Fatale Abstraction

Tuesday was a day of extreme highs and lows. Here is a high:

For lunch, I went to what I was told was the most authentic Chinese eatery in the Dallas area, First Chinese BBQ at 111 Greenville in Richardson. Walked through the door, and looked into the hot case of meat to the right. Whole ducks with they feets and heads on, necks artfully twisted 'round into a curlicue, a row of duckie rockettes? Check. Entire BBQed head of a sizeable hawg? Check. Prep pan of roasted nebulous meaty bits, including what were clearly tripe and a rather large hog ear (thought those were just for dogs!), and sundry other little deadlies? Check. *Squeals of delight from the peanut gallery*

Here's the deal, and what inspired me to go there.

I've seen Anthony Bourdain eat pork skin right off the roasted hawg on his show in several locations. One was in a remote hamlet in the Shangri-La episode. The most mouth-watering one was a pork stand on a beach in Puerto Rico. Apparently, hours of basting and roasting yield wonderfully moist, smoky pork with a skin that simply cracked off, looking like thin peanut brittle. OOOOOOOH! *snap!* I wondered what that could possibly be like, and surmised from AB's utterances of sheer bliss that this must be some of the ultimate food, evah.

I was talking to a chef I know on Saturday, and asked if he knew of any place locally to get this kind of roasted pork. Without hesitating he directed me to this FCBBQ. Good call, although next time I intend to harrass a group of people into going with me, because this would be best if there are about 10 people and you can order 6 (or 15!) different dishes and try lots of things. The prices are relatively low and the portions are huge.

Oh, but the pork? Good googly moogly, you've got to try it. It's very smoky and moist, and some pieces are a bit fatty, but even those bits are glorious. And the skin? The flavor is a very hot, very fresh genetically superior cousin to the pork rinds you get in a bag. Yeah, I mean, there is the faintest naff of that kind of flavor, but it's sooooo much better. Yes, it snaps and crunches when you bite into it.

Oh, and I asked for "crunchy pork" and the Chinese lady pointed to it on the menu, and it just says "barbecue pork."

Other people have raved about the noodle dishes and about the duck, so I'll try each of those in future, hopefully soon. So, anyhoo, I know it's not wonderfully presented here or anything, but it really is the most fabulous stuff. You folks who live in the area have got to go there. Let me know when you do and what you think of it.

Cheers, m'dears!