Double Cut Pork Chop @ Emeril's
Emeril's restaurants have always featured a killer pork chop. Its goodness begins with Emeril's assiduousness in the purchase of first-class ingredients. In this case, the chops come from Niman Ranch, a top producer of naturally-raised meats. The tenderness and flavor are an obvious step up from what you're used to eating. The thing is cut generously--two bones--and seared on the grill until it picks up some smoke flavor. You can order this one with a blush of pink in the center; it's perfectly safe, according to USDA rules, and still juicy. Two sauces get slathered and striped (respectively) over it (and the plate around it, in an arresting presentation. The slather is a pale green chile mole, thick and mildly spicy. The stripes are of a tamarind glaze. (Tamarinds are steak sauce on the hoof.) They finish the plate with caramelized sweet potatoes. A hearty plate of food, and the city's finest pork chop.
