By John Garland
John Garland // Growler Magazine
The Broder family continues to expand their culinary empire on the corner of 50th and Penn, and their newest addition should make your lunchtime rotation if you work anywhere near the vicinity.
They’ve carved a window into the side of Terzo Vino Bar facing the parking lot. From said window, they’re dishing up porchetta—the remarkably delicious fennel and garlic-rubbed roasted pork. Broders’ version comes shredded and served on ciabatta with toppings that include truffled mushrooms and fennel-raddichio-current slaw.
In a town full of indifferent red sauced eateries, the Broders remain vanguards of authentic, soulful Italian cuisine. It’s always been remarkable to me that the pasta bar, deli and now the wine bar would all be right at home on the streets of Milan or Bologna. The porchetta service is along those same lines. It’s just like in Rome, where the spicy pork butt is sliced thin and served on wax paper in countless bars and delis.
And bringing porchetta to lunch service is almost as Minnesotan as it is Italian. The sandwich is an Iron Range staple (though spelled porketta up there) popularized by Northern Italian immigrants who came to work the mines in the early 1900s.
The takeout window is open 11am–5pm daily. I can heartily endorse the rapini ($9, above) in which that grilled, bitter green tops a juicy mound of porchetta along with a garlic-parsely aioli. The ciabatta is soft with a crispy exterior, and substantial enough to keep the sandwich intact. It’s only disappointing that the wine bar doesn’t open until 5pm, because this sandwich begs for a glass of montepulciano.
Porchetteria at Terzo Vino Bar, 2221 W. 50th St., Minneapolis, MN.
About John Garland
You must be logged in to post a comment.