DISH OF THE WEEK: Berkshire Pork Chop at RED GRAVY

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

SADLY, RED GRAVY IS NOW CLOSED.

I was rather surprised that one of Chef Saul Bolton’s pastas wasn’t the highlight of my recent visit to his newest Brooklyn restaurant. In fairness, we only ordered one pasta dish. But it sounded so good and with a name like Red Gravy, you’d expect the noodles (and the gravy) to be the highlight.

The pasta was the Chestnut Reginetti with Rabbit Ragú and it was surprisingly dry and bland. Perhaps one of the other pastas might have showcased the Italian cuisine here better, but this one was a bit of a disappointment.  But let’s not focus on the negative because the positive was really really good.

Red Gravy served one of the best pork chops I’ve had in a long while. Tender, juicy, and moist is how I like my pork and it’s how they serve it here. It had a very nice char on the flesh which mingled with all the bright flavors of the accoutrements.

It was covered in mustard seeds and a mostarda of sweet apricots. The strong mustard flavor only enhanced the flavor of the pork. Underneath the meat, farro was studded with even more pork: hunks of salty, meaty pancetta. And if all that sounds overly rich, not to worry because a garnish of bitter arugula and radicchio rounded things out.

The neighborhood vibe and rustic Italian name of Red Gravy made me expect exemplary pasta. When that fell through, thankfully some perfectly grilled juicy pork came to the rescue. Once again, pork saves the day!