Blackbelly Market
Bread, Butter, Smoked Sea Salt
Lamb and Masa Croquettes with Poblano Aioli
Hatch Green Chile Posole – Smoked Pork, Fresh Tortilla
Charcuterie – Headcheese, House Pate, Foie & Sweetbread Sausage, House Pickles
Butcher’s Cassoulet – Pork Confit, Smoked Lamb, Pork Tenderloin, 90 Minute Egg
Roast Tricolor Carrots – Cumin, Local Honey
Winter Squash – Maple, Sage, Pine nuts, Brown Butter
Evelyn’s Famous Carrot Cake – Candied Pecan, Ginger Syrup
Sticky Toffee Pudding – Dates, Orange Zest, Toffee, Bourbon Ice Cream
Chosen for the first of two dinners largely as a result of location as well as the butcher shop serving house-cured meats it was unknown to me when booking Blackbelly Market for a 4pm reservation that the restaurant also offers a rather impressive Happy Hour, something that a half-full house by five indicates is a favorite for locals as well as visitors in the know.
Owned and operated by Chef Hosea Rosenberg, with a focus that trends as local and organic as one is likely to find, Blackbelly was launched originally as a catering company but since evolving to a place for breakfast, lunch and a dinner menu that changes daily those paying a first visit will likely be impressed by the rustic-chic interior, a light soundtrack playing overhead while service walks the professional-yet-friendly fine line.
Declining a stool at the Chef’s Counter in favor of a small two-top in front of hung-to-dry meats it was not long before the first of two waiters stopped by with bread, water and menus, a brief description of nightly specials creating a conundrum of how to order while the housemade bread and butter threatened to ruin an appetite since the quality of the smoke-salted spread was so good.
Half-sold on Happy Hour, the charcuterie special better-off incorporated into a board while crispy corn fitters were dialed up by bits of ground lamb in a bowl of piquant dip it was not long before another bowl of green chile posole was brought forward, each bite equally featuring the aromatic peppers and shredded pork.
Taking it easy on warm tortillas, the evening a marathon, not a sprint, a board of Charcuterie was next delivered just as requested and eschewing housemade mustard that the waiter stated was “hot, just perfect” the trio of meats to follow showed Rosenberg and Staff’s commitment to quality, the offal based sausage *almost* too funky while both pate and headcheese were savored bite by bite with pickles to clear the palate, of which I could have used a few more.
Not going all-in on entrees, though the in-house butchered meats seemed well received around the room, it was instead to the daily Cassoulet that I turned for a final savory, the rich French stew boasting Blackbelly’s Nose-to-Tail convictions by using up the off-cuts with a sous vide egg for mixing while two vegetarian-friendly sides were no less impressive, both just sweet enough to compliment the locally sourced produce without leading to any flavor masking or loss.
Thoroughly impressed by the food, service and concept as a whole there was little chance of passing on the sweet stuff and although staff suggested the chocolate cake or pudding two old favorites instead beckoned, the Sticky Toffee Pudding an admirable version with plenty of Dates dispersed in a buttery base topped with Bourbon ice cream while the ‘Famous’ Carrot Cake lived up to its billing not only in terms of spice profile and creamy frosting, but also through the inspired used of Ginger syrup and a commitment to charity by donating $1 to breast cancer research per slice.
www.blackbelly.com
