There's a new belly in town

After years of singing pork’s praise, NYC chefs are giving lamb belly its close-up

On Jan. 2, the first business day of the year, New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni got down to some business himself, publishing a wish list for 2009. Enough with the rib eyes! Less circular booths! Frank was on a tear—that is, until he arrived at lamb belly: "I'd like to see less pork belly, only because we're well beyond some fatty saturation point now, and more lamb belly, because it's fantastic, too."

"Fantastic." It's a strong word for a foodstuff, but a claim we firmly stand behind. Lamb belly—sometimes called "breast" or "bacon," when it's cured—is what it sounds like: the unctuous midsection section, located below the loin, that holds some of the strongest flavors in the entire lamb. It's a chef's dream to work with such bold flavors. It's also a chef's burden to get the public to subscribe to such bold flavors. "It's really the waiters who you have to sell it," admits Almond's chef, Jason Weiner, of his daube featuring a braised lamb belly. Hill Country's pitmaster Pete Daversa agrees. "People are not ready to eat lamb belly and portion control is important," he says of the smoked lamb belly he serves as a weekly special.

We caught up with some local chefs featuring lamb belly on their menus, including Dan Barber (Blue Hill), Julian Medina (Toloache) and Michael Psilakis (Anthos). —Matt Rodbard, photos by Melissa Hom

Pictured: lamb panchetta at Anthos