Grubby: Porchetta

Playing catch up here. Porchetta has been hyped pretty big by Time Out and others. A porchetta is basically a slow-roasted boneless pork roast. At Porchetta in the East Village, rosemary and thyme crusted pork roast fills fresh, crusty Italian bread in a tasty, if not slightly high priced, $10 sandwich. It's a hole in the wall place - a couple of bench spots for eating in - with a big oven slow-roasting massive appendages of pork.

This sandwich really has to be all about the pork. And was it? Meh...kinda, I guess? Really, the highlight of the sandwich is the 10 or so pieces of cracklins, or fried pork skin, thrown in like delicous croutons on an underwhelming salad. Considering it is filled to the brim with pork that has been roasted for hours, little pieces of skin should not overwhelm my attention. The herbed edges of the pork were flavorfull but for flesh cooked over such a long time, I found it not nearly delicate enough and too dessicated. The bread and cracklins shouldn't be the highlight!

We also ordered some darkly roasted potatoes covered in thyme that were just fine. Again, not amazing. Listen, I'd try it again - I'm not going to damn it because of one sandwich. And you should try as well, because enough people have raved and the potential is absolutely there. But, I've warned you - the delicious inputs may not result in a satisfying output.

Info: 110 E 7th St. Open Daily 12-10.