham is cold smoked and aged.

Spain

Jamon Serrano: Quite similar to prosciutto, this Spanish version is differentiated by the breed of pig used for all serrano hams, the Landrace breed of white pig. The method and cure are otherwise the same.

Jamon Iberico and Jamon Iberico de Bellota: The method and cure for Jamon Iberico and Jamon Iberico de Bellota are same as that for Jamon Serrano. The critical difference is that these two use Iberico pigs and not the white pig that is used for Serrano ham. Jamon Iberico is made from pastured pigs while Jamon Iberico de Bellota, arguably the most luxurious of all the cured meats, uses pastured pigs whose feed is supplemented with acorns.

France

Jambon de Bayonne: The same as prosciutto, except FRENCH. Seriously, it’s the same. There may be microclimate differences between the two, but here in the US, they are (for all intents and purposes) the same.

United States

Country Ham: This is probably the United State’s most significant contribution to the modern charcuterie board. It is salt-cured and smoked before being hung to dry for months. Serve country ham shaved thin or thick cut.

Other Hams

  • England: York ham
  • China: Jinhua ham and Yunnan ham
  • Germany: Westphalian ham and Black Forest ham

Other Whole Muscle Charcuterie:

American Style Bacon: Dry cured pork belly with salt and sugar. It is smoked with any type of wood, but the most common are hickory, applewood or mesquite. The belly is almost always sold sliced but is also sold as a whole belly called a “side.” It nearly always hot smoked. You may also find versions flavored with maple, black pepper, or garlic. Bacon is always cooked before serving.

Pancetta: This is an Italian style salt-cured pork belly. Also, dry cured with salt, it may be smoked but traditionally is not. The cure for pancetta includes salt, sugar, juniper, pepper, bay, and nutmeg. Once the meat is finished curing it is rolled, tied and hung to cure even further for at least two weeks. Once done, the meat is sliced or diced and used to season all sorts of dishes like spaghetti alla carbonara or to season sauteed vegetables. You won’t usually find this on your charcuterie board, but you might!

Bresaola: Almost always made from beef. The most common cut for bresaola is the eye of round, but you might also find it made with round roast or ribeye. Traditionally it is dry cured and air-dried for up-to three months. The cure will often include spices like juniper, cinnamon or nutmeg. The smoke and spiced cure give it big flavor and a darker color.

Coppa/Cappocollo: The porky sister to bresaola, coppa is flavored with wine, garlic, herbs, and spices. After salting it is stuffed into a casing and hung to cure for up to six months. The name for this Italian cut means head and neck. Not surprisingly, this is precisely where you find the muscle for this product. It runs from the base of the skull down through the shoulder.

Guanciale: Another Italian cured pork product, this time from the cheek. Salt cured and air dried for three weeks, it has a much stronger flavor than prosciutto. You might find it flavored with black pepper, garlic, red pepper, thyme or fennel.

Lardo: Yes, it is what you think it is. Salt cured pork fat. I promise you, it is delicious. Often flavored with rosemary, cinnamon, juniper, nutmeg, or sage you can spread this like butter on a piece of bread, cook with it, or just drape it over any bruschetta, flatbread or pizza.

While this isn’t a comprehensive list of every single whole muscle charcuterie in the world it should give you enough confidence to tackle that section of your charcuterie board! Next up we will dig in the wonderful world of sausages.

References: Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing and Charcuteria: The Soul of Spain

Whistle Britches: Dallas’ Best Fried Chicken

Whistle Britches: Dallas’ Best Fried Chicken

I am Always on the Hunt for Dallas’ Best Fried Chicken

Ya’ll. Fried Chicken. Fried chicken is the world’s most perfect food. It’s a pain in the ass to get it right though. I’ve made it at home. It is incredible, and I will never make it again (maybe). The time, the mess, the grease — by the time I sit down to eat it I am exhausted. Which is why I am forever on the hunt for Dallas’ best fried chicken. There have been a few contenders over the years. My current favorite was just knocked off its throne by Whistle Britches.

