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2016-10-12
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Straccetti di ManzoOBE beef, Gorgonzola dolce, artichoke pesto, arugula, anchovy aioli,homemade subHK$119 This was my first attempt to join the ultimate sandwich competition, and it did not go well.So I showed up on a Saturday (16 September 2016), which was determinately within the 12 September to 10 October time frame of the alleged competition. When I was seated, I was given a very old, worn, printed menu, which of course did not have the special sandwich on it. I looked around the restaurant
Rules: I just made up these rules, but I abided by them throughout the contest. Rule #1: Only one sandwich can be crowned The Ultimate Sandwich, and it must be one of the eight entrants. While Crave magazine is giving the award based on sales, my award is completely subjective, based on my own opinion. Rule #2: I must eat the sandwich exactly the way the restaurant serves it, with no additions or subtractions (unless they’re explicitly offered as a choice point): no sauces from the table, no salt, no pepper, nothing. Rule #3: Only The Ultimate Sandwich deserves a smiley-face review. If a restaurant pretends it has The Ultimate Sandwich, but then just has a regular old sandwich, then that restaurant is ipso facto only OK at best, and perhaps frowny-face at worst.]
Straccetti di Manzo
OBE beef, Gorgonzola dolce, artichoke pesto, arugula, anchovy aioli,
homemade sub
HK$119
This was my first attempt to join the ultimate sandwich competition, and it did not go well.
So I showed up on a Saturday (16 September 2016), which was determinately within the 12 September to 10 October time frame of the alleged competition. When I was seated, I was given a very old, worn, printed menu, which of course did not have the special sandwich on it. I looked around the restaurant and there was a specials menu, but it too did not have the special sandwich on it. So I asked my server whether they had the sandwich, and he said: “Is it on the menu?” I said, “no.”
The server took my phone, with the Crave magazine webpage on it scrolled down to the sandwich in question and brought it to whoever in the back of the restaurant might possibly know about the Sraccetti di Manzo. He returned with the dullest of explanations: “this is a competition among different restaurants and Posto Pubblico is doing this sandwich” (I assume that maybe he thought I thought they were serving all the sandwiches on the list I had given him. I did not think that, but whatever.) “So,” I said, “do you havethat sandwich?” “No,” he said.[Later on, I emailed Posto Pubblico and the RM (restaurant manager?) Mohammad Wahid apologized for the “confusions” and said the sandwich was available every day at lunch, including the day on which I came. I don’t know what “available” means if it includes something that is not on the menu and unknown to the staff. Since I was in no way assured that future “confusions” would not occur, I decided not to give it a second go.]
So this review will describe the rest of my dining experience. Unfortunately, Posto Pubblico loses The Ultimate Sandwich Competition, because not even bringing a sandwich to the competition is a guaranteed way to lose the competition. They don't get the worst marks, however (!), and I do like the other (real, actually existing) food at Posto Pubblico. I’ve been here a number of other times, and also to Linguine Fini, and I have, except for on this particular occasion, never been disappointed.
Since I’d had several things on the menu, I decided to go for the special Tuscan Fried Chicken: “pecorino, crispy sage, pickled chilli - $229.” My server informed me that it was just chicken and that I should order a side if I wanted more than that, but that it was a lot of chicken. I figured it’s OK to skip my veggies this once.
According to Daniel Gritzer of Serious Eats Magazine, fried chicken in Tuscany is originally a Tuscan-Jewish dish. The preparation involves marinating the chicken in lemon juice and garlic, breading it in flour and egg, and frying it in olive oil, using plenty of herbs. Here, I thought some of the stuff was superfluous: the pecorino certainly was unnecessary, and I didn’t really notice it. I ate some crispy sage and then I did not eat more crispy sage, it worked only as a garnish. The pickled chilli, which was a sweet pepper and not a hot one, worked OK to break the monotony of the chicken, but the best fried chicken is not monotonous.Let’s talk chicken. You get half of a chicken, in three very different-sized pieces. The best aspect of the chicken was by far its juiciness. Even the white meat was very good and not dry. I don’t know if it was marinated in lemon, like online recipes suggest, but it came with lemon slices which I squeezed on, and the citrusy brightness also helped the flavor. The worst part of the chicken was the breading/ skin. The skin of the chicken had only partly melted, becoming a yellow fatty glob that made the breading soggy in places. My drumstick had very soft non-crisp breading, as did the bottom of my breast + wing piece. The thigh came out the crispiest.
This isn’t top-flight fried chicken, and if that’s what you want, go to The Parish down the street. But who goes to an Italian place for fried chicken anyway? Not me. I came for the sandwich. Unfortunately for me, it was not to be.
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