Girl Meets Food

COCHON 555 is a culinary event featuring five chefs, five pigs, and five wine makers in a friendly competition for a cause.

After a successful 10-event series in 2009, COCHON 555 is on the road again.

In a competition like no other, five chefs are challenged to use a whole pig to create a series of dishes for an audience of epicureans, noteworthy judges and trade.

Together we are saving heritage breeds through eating.

Each event includes the following:

• Over 750 pounds of heritage pork
• Family-owned wineries showing their best
• Whole Pig breakdown demonstration
• “Swine & Spirits” mixologists showcase
• Meat & Greet VIP Lounge featuring artisan cheese, oysters and reserve wine

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For the fashionably hungry, Bethesda Row is having its own Restaurant Week from April 26 to May 2, 2010.

Enjoy a three-course lunch for $15, or a three-course dinner for $30 at participating restaurants like:

Assaggi
Mon Ami Gabi
Redwood
Le Pain Quotidien
Jaleo
Lebanese Taverna
Raku
Parker’s American Bistro

Also, register here to win a $200 dining certificate!

Visit Bethesda Row for details and specific exclusions. Cannot be combined with any other promotions or offers.

Adam Richman’s coverage on Man vs. Food made my mouth water for one of those famous Pittsburgh Primanti Brothers sandwiches.  Piled high with meats, fries, tomatoes and their own secret-recipe cole slaw, it was all I could think about as I navigated rainy, windy roads for five hours to reach my delicious destination.

A Pittsburgh staple, a Primanti Brothers sandwich was the answer to the question, “Hey, can I get my food to go?”

Pitts-burgher cheese steak at Primanti Bros.

Started in 1933, this overnight restaurant served truck drivers looking for a easy meal for the road.

So the cook, John DePriter, started piling everything together, including the side of fries and slaw.  A prototype for the Hot Pocket, if you will.

A star was born.

With 22 choices including capicola, turkey breast, roast beef and pastrami, it’s a carnivore’s cornucopia.

On the suggestion of Pittsburgh native Miss Mango Hands, I ordered the #2 best seller, a Pitts-burgher cheese steak, and the #1, an ice-cold beer.  It’s so blue-collar, I love it.

Soft, fresh, squishy Italian bread collapsed under the weight of this linebacker-sized creation.  Despite a processed beef patty that is spongy and boring, the sandwich is a successful result of teamwork.

A generous portion of hot, hand-cut fries are crispy and spicy.  The cole slaw is the M.V.P.—cool, acidic, slightly sweet, with a crunch that never ends.

Liberty Tavern's pastrami and cheese | Photo: Bryan Applegate

The lone slice of tomato is the kicker—doesn’t do much and goes unnoticed.  The provolone serves as a gooey yet hopeless adhesive.  For $5.99, it’s a great value, but frankly, I’d order a sandwich with just the cole slaw.  It is that unforgettable.

Did you know that Liberty Tavern in Clarendon makes its own version?  I guess Executive Chef Liam LaCivita, another Pittsburgh native, missed the taste of home and decided to take matters in his own hands.

Rather than offer an extensive list of choices, Liberty Tavern’s $9 Primanti Brothers-style sandwich comes one way—with housemade pastrami.  Topped with provolone, cole slaw, and fries on Italian bread, it is a thin shadow of the original.

Same squishy bread, same toppings, though Liberty Tavern’s cole slaw lacks that magically crunchy tartness of the original. The pastrami isn’t overly salty, and the strip of bacon is a nice surprise.  The next time I go to Liberty Tavern, I’ll ask for extra slaw.

Because that’s what makes the sandwich.

Primanti Brothers-Strip District
46 18th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 263-2142

Liberty Tavern
3195 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 465-9360