Back To Back Forty
I returned to celebrated locavore Peter Hoffman’s Back Forty on Avenue B recently to do something unusual and potentially disastrous: pair heavy, buttery American comfort food with crisp, refreshing albariño from Rias Baixas.
With two bottles on the table - the Don Olegario 2006 and Adegas d’Altamira Selección Albariño 2006 - my friend and I ordered fearlessly: appetizers of pork jowl nuggets, and feta in toasted nuts and spices to start. The deep-fried fatty pork pieces were served in a spicy jalepeño jam, and paired surprisingly well with the ripe fruit of the Don Olegario, which is distinct from other albariños for its long, smoky finish. The sharp acidity of the Adegas d’Altamira cut the saltiness of the feta, making for a zesty combination.
The main courses were more daunting: garlic and saffron marinated rotisserie chicken with peppery romesco sauce for me, and more pork for my friend. Homemade pork sausage atop a white bean puree with toasted hazelnuts, to be precise. Being a Tennessean, she can handle double pork and, fortunately, so could the Albariño. The full-bodied Don Olegario stood up to the hearty sausage, an almost gamey quality introduced by the wine’s bacon-fat finish. The zippy Adegas d’Altamira cut through the buttery savoriness of the chicken, the aromatic garlic and saffron not only accentuated by the aromatic albariño, but also pronounced enough to bring out a touch of minerality in the wine. So, challenge duly completed, we decided that albariño goes surprisingly well with comfort food - maybe because both are so terribly easy to enjoy. And with all the stress that can creep into a New York life, why not take it easy when the opportunity arises?
