Bäco Mercat, Take 2

When I first visited Bäco Mercat in downtown LA, I fell in love with their food. I don't know why it took me nearly a year to go back to this place, but I guess it's better late than never! They are well known for their bäco, which is like a flatbread sandwich. This second visit, we ordered "The Original" bäco, hamachi crudo, pork belly ragu, mushroom cocä, & Brussels sprouts. For the bäco, large chunks of beef & pork shoulder were combined with arugula, tomatoes, bell peppers, & salbitxada sauce made of almonds, tomatoes & serrano chile, then wrapped in a soft flatbread. The hamachi crudo sat on top of mashed avocados, served along side a hash brown. For the ragu, soujouk, a Turkish sausage, & ground pork belly were mixed with ricotta cavatelli, pecorino, & tomatoes. Wild mushrooms, pecorino, & chives on top of a very thin crust made up the mushroom cocä. The Brussels sprouts were prepared in a way resembling a caesar salad: roasted & shredded Brussels sprouts, with pecorino, anchovy, garlic, crouton crumbs, & pickled onions. As an icing to our meal, we had the banana cream pie rice pudding, which was garnished with chocolate graham cracker crumbs, whipped cream, sea salt, & caramel. From start to finish, we enjoyed every bite!

From left to right, top to bottom: hamachi crudo, bäco, mushroom cocä, pork belly ragu, Brussels sprouts, banana cream pie rice pudding