#101 Fette Sau
Pork and beef $43
From left to right:
-Tender, fatty Berkshire pork belly, covered in a sweet glaze and nicely charred. The meat was so soft that it was almost like caramel, instantly melting into delicious, buttery goodness. ($16/lb)
-Long, thin slices of locally-sourced beef brisket. As I learnt, brisket is taken from the lower front chest of beef or veal and is fairly muscly, meaning that, after a long time cooking, it can be very flavorful and gelatinous. The meat was prepared with a house made rub and cooked for a good amount of time. However, I still found the meat too tough. ($16/lb)
- Hand pulled Berkshire pork shoulder. Thin, stringy pieces of rich, flavorful meat. Unlike the pork belly, which was wonderfully gooey, this was just chewy enough. Coming apart as you pulled at the meat with your fork. Certainly one of my favorite dishes. ($16/lb)
Key lime tart $8
A simple, small-sized tart, this was a quirky way to end a decadent meal. Prepared by Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies in Red Hook, these sweet confections were heavy with nice hints of citrus-y lime. The light yet creamy filling struck me as a bit cloying. The crust, though, was a real disappointment. It was so dry it quickly disintegrated into dainty crumbs. Neither enough butter nor sugar.
For those hungry meat hounds out there, Fette Sau is the ultimate place to chow down on delicious, tender smoked and/or shredded delicacies. It’s even more enjoyable because of the no-frills experience. To get your food, queue up to reach a deli-style counter, where you can look through a glass vitrine and select what you want from the overflowing assortment of meaty delights. Sausages, shoulders, shredded steak and everything else is available. The server will then pile it all up on a Spartan steel tray, measuring out your portion by weight alone. Once you’re done, step along the line to pick up your bread rolls, knifes, forks and napkins. There are classic sides like potato salad, baked beans and coleslaw. Plus, there are sauces stationed at each table, ranging from sweet to super spicy.
Oh, and as for the restaurant’s name (“fette sau” means “fat pig” in German), by the end of the meal, I had to wonder whether it was referring to the meat or me.
354 Metropolitan Ave.
718-963-3404
