I always see Anthony Bourdain and all the other hard-core foodies savoring pork belly on TV, but I'd never had the a) nerve b) interest c) cash flow to try it until now!
I went to, as promised, a new restaurant last night--Bellanico in Oakland (www.bellanico.net). It is a lovely, rustic, romantic little spot in the Glen Park neighborhood. I ordered a glass of wine and a salad and the fresh house-made pasta with hot peppers, bacon, roasted tomatoes and arugula. Yum, right? Right. My dining companion ordered a beer, the pork belly, and the risotto with ocean-y things and sausage. "Pork belly" I thought to myself. "Hmmm".
When the PB (that's short for pork belly, you see) arrived, I was offered a taste. And so in brave, bold, I'm-gonna-try-something-new fashion, I took a taste.
Holy moly. Yum-city. Since pork belly is very high in fat, and is really considered a throw-away part of the pig here in the US, I expected it to be heavy, oily, fatty and just generally ick. The meat was tender, very flavorful (more of a dark meat taste than usual pork loin) and the sauces--to die for. It came accompanied with a spicy whole grain mustard sauce, and a red onion chutney. Each was better than the other.
So pork belly was a success! But don't go looking for me to start eating elk eyeballs and eagle talons like Bear Grylls. Not yet, anyways.
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