Tuesday, March 13, 2012

No Heart Attack for Me!

Because that greasy but heavenly fat on the most expensive single thing you can presently buy from a DC food truck is apparently (maybe) good for you!!!  Let me 'splain....

I arrived early to visit the new Pepe truck from James Beard award winning chef, José Andrés, just as they were pulling up.  Since all the flautas (sandwiches) seem to be "pre-stacked" it only took them about 5 minutes to get ready and begin serving.  Up to the window and I ordered "the gold standard" figuring the order taker would know what I meant given the small fortune for the (already) most famous item on the menu.  After he chuckled at my lame joke, I went on to indicate I had heard it was "that good" and gently asked his opinion.  He said it totally was and that people "just didn't understand what Ibérico pork really (is.)"  Gee, I guess I didn't really either, so I took it upon myself to immediately be educated while I chowed down on my stacked pork, Serrano ham, caramelized onions, roasted green peppers, and alioli on a thin fresh baked (kind of) torpedo-style bread.  This is known as the Pepito de Ibérico.
When I first opened the neatly wrapped package, my first reaction was "I'm going to drop dead of a heart attack the second I'm done eating this insane-smelling concoction" as I saw pork fat oozing out the sides.  Then I begin reading... You've gotta love any yummy-like-butter description which reads:
"...A good ibérico ham has regular flecks of intramuscular fat (marbling). Because of the pig's diet of acorns, much of the fat is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol..."
Healthy, right?  Sure!  That's all I needed to devour my lunch without hesitation and, man was it good.  AND totally worth every penny of the $20, particularly now I've actually done the research to learn how fine the primary product is.  I don't even usually care for green peppers, but the aggregate really made for an unexpectedly smooth but rich, delicious bite (after bite, after bite.)

Ya think I'm gonna give this 4 honks?  Well, DUH!  Don't let the price or the marble scare you off.