We got to pondering the origins of the pork belly slider. My dinner companion was thinking about the many different culinary styles represented on the menu at American Junkie, all, at this late hour, enlisted in the service of the upscale gastropub. Whence the pork belly slider? I suspect historians will someday find evidence of it in archival newspaper dining sections, on lists of Hottest Summer Dishes 2009. Perhaps it’s native to the spendy sports bar, and here we were, eating it in its natural habitat.
The Chicago bureau of American Junkie might actually benefit by comparison: I’m looking now at the menu at Scottsdale, which includes a pizza with prosciutto, grilled pineapple, scallions, green pepper, and provolone—a mixture it’s not altogether easy to imagine working well together. The closest local analogue is one of Duque’s flatbreads—an honest-to-Jesus flat bread, by the way, not nearly resembling a pizza—topped with foie gras, pineapple, balsamic syrup, and pistachios. It was rich and lovely, more dessert than dinner, but the rare use of pineapple in a savory course doesn’t feel like pandering. Which seems maybe a special talent of Duque’s: supersweet dates complemented but didn’t overwhelm a side of brussels sprouts, either, and they paired darkly and deliciously with smoked pork jowl.
15 W. Illinois 312-239-0995americanjunkiechi.com
