Pork & Pickle Brunch at Lyn 65 - December 6, 2015
Quite possibly inferred from my previous musings on Estelle’s, chefs are migratory animals. They work with one team of other chefs and cooks until they’re ready to head out and do their own thing. Matt left Pig Ate My Pizza and Travail to go to own and operate Estelle’s, Tony Callies left Travail to chef at Arezzo Ristorante before pulling up stakes and heading to Oklahoma to open his own place, Chris Uhrich recently left The Strip Club Meat and Fish to partner and executive chef at soon to be open Mucci’s Italian. (I’m sure I’ll end up writing about that early in the new year.)
Geoff Hausman was another chef at Travail, and like many chefs, eventually wanted to do his own thing. Geoff did a lot of the charcuterie and fermenting on site at the various Travail, so Pork & Pickle was a logical name for his own endeavors. Besides, who doesn’t love a little alliteration?
Pork & Pickle did a few pop-ups at Travail before branching out into catering and in home classes. I’d attended a few of the pop-ups and owe my love of gizzards to Geoff’s ever changing preparations.
My enjoyment of pop-ups, appreciation of Travail, and experience with his prior pop-ups mean that when Geoff does one, I try to make it. Even if it’s all the way down in Richfield. (I kid, Richfield is a great town with some awesome people, I enjoyed spending a lot of time down there a few years back.)
Lyn 65 is a spot I always mean to check out more, but it’s almost as far from downtown Minneapolis in the opposite direction I am, so driving home after eating a good meal gets tiring, especially in the winter. But I wasn’t going to miss a chance to see what Pork & Pickle does for brunch.
Korean Bloody Mary; vodka based with gochujang, kimchi, and a quail egg shooter, Miller High Life beer back: I don’t like Miller Lite, but I drank it. The Bloody Mary itself? Great. Nice flavors and spice, not a bunch of solid matter that won’t go up the straw like some places. The quail egg shooter was the stand out with the yolk’s fat quelling some of the heat and complementing the flavor.
Chicken & Waffle with a buckwheat waffle, Buffalo chicken terrine, crispy chicken skin, and bourbon barrel aged maple syrup: Good. Nice play of textures and flavors. I wonder if it could have used a little more commitment to the “Buffalo” chicken. I generally add more syrup to my waffles, so this was an exercise of restraint.
Shit on a Shingle - Texas toast, fried gizzards, gizzard gravy, soft scrambled eggs, and fried sage leaf: this was a very nostalgic dish, my mom used to make a variation on this using the Buddig variety of lunch meats enrobed in a homemade milk gravy all served over the small biscuits from a canister. This was far superior to that trip down memory lane. I would have preferred a touch more pepper in the gravy, but that might just be me. I think this makes 4 or 5 variations on gizzard preparations by Pork & Pickle I’ve tried.
Smoked Parsnip Soup with house made ricotta, house made ham, and arugula: Tasty. The arugula added a nice bitterness that contrasted the sweetness of the soup, the ricotta added a nice mouthfeel. The ham was great, but could have used a little temperature.
Pappardelle with anchovy butter, sunchoke chip, and sunchoke puree: Very tasty, the chip was a great texture, only drawback for me was the temperature again, I’d like it to be warmer, I think it’s a case of plating for the entire seating.
Steak & Eggs with an oxtail torchon, sous vide egg, oxtail jus, and chive batons: Really, really good. Oxtail is one of those cuts that taste so purely of beef that the flavor can be overpowering, and if it’s not cooked correctly the texture can get really messed up. This was done right. So beefy. Good texture on the egg too.
Cinnamon Roll: This was a takeaway item based on Geoff’s mom’s recipe. It was good, not my favorite pastry, but it was nice to see him honor his mom by including it as part of his brunch.
Overall a couple things I’d order if they were on a menu, and a couple more if they were a la carte vs the whole dining room getting them at the same time, I think that would help with the temps. I’m interested to see what Pork & Pickle does for its next adventure.