OK, so the headline gave it away. The above glamour shot is not a snap of a macaroon, or a slice of cake.
It's quite simply the most decadent fried pork snack that has ever passed my lips. I love pork rinds, of every type from the cheesy little bags of Rolets that used to go for a quarter at my local bodega, to the huge sheets of fried pork skin the size of my face that I've picked up in Mexican grocery stores. And I love chicharrones, too.
But when I made my way to the back of Muncan Food Corp., a Romanian deli in my native Queens, which in itself is nothing less than a shrine to the pig, with long rows of sausages and smoked pigs feet hanging above a display case rife with such delicacies as lamb prosciutto, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a metal scoop perched atop a mountain of crisp, golden meaty nuggets.
"What's that," I asked. The friendly counterman replied, "pork rinds," and offered a sample. The boys at Muncan Food Corp. can call them whatever they like. But what they're selling is rich, buttery chunks of fried pork belly sprinkled with coarse salt. These morsels combine all that's good about pork rinds and chicharrones, and are yet so much more, shattering with greasy, porcine goodness in every mouthful.
Muncan Food Corp. has three locations in Queens: 60-86 Myrtle Ave., Ridgewood, (718) 417-5095; 43-09 Broadway, Long Island City, (718) 278-8847; and 676 Seneca Ave., Ridgewood, (718) 418-2122.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-28-2006 @ 12:26AM
The Top Ramen said...
Even better is a couple of pieces of pork cracklin in a brothy soup or chowder. DAYUUM that's good eatin'
Reply
2-28-2006 @ 1:24AM
Jane said...
Oh! How I love pork rinds. I could eat... well let's just say I could eat a lot of these. These look absolutely delishious. Oh how I wish Queens were a little bit closer to me. It's getting hard to find chicharrones here now.
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2-28-2006 @ 3:21AM
franz said...
I'm hungry now.
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2-28-2006 @ 3:21AM
franz said...
I'm hungry now.
Reply
2-28-2006 @ 7:12AM
caLIFornia pIZzA said...
People! I'm begging you, don't eat any food made from animals. It's better for your health. Be vegan!
Reply
2-28-2006 @ 9:10AM
JavaMoose said...
caLIFornia pIZzA, the sickest people I have ever known have been Vegan. Got any unbiased medical journals to back up that assertion of yours?
Reply
2-28-2006 @ 6:08PM
Chrissy said...
I'm a vegetarian...but dang, that looks SCRUMPTIOUS!!!
Reply
4-13-2006 @ 7:20PM
Alin said...
Not my favorite from Muncan, but I do reccommend the mici (means "little ones" in Romanian). We (Romanians)swear by them. Basically a skinless sausage of beef and lamb, akin to a kebob, with a lot of garlic. Grilled over charcoal, with mustard, next to a cold Heineken. Oh man...Am I hungry!!!
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