Publican Quality Meats
The photo I shot of the sandwich with my iPhone
Paul Kahan has always had an eye for sourcing and preparing some of the best meat in the Midwest, especially at his casual farm-to-table restaurant The Publican. So it was only logical that the chef would extend this passion with a stand-alone butcher shop, Publican Quality Meats. Just over a week ago, the much-anticipated storefront opened across the street from The Publican at 825 W. Fulton, and I was excited to order a whole smorgasbord of sandwiches for the studio’s lunch.
We ordered nearly the whole menu: lamb meatball sandwich, tuna muffuletta, ribolitta soup, smoked turkey sandwich, and our hands-down favorite, the pork belly gyro. What made the gyro so tasty was simpy the quality of the ingredients. A springy pita-like bread surrounds tender, flavorful pork belly bites, while a traditional tzatziki is replaced with raita, the Indian version of yogurt sauce. Lastly, the sandwich is finished off with grilled vegetables that add a counterpoint to the rich belly meat. Everyone seated around the conference table enjoyed the gyro, complemented by the crispy, salty housemade potato chips and crunchy, tangy pickles that came on the side.
If you go to the butcher shop to try the sandwiches, you’ll need to prepare for a few things. First, you will need to grab a seat quickly, especially on the weekends, when the few tables in the back of the shop fill up fast with folks digging into their lunches. Second, you will not leave empty-handed. An enticing spread of housemade charcuterie, fresh breads, poultry, sausages, steaks, and artisan jarred and refrigerated items make it likely that you’ll leave with a shopping bag full of food along with that sandwich.
For the recreation, I wanted to make sure the filling of the sandwich really shone through. In the iPhone photo, it’s tough to see the tasty pork belly because of the way the bread is wrapped. Food stylist Carol Smoler made sure the meat, sauce, and vegetables were the star, and she charred the wrap just a bit to convey the warmth of the sandwich. I also shot the sandwich against a darker background rather than a white plate, which would wash out the colors and fail to convey the rich rusticity of the sandwich. The final image captures the juxtaposition of the savory, meaty pork and the fresh, bright pop of the yogurt sauce, a winning combination that made this sandwich a unanimous lunch favorite.
The recreated sandwich I shot in the studio.
Very nice. I like the simple food shot, nothing else but the food. That green leaf (can’t tell from here) is purposely place