La Biblioteca

By 4:00pm on any given weekday I'm just about ready to leave work and the first thing on my mind is.... happy hour. Where is the best place around here to meet up with a friend for a quick drink and small bite of food before heading home and relaxing? It's a weekday so you can't stay out too late with work in the morning. Working in midtown manhattan means there are a lot of nice restaurants around and plenty of bar choices but not necessarily good happy hour options that have good drinks and food at a reasonable price.

I have a few favorites but my top-choice at the moment is a little basement bar, La Biblioteca. It's a discreet little bar tucked underneath Zengo that specializes in tequila. Anyone who knows me at all knows tequila is NOT my drink of choice, but the seductive charm of this place is undeniable. The dim lighting, the plush leather chairs. The antique shelves full of labeled tequila that composes their 'library' and even the 'librarian' of their collection, a leggy blond who knows more about tequila than I would ever want to. Their short happy hour menu keeps me happy and satisfied after a long day at work.
 

 Library Cards

Tequila Lockers for those who buy bottles - free storage until your next visit

 Mahi Mahi Tacos - 2 for $5 during happy hour

 Tuesday Tequila Tastings - every week a different distillery

Maple Roasted Pork Belly

On a cold afternoon when you have nothing planned for the rest of the night and the warmth of your couch blanket beckons you to do nothing but stay in and enjoy a book or movie, you need a slow cooking rich meal to go along with it. In this situation, pork belly is perfection.

Ingredients:

1 lb pork belly
4 heirloom carrots
1 medium onion (1/2 large onion)
1 cup dark beer
4 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Score the skin of the pork with deep slits, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. Sprinkle both sides of the belly with liberal amounts of salt and pepper. Peel the carrots and cut into chunks. Larger pieces are better because they need to withstand hours of cooking; smaller pieces would fall apart. Cut the onion into large chunks as well.

Place carrots and onions at the bottom of a small dutch oven or oven safe pot. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 cup of dark beer and 1 cup of water. Place the belly on top of the carrots and onions. Place into the oven for 30 minutes. (Enjoy the rest of the beer while waiting!)

Mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce into a small bowl. After the first 30 minutes of cooking the pork belly in the oven, take belly out of the oven and lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Bast the pork with a third of the maple syrup glaze, put cover on pot and return to oven. Bake the pork belly for an additional 3 hours, occasionally basting with the maple glaze.

After the 3 hours pull the pork belly out of the oven and crank the oven up to broil. Pour on the remaining bit of maple glaze and return pork belly to broiler for 5-7 minutes to crisp the skin. Keep a watchful eye on the oven at this point because the maple can burn.

Let the pork belly cool for a few minutes on a cutting board, meanwhile put the carrots and onions on the serving platter. Slice the pork belly and place on top of the vegetables. Reduce the remaining liquid in the pan and thicken with a tablespoon of butter. Pour over the belly slices and serve hot!