"The 'bread course' is nothing short of a revelation at Blanca, the fine dining restaurant behind a legendary pizza shop in Bushwick. Once chef Victoria Blamey’s rapid-fire stream of mostly seafood dishes has been presented, she pulls a tray of bread from the oven. The small, nearly blackened loaves send plumes of steam into the tall-ceilinged dining room—charred wheat, sweet butter, and the unmistakable scent of salty pork fat. Blamey arranges the loaves on a wood board and delivers one to each diner seated at the intimate bar that wraps the kitchen. She rips open a loaf with a dramatic flourish, revealing chunks of crisp chicharron and a dark, dense whole wheat crumb. Half placed on one plate, half on the next. As diners dip into the salty pat of butter before them, the room goes silent save for an occasional moan. More courses follow—all of them good. But the sweet scent sticks to the air, and the taste of pork fat lingers the rest of the night." - ByThe Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors
