Image: Porco+

Last Updated: October 2021

Current Status:  They have some sit-down space for dining in.  Take-out and delivery also available.  Open 10:00 to 5:00 Monday through Saturday.

Overview: Not so much a pop-up as a sub-menu in the Georgetown Gourmet deli, Porchetta District serves sandwiches using the famous Italian rolled-pork. They have a few different versions all based on a ciabatta roll and chunks of heavily seasoned meat.  The basic Porco is roll, porchetta and olive oil.  Porco+ adds cheese and arugula. It is far from something you can eat every day, but it is a very nice treat and worth a little trip out of the way to try.  Be sure to have a beverage handy, because the seasoning is pretty strong and you will need something to counteract the salt. There is some limited seating.  The host restaurant clearly is a favorite with the college kids.  The casual spot is a far cry from the owner Aykan Demiroglu’s experience many years ago as GM at Le Paradou.  According to Laura Hayes, he came up with the idea when he owned an Italian spot in Virginia.  He spent two years working on the recipe for the pork: “He seasons the specialty cut of deboned pork loin with the belly attached and skin still intact with special salt from Sicily, dehydrated garlic, Calabrian chili flakes, Italian fennel pollen, and fresh herbs.”  The bread is also specially sourced from local baker Loic Feillet.  Demiroglu told DCist, “It’s very airy inside but very crusty on top.”  The menu debuted in late 2020.  It appears to be sticking around.

Summary:

Cuisine: Sandwiches/Salads
Neighborhood: Georgetown
Address: 3421 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007
Website: http://porchettadistrict.com/
Reservations: Walk-in
Other Critics/Voices:

Washington Post: Tim put the Banh-mi sandwich on his top 25 list. It comes “with cilantro, pickled red and white cabbage and his own Vietnamese mayo, which he infuses with Sriracha, perhaps as a spicy substitute for the jalapeños that usually grace this sandwich.”

Washingtonian: No coverage yet

DonRockwell.com – no thread yet.

Washington City Paper:  Made a list of “10 more sandwiches to try” from Laura Hayes.  She singled out the Cubano.

DCist: 5 Pop-ups to try.