I was lucky enough last night to attend the epic Street Meats picnic (thanks to Steven of Hub Food Trucks for the invite) at the Rose Kennedy Greenway!
The food was a collaborative pop-up project between Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and Samuel Monsour featuring a Puerto Rican Remix theme.
What is a pop-up? It’s a one time food event, usually featuring a unique partnership between chefs and restaurants/event hosts that results in some creative dishes you won’t see anywhere else.
Street Meats: Puerto Rican Pork Party
This was my first pop-up event, and I have to say, I was really impressed with the quality of food. Time for show and tell!
This delectable menu featured:
Lechon— 12 hour skin-on roasted pork shoulder
This was some serious pork paradise – the 12 hours showed on this tender and perfectly spiced pork.
Morcillas— Pig’s blood & rice sausage with clove, allspice and nutmeg
I won’t lie – I was a bit nervous about trying this blood sausage. Visions of Dexter and True Blood swarmed my mind. No need to fear though – this morcilla featured a pretty low blood ratio. Honestly, I never would have guessed it was vampire-friendly – it tasted like a solid sausage, totally creepy-free.
Mampastaeo— Crispy griddled left-over rice and beans
Mofongo— Green plantain, garlic & chicharrón mash smothered in sofrito
I had to be repeatedly reminded what this was called (let’s face it, to the foreign mouth, “monfongo” doesn’t roll of the tongue), mostly because I kept talking about how much I liked it. It’s not every day you’ll find me eating plantains, but they are a great substitute for the common potato staple. The sofrito topping definitely made this dish (in essence a thicker, spicier, more complex tomato sauce).
[Monfongo to the left, Mampastaeo to the right]
Tostones de Pana— Twice fried breadfruit
I considered this the sleeper hit of the meal. With a texture very similar to fried plantains, these slices of fried breadfruit were terrific (and salted perfectly).
Pique— Garlicky hot sauce with chile de árbol and pineapple
Not pictured, but a great dip for the pork.
Tres Leches Horchata (Drink)— Traditional horchata prepared with three styles of milk
As foodie Brian (aka @hybernaut) warned, you probably shouldn’t drink this if you’re a diabetic, but for us green-lighted sugar-addicts, this thing was off the wall! So tasty!
The weather could have been a little kinder (cold and grey, but the rain held off), but overall Street Meats Puerto Rico Remix was a success, filling many a happy belly with porky wonder and some unique side dishes that made up, at least for me, many “first”s.