"Hop Saint II," She Said Drily

Our Spanish lesson ran long; the two dinner choices take a long time to cook so we went back to Hop Saint.  We remembered the grilled cornbread with flavored butter (and can't remember what it was) and the pork ribs fondly. 

I took my usual look at the menu before we left and their version of deviled eggs sounded intriguing:  thin slices of leek, pickled with beets which gave them a rosy color, three or four sprigs of chive and pulled pork.  This combination reminded me vaguely of breakfast bacon and eggs.

I wondered if the pulled pork was mixed in with the egg yolks or draped across the top or what?  So we ordered them with our drinks - Bobblehead Blonde ($6) for Richie and a glass of Fess Parker Riesling ($8) for me. 

Four halves arrived, resting atop a pile of designer lettuce and it was an artful presentation.  The (very dry) pulled pork was arranged like a cheapo bird nest - perhaps from a lazy bird? and the pork was then garnished with the leeks and chives.  They were very good, once I got over the extreme dryness of the pork.  Chewy comes to mind.  . 

A new item on the menu from our first visit is Pulled Pork Poutine ($12) which consisted of a small double handled iron skillet filled with a pile of crisp oven-roasted potato quarters with pulled pork with barbecue sauce poked in among the potato crevasses,  all resting on a bed of what they call "Beernaise" sauce which most closely resembled a white sauce made with beer instead of milk. 

Here again the pulled pork was very, very dry.  Barbecue sauce applied to it did soften it up - marginally.  It was as if the pork had been roasted, forked apart and then the thinnest possible strands put in a drying oven.  It was an interesting dish and my leftovers will be the side dish at dinner tonight. 

The place is still brain-numbingly loud; the crowd is still 30-something couples, often with small children.  Future visits will take place (if I have anything to do with it) at around 1:30 p.m.  The office workers furtively belting down a brew on their lunch hour will be gone and the tots safe at home, napping.