The story is all too familiar: owner of successful restaurant (or coffee shop, bar, food truck…) rushes to expand and diversify, and the new ventures don’t measure up to the original. Thankfully, the opposite is increasingly familiar, at least here in the Twin Cities: restaurateur branches out and the accolades and loyal patrons keep rolling in. Such local wizards include Isaac Becker (Burch, 112 Eatery, Bar La Grassa), Alex Roberts (Alma, Brasa), Russell and Desta Klein (Meritage, Brasserie Zentral), and Sameh Wadi (Saffron, World Street Kitchen restaurant and food truck). With their collection of excellent Italian establishments on the corner of W. 50th Street and Penn in Southwest Minneapolis, Molly Broder and her three sons also belong on this list. Their new porchetteria is further evidence of the family’s golden touch.
From a window cutout of Broder’s wonderful wine bar, Terzo, the family is slinging rich, succulent slow-roasted pork (that is, porchetta) sandwiches from 11am to 5pm daily. If you’re into tailgating, there are six large plastic chairs (but only one large umbrella) for chowing down right there in the parking lot. You can also, like us, lunch on the patio of Broders’ Pasta Bar, which offers plentiful shade, tables, and comfy chairs. It’s a great space for an impromptu picnic.
The porchetta sandwiches showcase high-quality, sustainable Fresh Air Pork from Grass Run Farms in Iowa, roasted to perfection and chock-full of wonderful porky flavor. All four options (three pork and one vegetarian) are served on chewy, grilled ciabatta that manages to be sturdy but not tough. Our favorite sandwich, The Rapini, includes garlic paisley aioli and stalks and leaves from the eponymous vegetable ($9). The refreshing rapini adds pleasant tang and crunch that cuts the richness of the pork and aioli.
A combination of porchetta, radicchio and currant slaw, and Calabrian pepper aioli, The Calabrian ($9) is well balanced (with spice from the peppers playing off sweet from the currants) and super flavorful. The tasty truffle mushroom and porchetta ($10) delivers an awesome umami uppercut. But lacking rapini, slaw, or some other fresh element (maybe arugula?), the fungi and pork option teeters on the edge of over-indulgence. Speaking of which, lest we forget: house-made potato chips ($2) are exquisitely fried and salted. They’re absolutely worth the added cost.
Porchetteria at Terzo Vino Bar
Takeaway Sandwiches in Southwest Minneapolis
2221 W 50th St
Minneapolis, MN 55419
612.925.0330
HOURS:
Daily 11am-5pm
CHEF / OWNER: Thomas Broder / Molly Broder
BAR: No
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN: Yes / No
ENTREE PRICE: $9-10