You know what's fun? A dozen kinds of country ham is fun, that's what.
The ham bar at Southern Art restaurant is really something unique in this city. Let other restaurants tempt you with their flowery descriptions of their boutique oysters from little islands off the shore of Maine. Here it's all about the swine, with hams from Tennessee, Virginia and other porktastic states to choose from.
We tried this board laden with four kinds of ham, which cost slightly north of $30. Not cheap, but the four of us got our fill and were able to go back for second, third and fourth bites of each to measure the variation in sweetness, salinity and smoke in each.
I always love the opportunity to taste the Surryano from Surry Farms in Surry, Virginia. This hickory smoked ham has a silly texture and buttery flavor that does put you in mind of Serrano ham from Spain.
There was porcine royalty on the plate -- a Johnston County ham from Smithfield, North Carolina, made from the Mangalitsa breed of pig. This hairy-fleeced Hungarian breed notable for the exceptional flavor and quantity of its lard. This meat was notably sweet, with a salty finish and lingering flavor of pork funk. People who say pork doesn't taste like anything anymore will love this ham.
To me, the real revelation was a prosciutto-style Berkshire ham from Olli Salumeria in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Wow, wow, wow: the low salt level in the cure gave the sweet fat flavor all the time in the world to unfurl on your tongue.
Then there was the now-classic Benton's country ham from Madisonville, Tennessee. Allan Benton has been a huge voice for the rehabilitation of country ham making. His distinctive smoky, salty style provides the most full-throttle bite on the plate.
The biscuits with cane syrup butter and fried chicken at Southern Art was pretty good, too. But that ham....
Blast from the past: About 20 years ago when I was living in Denver, and a pop up meant a Pop Tart and a supper club was something my parents did with their neighbors, a friend asked me along to a very interesting dinner staged by a traveling restaurant called Milk. I don't remember much about it, other than it was a set menu (I think a beef filet and lot of wine was involved) and they asked for everyone's contact information afterward. I was surprised that they managed to track me down and invite me to a dinner in Atlanta. The website doesn't offer much.
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