I need to begin with a confession. I wasn’t excited about this place. It is way north of where I live and well outside my bubble. You know, the area around your home that you navigate easily on any given day. I have a prejudice against the suburbs, and I try to avoid going north of 635 as much as I can.

So even though the press has been great for Whistle Britches, I convinced myself it was all hype. Another well packaged fast-casual joint. It would open to much fanfare and love. Then a few short months later reveal itself as all spit and polish with no substance. I never even once considered it a contender for the ultimate prize the Dallas Best Fried Chicken title.

I owe Whistle Britches an apology.

It’s the real deal. Yes, its a hipster’s dream with great font choices and lots of succulents. Yes, the patio full of lawn chairs and picnic tables is an Instagram vision. Forget ALL THAT. The food is where it’s at! Head chef and owner Omar Flores has the chops (and the resume) to deliver the goods.

He is a Culinary Institute of America graduate. Chef Flores worked in one of best kitchens in Dallas; Abacus. He then did a much-lauded turn at Driftwood in Bishop Arts. He then opened up the beloved (and now shuttered) Casa Rubia in Trinity Groves. He is a James Beard award semi-finalist. He is named or nominated “Best Chef” by at least one publication or another every year since 2012. Whistle Britches is his latest effort and it is a gem.

Location

Whistle Britches is located in far North Dallas (come on people, it is basically Plano). It sits in a pretty nondescript shopping center off of Frankford Road. It is not exactly in a food desert though. One of my favorite Indian restaurants is right across the street. It is also near a lovely French Restaurant, a pub, and bunches of other things. So as much as I’d like to tell you that Far North Dallas is the hinterlands, it’s not. Even if you are a little more centrally located, it’s pretty easy to get there. (and you should do that ASAP).

Drinks

Before we dive into the food, let’s take a little detour through the beverage program. I wasn’t expecting there to be a beverage program to speak of, but actually, they have a nice one.

Cocktails

The cocktail list is full of classic cocktails with a twist. An old-fashioned aptly named Smooth Criminal, a mule made with blackberry vodka, and even an Orange Dreamsicle made with moonshine. I was happy with my Bee’s Knees, a classic gin-based cocktail. It had just enough sweetness to balance the tartness of the cocktail. I hope they take the same care with the rest of the cocktails on the list!

Beer

Their beer list has a nice combination of basic beers, local craft beers, and ten beers on tap. It has a little something for every type of beer lover.

The Wine

There is a wine list, it’s short, and it’s okay. I wish that the choices on the list were more tailored to the food on the menu, but they have chosen to serve most of their wines on tap, which limits the options available. 

 

Ok, let’s talk FOOD

Starters

Whistle Britches styles itself as a chicken and biscuits joint with a side of beer. So, of course, I ordered the chicken and the biscuits, but before that, I had to get some fried green tomatoes! If you are not from the South you might not know this — but we fry everything. Seriously we will fry anything. Don’t believe me? Fried butter, fried pickles, chicken fried bacon — our Texas State Fair is famous for it.

The frying process improves some ingredients and green tomatoes are one of them. So if it’s on the menu, I order it. These don’t disappoint. They have a crisp cornmeal exterior and warm but still firm interior. They are what I want from a fried green tomato.

I believe that fried green tomatoes should always have some accompaniments. In a perfect world, you get something tangy, something salty and something sweet. Often this is a buttermilk dressing and some preserves. At Whistle Britches they step it up a bit and add some heat. I love the creativity of that scattering of candied jalapenos. The queso fresco gives it a nice hit of salt, and the creamy, comeback sauce balances everything out.

They also offer some of my very favorite southern classics in their starters: fried okra, pimento cheese, deviled eggs, hoecakes and of course their titular biscuits (I’ll get to those in a second!) I can’t wait to give them all a try.

Sides

They offer lots of good things. But there was mac and cheese and when there is mac and cheese there can be no other (see my story about Mac and Cheese HERE). It’s hard for restaurants to get mac and cheese right. I think this iteration is lovely, creamy and worth trying if like me; you love your mac and cheese.

