Barbecue And A Lot Of Pork Stews: Ten Years Ago

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  June 10, 2013]

For some reason, I was all about stewing pork at the beginning of June, ten years ago.  But there was wild salmon in the markets too, and some casual dining out to be done.

Which began with the Big Apple BBQ Block Party.  Yes, looks like it's been around for a decade.

Back in 2003, though, the lines were manageable--it was a drizzly day--and there was no question of triple figue super-VIP passes to obtain little cardboard plates of meat.  My journal fails obsessively to record which vendors I visited, but I see I ate some pulled pork shoulder and baby back ribs.

Then I went home and cooked pork in ale with spring vegetables.  Next day it was more stewed pork; next day, pork and cabbage.  Meanwhile, I followed a tip and made a lunch time trip to that secretive fast-food shack, the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridian. Back then, it was conveniently located for the Mysterious Bookshop, where I spent plenty of lunch breaks and dollars.  That's now in Tribeca.

The Burger Joint always had a wait, but I don't recall the lobby-filling line I saw a couple of weeks ago.  Anyway, I visited twice in that week, perhaps to break the monotony of the pork.  Believe it or not, no sooner did I pick up some wild king salmon than I served it over garbure of pork and cabbage, as Bruno Loubet once convinced me they did in Bordeaux.

But then Friday night was a big dinner at home, and a break with the pork theme:

Wild king salmon marinated in honey, ginger, pineapple juice, grilled, and served with a mango salsa.

Polenta soufflé, sausage ragù, grilled shrimp.

Catalunyan roast duck, roast golden beets.

Figs, plumcots, golden cherries, Garrotxa cheese.

Plumcots, eh?  And it looks like polenta dish was an attempt to upgrade low country grits.  My journal is vague on wine, but a Trimbach Gewürztraminer seems to have been involved, and later some Armagnac.

But why stint on pork?  Saturday night, it was off to see that master of locally produced swine, Bill Telepan at JUdson Grill.  After roast quail with duck sausage and morels, one of his splendid pork plates.  A chop, a pork shoulder croquette, asparagus and fava beans.  Greek champagne?  That's what it says here.

Next week, a vegetarian interlude and Café Boulud.