The 4th edition of the sit down Swine Dine at Smoke House Deli, Lavelle Road had a bigger table set this time. With new intriguing creations, this edition saw yet another specially curated menu which served pork in every curious way possible! Backing up a bit, Swine Dine is a 13 course culinary concept meal, hosted by Smoke House Deli for a limited audience in its outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This meal is distinguished from all others that I have ever had in a deliciously peculiar way; every dish on the menu were porcine, from the appetizers to the dessert. This particular edition of the event had almost 30 participants. The menu was exhaustive and creative, including preparations of the Pork tongue, belly, shoulder, ear, ribs and more by Chef Gresham Fernandes. Giving a quick introduction to the concept and menu for the evening, the kitchen doors were opened, and servers came bearing the heavy food artillery! The highlights of the evening were the Pulled Pork Shoulder with Porcini Mushroom, the Braised Ear with corn and the Dirty Ribs (hell yeah!)

One of the interesting dishes that came early on were the tongue in milk bun sliders with hot sauce. Well, the sauce could have been hotter, but the meat itself was the richest in this particular preparations. Very soft, both the bread and the meat, this set off the meal to a very good start. The pulled pork shoulder with porcini mushroom, with green apple chutney was the next favorite. Served with finely sliced cucumber on a crusty coarse-grained bread, this was an amazing combination. The cucumber added a sublime quotient to the slow cooked tough shoulder muscle.

Next came the braised ears in lettuce wraps with charred corn served with a bunch of sauces. Now the ear, being a cartilage is mild in taste, and slightly rubbery in texture. But stewed delicately, these slithers of meat were delicious. I preferred this without the lettuce, it was a fantastic dish. The next favorite is a no-brainer. No porcine meal is ever complete without the ribs. The dirty ribs with burnt orange and coriander glaze was perfection in itself. Well cooked, enough fat on the bone and meat, you really can’t ask for more!

Possibly the most innovative course that evening was the dessert. The crack pie was an intriguing dish with the goodness of crumble pie and pieces of bacon stuffed within! In the goodie bags that evening we got the banana and bacon cake, my thumb rule is anything with bacon is awesome, but I am not sure I was digging the fruit flavor. Nevertheless definitely worth a try.

In addition to the published menu for the evening, we got some surprise add ons, like deep fried pork skin, a curry from the Chef’s family recipe book and more. The sit down meal, with fun conversations and anecdotes being passed around the table from a bunch of folks brought together for the love of food, is a worthy experience – definitely one of a kind. In conclusion, it is not easy to consume an all meat meal of a magnitude like this. The taste, the aromas, the tenderness of certain dishes, while the slightly rare preparation of some could be unknown to your palate before this experience, as it was for me. My advice: pace yourself!

For more information, check out the Swine Dine Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/317659611692280/

More blog posts on Smoke House Deli: Smoke House Deli – Mothers’ Day 2015

Restaurant Details: http://www.smokehousedeli.in/

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