Porchetta Sandwich and a Glass of Pinot Noir

The weather has been so sunny and clear in San Francisco lately that one morning, on an impulse, I rushed to the Ferry Plaza farmers' market to get a Porchetta sandwich from Roli Roti.

I was in luck, a porchetta just got done cooking when I arrived and the Roli Roti guy himself, Thomas Odermatt, was to do the honors of preparing the first sandwich of the day for me. I excitedly told him that I've never had one of his sandwiches before. He smiled in delight and asked permission to do my porchetta sandwich his way, a sort of omakase option.




So off he went carefully slicing the porchetta, making sure it's cut down to the size of the ciabatta bread and there's good layering of the moist meat and crackly skin. He smeared his magic spread on the meat--what I would guess consists of caramelized onions, garlic, anise or fennel, and maybe a fruit jam--and put a pile of fresh rocket on top (I guess the Swiss love rocket) before closing the sandwich.




I munched the porchetta sandwich for lunch later that day with a glass or two of the elegantly fruity and spicy 2007 Pyramid Valley Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot Noir ($38 at Vineyard Gate), made by my friend Mike Weersing from a biodynamic vineyard in New Zealand's Marlborough region. Everything was yumm!