#45 – PORK MILANESE at ROMAN’S

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

I don’t believe it. I have the worst luck with technology and once again something went wrong. I wrote a review about Roman’s Pork Milanese a while back and was planning on posting it today. But something horrible happened. Somehow in proofreading my work, the computer (or word press) erased the entire post.

And sometimes I’m able to re-create what I’ve written in dire circumstances, but I actually tried the pork months ago and didn’t save any of my notes. I did however save some pictures, so you word adverse folks are in luck. And the Pork Milanese was so good that I remember the overall sense of it. So bear with me as I try to re-create my experience.

I was getting worried we would ever actually get to sample the Pork Milanese because Roman’s literally has an ever-changing menu. It’s completely different from night to night. And every time I had called, they were not serving their Pork Milanese. Eventually, one of the reservationists was nice enough to take down my email address and notify me when they had it.

Once I got that email on a Friday afternoon, I dropped all plans for the night and we headed to Fort Greene, which is another quaint residential area of Brooklyn. And we were lucky when we arrived at Roman’s and only had to wait 10 minutes. Shortly into our dinner, the place completely filled up and it looked like the wait was much longer.

I wish I remembered everything we tasted that night, but I remember everything being solid. From the ambiance, the service, and the simply prepared, deeply flavored food. The chocolate sorbet at the end of the meal was unusually dense – it was closer to fudge than actual sorbet.

But the reason for the visit was the Pork Milanese and it was absolutely amazing. It wasn’t too dissimilar to a pork schnitzel, but the Italian version. The pork was pounded thin, breaded and fried. It was just about greaseless and full of so much flavor – perfectly seasoned, rich, and tender. The squeeze of lemon was the perfect addition to lighten up this delectable dish. And some bitter greens (watercress, if I remember correctly) on top for some bite.

I’m not doing this justice (my original review was much more specific, believe me). The point is this was a perfect entree and Roman’s is an undersung neighborhood spot, which keeps their menu fresh, simple, and delicious. And my computer is temperamental.

Would Roman’s Pork Milanese make my Top 100 of the year? The answer is a resounding yes. My original review really hit home the point that this pork dish was surprisingly perfect. A10 out of 10!