I would say I wished it had a little more going on with it. I just wanted a bit more depth and complexity. Some tang from a sharper cheese or a bit of crunch from a topping. But, I also know that restaurant mac and cheese tends to be the haven of every tween and below kid. So maybe it’s perfect just as it is!

Mains

Of COURSE, we ordered the chicken. I ordered the Sir Mix A Lot. The Sir Mix a Lot consists of three pieces of fried chicken (one white and one dark and a wing) a biscuit and your choice of coleslaw or potato salad. I chose the slaw.

The Cole Slaw

I always hesitate to order cole slaw at any restaurant. I love it, but there are two schools of thought on cole slaw. Many southern chefs make a sweet slaw. Often intended to balance fatty, heavily spiced foods. I am not judging, but I don’t like sweet slaws (or potato salads for that matter).

I am happy to report the WB slaw does not fall into that category. It is very creamy with a delicate balance of saltiness and a definite hit of herby goodness from cilantro. I liked it. It was the one thing I am not in ecstacies over though. It was good, but it needs something else. Another note of umami or something else to make it sing.

Dallas’ Best Fried Chicken

The fried chicken through — my word. It is crispy, without a hint of oiliness. The pickle-brine on this chicken gives it a perfect hit of tang while at the same time delivering an absolutely moist piece of chicken. It is fantastic.  It comes with a gigantic buttermilk biscuit. That biscuit is a meal of its own. It has the crispy outside and tender, flaky crumb on the inside that epitomizes a well made southern biscuit.

I loved it. I asked for jam and butter so I could enjoy every single bite of my gigantic biscuit. Which I could not finish (but was PERFECT with my breakfast the next day!) I also stole some of Tim’s gravy because… well, because gravy. The chicken and the biscuit don’t need it, but next time I will request a side of gravy or my very own. I don’t say this lightly, but I really do believe this is Dallas’ best fried chicken! (and it is not even the best thing about this menu!)

Dallas’ Best Chicken Fried Steak

Tim got the (brand new to the menu) chicken fried steak (CFS). We had no idea they served chicken fried steak. We were only at this restaurant because Tim wanted to try their chicken. (In our never-ending quest for fried chicken nirvana.) Yet, if there is chicken fried steak it must be ordered. So he ordered it.

Yeah, this was the star of the meal.

IT IS HUGE. Also, I don’t know what seasonings Chef Flores is using, but they are chicken fried steak perfection. Sometimes you get a chicken fried steak, and it is enormous. Usually, because the steak is pounded very thin and then cooked. That is not what is happening here. You receive a beautiful, thick cut steak. It melts in your mouth when you bite into it.

You know that moment when your teeth break through the crispy exterior and sink into tender, savory meat and the smell of all the spices hits your nose? That is pure the pure CFS bliss you get at Whistle Britches. I will go back again and again for this chicken fried steak.

Tim and I have hearty appetites, and this still went home with us. (Oh yeah, and he got mashed potatoes and green beans too! They were great) The next day we transformed it into the worlds best breakfast. We toasted the biscuit, in a pan with plenty of butter. Then cut up the CFS into bite-size pieces and warmed them up in a skillet with a little oil and fried up some eggs.

Sigh.

I want some of that right this second. Don’t you? Yeah, get to Whistle Britches right quick and try Dallas’ best fried chicken and chicken fried steak for yourself!

Lunch at Sachet

Lunch at Sachet

A Year In and Sachet is Still Going Strong

A year ago, I was beside myself with excitement. The chef/proprietors of Gemma announced that they were opening a new concept. Gemma is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in Dallas; which is saying a lot in a city full of wonderful restaurants. Their new concept, Sachet, did not disappoint. Now a year on, it continues to deliver excellence. They have not given in to the temptation to compromise. Their “Mediterranean Inspired” concept is front and center in all parts of their menu.

A Taste of the Mediterranean in a Glass

You first notice it in the beverage program. Before you even hit the wine list, your pre-meal is highlighted by Sachet’s extensive cocktail selection. There are hints of Spain with extensive gin and tonic and vermouth options. I counted ten amaro selections and a bevy of aperitifs to prime your appetite and pair with your meze.

