Sheena Takes Long Options on Pork Belly Futures

Dinner last night out here on the farm with a friend who drove in from Mississauga. One of Sheena's semi regular local haunts is The Rude Native here in Waterloo. When I first moved here, my first thought was "WTF. What a completely inappropriate and politically incorrect name for a restaurant. Can you IMAGINE if they tried to open up an Ottawa location"?. I still think that, btw.

But the atmosphere makes it feel like not-Waterloo, and the food is generally good and at least interesting if nothing else. Some half decent wines by the glass and bottle and yes... free tampons in the ladies room.

Last night we both had The Special. Braised pork belly with portobello mushroom reduction with a side of vanilla scented sweet potato mash. The braised belly had the melt in your mouth texture of foie gras. It was heavenly. As though each little forkful was exactly the same temperature as your tongue, so just the perfect sensation of flavourful warmth spreading over the tastebuds. Like a porky creme brulee.

Wished my dining companion would have chugalugged the Sauvignon Blanc a bit faster... would have really loved a pinot noir with it rather than polishing off the white. Grr...




PS: Stumbled across this blog: Eat Drink & Be Merry when I was looking for good pork belly shots. Mostly California cuisine reviews, but some of the most kick ass foodie pics I've seen in a while. Check him out.