For the longest time ever, humans have this unexplainable fascination with bacon. Vegans and vegetarians love to get mad at people for consuming it, while those that do consume it praise it as the almighty food among foods. Even now, those who do not eat meat can have their bacon with Coconut Bacon. We all must remember that times change, so while bacon continues to reign in its popularity, other foods have risen to compete with bacon. Short rib has garnered some attention in the past few years, as have pork belly. Pork belly basically represents unsliced whole bacon, and everyone who loves bacon would definitely love pork belly. Pork belly has started to appear in many more restaurants, such as at PUBlic 74 in San Juan Capistrano.
Having just opened their doors to the public earlier this year, PUBlic 74 has come to Orange County to deliver their take on the modern gastropub. With roots in Temecula, the folks over at PUBlic 74 boast industry experience, and hope to translate that over to this new spot in San Juan Capistrano. PUBlic 74 has all the fixin’s of a typical gastropub: craft beer, spirits, and fancy food. Their menu changes quite often, so their current menu may not appear on their website. For example, their current menu features a sandwich called The Fallin BL No T “Spanglish” that represents a modified version of the BLT that appears on their website. This sandwich contains hand-cut wood-smoked pork belly, cheesy sautéed spinach, a fried egg, and whole-grain mustard vin. Anyone ordering this will certainly get their hands messy while devouring this melty sandwich. I rarely advise this, but cutting this sandwich may help to contain the ingredients in this sandwich. The pork belly by itself tastes amazing, but some bites may contain more spinach that will overpower the pork belly. I suggest trying to spread out the spinach to prevent clumps of it, in order to maintain a consistent flavor throughout the sandwich. Oh, and this sandwich comes with fries that they season with what I can best describe as a barbecue rub. The fries alone also make this a worthy dish to order.
Feeling hungry while driving through San Juan Capistrano? Stop by PUBlic 74 and savor this meat for $14.50. Enjoy one of their signature drinks, or pair this nicely with an IPA to balance the flavor.