…and Then There is the Wine

Then you get to one of the finest curated wine lists around. Since Sachet is Mediterranean focused, every wine on the list is from a wine region that actually touches the Mediterranean Sea. The wines chosen from France come from the Rhone Valley, Provence, and Corsica. Spain sees offerings from Catalunya and Valencia. There are wines from Greece, Italy. There are even areas you may have never had wine from like Slovenia, Turkey, and Morocco.

Don’t Be Intimidated, Talk to You Somm

It may seem intimidating at first, but there is always a knowledgeable sommelier on hand. They can to guide you through the list and find the best pairings for you. It is such a treat to see a thoughtful beverage program at a restaurant. Too often we see restaurants leave their wine menu as an afterthought. Wine menus that feature familiar wines that have nothing to do with the food they serve. When we look at a list like the one as Sachet, our hearts sing with joy!

You Should Really Head to Sachet for Lunch

Nestled on the edge of Highland Park and Oak Lawn, Sachet might seem too fancy for a casual weekday lunch. It does seem that people have not caught onto the idea of lunch at Sachet. They are packed for dinner service, but at lunchtime, we walked in and got a table right away. Just remember, you will need to make a reservation if you want to enjoy their meze and cocktails for dinner. The lunch menu offers a condensed list of items from the dinner menu as well as a few “lunch only” options.

Our Favorite Meze

From the Meze portion of the menu, don’t miss the olives and the beets. Nibble your olives between sips of wine. The citrus and herbs in these olives will startle you with their intensity. The beet meze is vibrant with chunks of bright yellow beets. The beets are nestled onto a plate spread thick with bright, purple, beet hummus. Bright white dollops of tangy labne (a type of yogurt cheese) round out this beautiful plate of food. You can eat this with some of their outstanding house-made pita, or not; it is delightful either way.

The Star of the Lunch Menu Though?

The Porchetta sandwich.

I am not treading new territory here. The Observer has already proclaimed that the Porchetta sandwich is a “Game Changer.” If you want to know the nitty-gritty of how the sandwich and all its components are made, their write up covers it all. Here is what I want to tell you. Run, don’t walk to Sachet and order this sandwich.

No Ordinary Sandwich

It looks like an ordinary sandwich, but if you look closer, you will see signs this is no ordinary sandwich. The bread is full of the lovely airholes that are a sign of a bread made with care and attention. You will see a line of bright green in the filling. If you didn’t read the menu carefully, you might assume that its some type of lettuce. You would be wrong. It is chopped rapini.

Savor It!

Bring this sandwich up to your mouth to take a bite. Pause for a second and breathe deep, with your mouth open and draw all that aroma into your mouth and nose. It wafts in promising all the smokey, pork goodness that can only come from that hot brick pizza oven of theirs. Then take a bite. I want you to pause for a moment here as you chew your first bite of this sandwich. The pork flavor is turned up so high; it might even make you dizzy with delight. Taste, how the bitterness of the rapini complements the fatty goodness of the pork. Notice the elegance of the little hint of Calabrian chili oil. Feel the unctuous, melting softness of the provolone.

That Bread… Sandwich Perfection

Next, observe the perfect crisp of the ciabatta crust. Sometimes crusty bread on sandwiches can be so crispy it cuts your lips. The texture of the bread is often so strong it competes with the ingredients inside the sandwich. Not so with the ciabatta at Sachet. The surface of the crust is crispy enough to crunch as you bite it. The inside is soft and chewy. It offers “just enough” chew to the sandwich. It does not compete with the salty, smokey, cheesy goodness inside. There is a side of slaw with this sandwich. It is good. But it does not matter, because that sandwich is everything you will ever need.

