The French Dip that we talked about a couple of weeks ago is still on my mind and my to-do list but meantime I saw the thread on the SFBA board about the Porchetta Dip.
It was immediately obvious to me that I had to have one, so I went looking and found a Porchetta sandwich (sans Dip) at Ploughman’s Deli on Pinemont. Alas, the owners apparently decided it was just too 2017 and it’s not on the current menu. I decided to go check out the deli anyway.
I got the Pastramarama, apparently their ‘signature’ sandwich - house made pastrami, house made stone ground mustard, caramelized onions and gruyere cheese on toasted rye. The bread may not look toasted but it was, very evenly. The pastrami was about a quarter inch thick, probably brisket flat, very tender and moist. The onions were over-cooked, for my taste, more of an onion spread. I thought the meat was under-salted but it was just the sweetness of the onions that was taking over.
The red-skin potato salad was just potatoes, hard-boiled egg (large chunks of white and yolks) and mayo. I thought it was under-salted, too. It might have been very freshly made also so that the flavors hadn’t really come together. With a little salt and some time in the fridge overnight, I thought the leftover portion was much better, but I still would have liked something pickly to cut some of the richness of the yolks and mayo.
The place is very small - four 2-tops, 6 stools at a bar in the front window, 2 tables outside with 3 chairs each. The menu is small and it’s a bit pricey but the food was hand-crafted and impressive enough that I would come back.
The problem for me is having to deal with the W. Loop to get there (50 minutes going up, 48 coming home) so I won’t be a regular. They have a special every day - yesterday it was a Brewben sandwich (didn’t get the details) and the soup of the day was black bean. If the Porchetta pops back up on the menu, I’m there.
In the meantime, what have we got in the way of pork sandwiches, Houston? Pulled Pork, Banh Mi, fried pork chop sandwiches and Cubano’s? If you know of any others, please let me know
