Pork Slope & The Magical Night of Bar Food Reinventions

Whether you like it or not (and I know a lot of you opinionated mofos fall on the side of NOT), since opening a little over a year ago, Pork Slope has solidly established itself as one of the busier bars along 5th Ave. Whether it's a boar naming contest, or the MMA matches on the TV, or the usually-lively crowd, or the special events, or the occasional late-night drunken appearance of the triumvirate of owners, there are a host of reasons to either really like hanging out there, or to really want to stay the fuck away.

Having a bar with character and interesting events is all well and good but it makes me think back to last spring, before Pork Slope had even opened, when I spoke with the guys behind the place and they made it clear that what they'd be serving would not be "Dale's reinvention of a bar snack." Their mission was for a bar with food, not "a restaurant with a cocktail and beer program."

Flash forward seventeen months and Pork Slope announces their first ever "Bar Food Blowout" event, an evening put on by Finger on the Pulse, where a guest chef comes in and takes over the kitchen for the night, offering up unique takes on the bar snack. Technically, it's a one night event and technically it's not Dale putting together the menu, but still...

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Pork Slope is having a Crab Boil and you're invited

Wednesday night is the perfect day of the week to start drinking, if you ask us. You've made it over the hump of the work week, and can probably make it through the next two days slightly hungover (Three cheers for 'Summer Fridays'). And while the summer may be winding down, there's still plenty of time to get out there and combine your drinking activities with some old fashioned summer fun. 

Which is why we're all about the Crab Boil Pork Slope is throwing tonight. Starting at 5pm, patrons can chow down on all the makings of a classic Crab Boil: blue crabs, potatoes, sausage, and corn. $28 gets you six crabs; $54 gets you 12. This is classic summer fun if we've ever heard of it (though we're sure chef Dale Talde will find a way to put his spin on it). And if all goes well tonight, the folks at Pork Slope are hoping to keep this going every Wednesday night for the rest of the summer. (Please please please please pleaaaaaasse). 

The Boil is also the first step in a slight menu-overhaul Dale Talde is bringing to Pork Slope. "We rotate items on the menu at Talde and Thistle Hill all the time," he told us last night. "But I haven't really played around with Pork Slope. I want to bring new items to the menu - seafood, BBQ, more pork - but do them the way I like to do them." From the twists on the traditional we've tasted at Talde's spots, we couldn't be more excited. (Though please Dale - don't get rid of the Irish Nachos. That's the food dreams are made of).  

Who's joining us tonight? 

Pork Slope Extends Weekend Operating Hours

5th Avenue's Pork Slope -- or Park Slope's greatest tribute to Patrick Swayze and his 1989 bad-ass mullet -- has extended their weekend hours of operation. The bar's hours have been extended from 12pm – 4am on Saturdays and Sundays, with the kitchen serving the full menu from 12pm – 2am. 

I don't know of too many places in the neighborhood that serve food until 2AM, so if you're out and about and looking for a tasty late-night snack, I recommend dropping in and sampling one of Dale's simple, yet tasty burgers ($6.50).