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Charcuterie Basics, Part 1

Charcuterie Basics, Part 1

Have you ever hesitated to order charcuterie because you didn’t know what to expect? Listen, I’ve been there. I have avoided ordering charcuterie in the past. I didn’t want to mispronounce it and embarrass myself. Even when I have ordered it, I had no idea what I was eating. Even if the waiter explained the board, they ran through the list of stuff on the board too fast. It is a shame because charcuterie is fantastic. Over the next few weeks, I want to demystify all things charcuterie. Don’t be like me and miss out on all the lovely cured meats! Order with confidence and enjoy the world of charcuterie

What is Charcuterie?

Charcuterie is a whole class of foods. Usually meat, always preserved. This includes all types of hams and sausages and patés. They can be raw or cooked. Some smoked while others are air dried. The one thing they all have in common is the use of salt to preserve them.

 Let’s Talk Salt

One of the primary methods of preserving any food, but in particular meat is salting. Salt is a pretty magical little rock. When you add salt to food, it pulls out the water. This means that all those nasty little food rotting microbes have no place to grow. The salt also draws water out of the bacteria. So not only is their environment not hospitable to them, but they are also dying off. They don’t have enough water to survive. Cool huh?

Dry Curing

Salt is a miraculous ingredient. But to get something edible that won’t give you botulism you need two more things. Sugar and nitrite. You need sugar to balance out all that salt, and you need nitrite to stop bacteria from growing. No one wants a side of botulism with their meal. Nitrites are natural by the way. So don’t get scared that you are adding chemicals to your food. Nitrites are in green leafy vegetables and other foods, and you eat them every single day. In small amounts they are fine. Like all things in life, moderation is the key.

Brining

Again salt is your key ingredient, but this time it is even more potent with water. When you dry cure, you remove water but when you brine you trade plain water with brine. The result? Moist, flavorful meat! Why? Salt acts on the protein molecules of the meat. Salt not only draws out the liquid that is inside it but also changes the shape of the protein. The new form holds more liquid than before brining. These plumped up proteins make your meat even juicier than before. AND all the aromatics and flavorings you added to your brine gets drawn right into the meat. Why have all your flavor on the outside skin? Brining delivers flavor all the way to the core of the meat.

Next Level Flavor: Smoke and Fat

Smoking

Initially smoke served as another layer of protection from bacteria. When you smoke meat, the outside surface becomes acidic. This acidic environment is not a happy place for bacteria. It also adds flavor.

 “The venerable kitchen rationalist Harold McGee writes: “Smoke’s usefulness results from its chemical complexity. It contains many hundreds of compounds, some of which kill or inhibit microbes, some of which retard fat oxidation and the development of rancid flavors, and some of which add an appealing flavor of their own.’

Excerpt From: Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. “Charcuterie.”

These days though? Smoking is all about the flavor. There are two types of smoke, hot smoke which will cook your meat and cold smoke that will not. Canadian bacon, for example, is hot smoked, while salmon is usually cold smoked and thus raw.

Fat

If you are trying to avoid fat, charcuterie may not be your jam. Seriously, sausage without fat is a tragedy. You cannot make paté and rillettes without fat. 99.9% of charcuterie is about eaking all the love and flavor you can out of fat. Basic breakfast sausage in early America was made and saved in jars full of fat. Why? Fat preserved the sausage and protected it from microbes and bacteria. Now, we might not need to store our breakfast sausages in fat these days. But we do want them to taste like breakfast at grandma’s house. Because fat carries, you need fat for that. The technique for preserving any food with fat is confit. Sometimes people assume that confit is only for use with duck, but that is not true. You can confit pretty much anything. This is not frying; this is more akin to poaching. Cover your food in oil and cook it for hours at 200F. For meat, you need to dry cure or brine it first and then cook it. Once you have a confit, you can serve the confit as is or use it as an ingredient in something else.

Styles of Charcuterie

All these techniques are used to create the four primary forms of charcuterie.

  • Whole Muscle: Any meat that is preserved whole without grinding it or mincing it first. Including ham, prosciutto, bacon pancetta, guanciale, and pastrami.
  • Sausage: Any meat that is ground with fat and spices and then preserved. Often in a casing but not always. Including mortadella, salami, chorizo, kielbasa, bratwurst, merguez, boudin, knackwurst, andouille, and hot dogs.
  • Spreadables: These are sausages without the casing and cooked in a mold. They can be any texture and cooked in a variety of molds including ceramic, or pastry. Including paté, ‘nduja, rillette, headcheese, and aspic.

