Eat My Charlotte
We all knew it would come to this, didn't we? Surely it was just a matter of time before Creative Loafing capitalized on my rather obscene appetite to inform the greater good. In this new monthly column, we'll traipse around Charlotte exploring the city's most notable dishes, from the best damn bites you can eat with the change in your purse to highfalutin' masterpieces.
My first adventure took me to Block and Grinder (2935 Providence Road), where executive chef Ben Philpot recently launched a new bar bites menu for civilized noshers. On the menu is the scotch egg, a popular British snack food that could quite possibly be the most portable meal next to the Hot Pocket. I know what you're thinking: Why is this British staple called a "scotch" egg? Well, why do we call downtown Uptown? Some things just can't be explained.
Traditional scotch eggs are composed of a hard-boiled egg wrapped with ground meat, which is then deep-fried to a golden crisp. Scotch eggs were typically a working-class meal, portable and served cold, but B+G classes it up with a few twists. First, the pork is slow-cooked, confit-style, in its own fat and then whipped into a rillette-like frenzy before being wrapped around a soft-boiled egg and flash-fried. For the perfect external crisp, the scotch egg is baked off and served with a red bell pepper jelly and a flurry of microgreens over top. The confit pork makes all the difference. The first bite offers a tender crunch, and the pork, flavored with glorious fat, doesn't stand a chance of drying out. The encased egg, with the gooey (but not runny) golden center, paired with the bright acidity of the red pepper jelly takes this $10 bite straight from working class to high class.
Got a favorite dish in Charlotte? Share it with me at keiaishungry@gmail.com.