I break them all down for you next time!

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Macellaio: Bringing their A-Game

Macellaio: Bringing their A-Game

Macellaio: The New Restaurant from the Folks that Brought You Lucia

You know the hardest table to get in town? It’s Lucia. For ages, it has been the one restaurant in the city that required careful planning. Call two months ahead for that reservation. Don’t wait until the last minute unless you want to try for the tiny bar seating. (Have a plan B people). Well, the fine folks that brought you the pasta perfection that is Lucia have opened a brand new spot: Macellaio.

Macellaio’s focus is on artisanal Italian meats like your Nona’s butcher used to make. Which explains the name. Macellaio means butcher in Italian. There are some kitschy plastic hams in their window. A little nod to the butcher inspired meats you will find inside. Once you are inside the restaurant, it is less Italian butcher and more California bistro. The big, floor-to-ceiling windows let in lots of light. The tables are small and cozy and the atmosphere, elegant, but relaxed and informal. The hostess greeted us warmly and seated us right away. I wouldn’t count on that being the case these days though. Make a reservation to be sure you get that table and don’t have to work a plan B.

Unique and Eclectic Wine and Cocktails

I’ve been to a lot of very nice restaurants, and I have experienced all kinds of service styles. My favorite style is relaxed, helpful, observant and unobtrusive. It seems as this is the level of service they are striving for at Macellaio. The waiter was familiar with all the dishes. He was very friendly and helpful with the ordering process. We tend to be pretty self-sufficent, and he took his cue from us and shared his ideas when we asked for them. He was not thrown when we asked a technical question about an ingredient. Instead, he got the owner Jennifer Uygur to come by and answer our questions. She was lovely and patient with us, and lord knows she had other priorities! It was a nice moment, and we were so happy she stopped by.

Mrs. Uygur is also responsible for the excellent and eclectic wine menu at Macellaio. You might not recognize everything on there, so be sure and talk to your waiter about what you like so they can guide you to the best pairing for your meal. We did not drink cocktails on our visit. However, the cocktail program headed up by the incomparable Ravinder Singh is lovely. I mean last year the Dallas Observer names him “Best Bartender of the Year.” So not too shabby right? You may have already enjoyed his cocktails. He headed up the bar at Boulevardier and Rapscallion for a time. The cocktail menu is creative and full of unexpected flavor combinations. I am excited to give them a try the next time I visit.

The Food!

Macellaio has two menus: a small plates and mains menu and a salumi menu. If I were you, I would order at least one thing from the salumi menu. (If you are me you will order the Chef’s choice salumi board!) Some of the items on there are works of art. Including meats from heritage breeds like the Texas red wattle pigs. (Saveur even made a case for it being the tastiest breed a few years ago) https://www.saveur.com/red-wattle-heritage-pig. The day we visited we enjoyed house-made salumi of pork jowl and fennel. It was a little stained-glass window of porky goodness. Pink and white panes of pork crisscrossed across the slice of headcheese. All that pink was set off by delicate green bits of aromatic fennel. Executive Chef, Lance McWhorter, puts out creative salumi. His program delivers on the promise implied by Maciallo’s name.

What We Ate

Daily bread: toasted wheat oat porridge sourdough, focaccia & caraway sourdough

A Bar N beef tartare with olives, anchovy, mustard greens & marrow crostini

Chef’s Choice Salumi Misti Board (Which for us included the below but its Chef’s Choice!)

  • Candy Cap Salame
  • Mortadella smoked, with pistachios
  • Prosciutto whole leg from Red Wattle pork aged over three years at Lucia
  • Capicola mildly spicy brined & smoked Berkshire pork collar
  • Headcheese with fennel (this was Tim’s favorite)

Slow roasted Anson Mills grits with wild mushrooms, poached egg, cacio e pepe broth

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