Ukraine’s national dish of pork fat is a dense, white, chewy treat that can become an acquired taste. However, a new restaurant transforms the traditional dish, molding it into kitsch edible sculptures and even “sushi.”
Pork fat is “a cult dish and we decided to turn it into a cult art object,” said Mark Zarkhin, the co-owner of the restaurant.
Known as salo in Ukrainian, the pork fat comes in numerous varieties, ranging from smoked to streaky to pure white blubber. It is often sprinkled with paprika and washed down with a shot of vodka.
Photo: AFP
Named simply “Salo,” Zarkhin’s restaurant opened in June in the western city of Lviv and also markets itself as a museum of the lardy delicacy.
On the menu are kitsch offerings including a copy of the penis of Michelangelo’s David, stuffed with potato dumplings, and an anatomically accurate “Van Gogh’s Ear.”
There is even a local version of Japanese sushi — ubiquitous in Ukraine’s trendy restaurants — made from smoked pork fat.
Zarkhin, a businessman, says the restaurant mildly mocks the national love for salo.
“We are being ironic about ourselves and about our tastes,” he said.
However, he himself raves about the food’s versatility, insisting that it can be much more than a savory snack.
“People think of salo as either salty or smoked. They can hardly believe that this food can be more like cream. You add some ginger and cinnamon and it becomes a wonderful filling for chocolates,” he said.
The menu even offers desserts of whipped pork fat dipped in chocolate and a frozen “ice cream” dish based on actress Marilyn Monroe’s famous pout, called “Monroe’s Lips.”
The restaurant is aimed more at tourists than locals in the country’s poorer western region. Prices go up to 200 hryvnas (US$25) for the most expensive dish, David’s penis, which serves three.
The interior is scattered with objets d’art made from pork fat, including a model of a human heart, complete with a motor to simulate its beating — but without the blocked arteries likely to ensue from over-indulgence.
Visitors were enthusiastic about the restaurant.
“Wow, this is amazing,” said Maria Alexeyeva, who was visiting from Kiev with her sister Anna. “It’s very good and the interior is really cute. There’s nothing like this in Kiev.”
Zarkhin opened the restaurant together with a German artist of Ukrainian origin, Boris Berger, who came up with the idea.
“At the start, we weren’t sure this could be done,” he said. “Our chefs were also baffled ... but after three months of reflection, we finally got there.”
He is keen for the restaurant to become known as a gallery and has invited a series of artists to create sculptures from pork fat.
“Pork fat is a new material for art. Yes, it doesn’t last long, but neither does ice and it is used for sculptures all over the world,” he said.
‘EYE FOR AN EYE’: Two of the men were shot by a male relative of the victims, whose families turned down the opportunity to offer them amnesty, the Supreme Court said Four men were yesterday publicly executed in Afghanistan, the Supreme Court said, the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power. The executions in three separate provinces brought to 10 the number of men publicly put to death since 2021, according to an Agence France-Presse tally. Public executions were common during the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, with most of them carried out publicly in sports stadiums. Two men were shot around six or seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the center
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is leaning into his banking background as his country fights a trade war with the US, but his financial ties have also made him a target for conspiracy theories. Incorporating tropes familiar to followers of the far-right QAnon movement, conspiratorial social media posts about the Liberal leader have surged ahead of the country’s April 28 election. Posts range from false claims he recited a “satanic chant” at a campaign event to artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images of him in a pool with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “He’s the ideal person to be targeted here, for sure, due to
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday claimed a runaway victory in the nation’s presidential election, after voters endorsed the young leader’s “iron fist” approach to rampant cartel violence. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Election Council said Noboa had an unassailable 12-point lead over his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Official results showed Noboa with 56 percent of the vote, against Gonzalez’s 44 percent — a far bigger winning margin than expected after a virtual tie in the first round. Speaking to jubilant supporters in his hometown of Olon, the 37-year-old president claimed a “historic victory.” “A huge hug
DISPUTE: Beijing seeks global support against Trump’s tariffs, but many governments remain hesitant to align, including India, ASEAN countries and Australia China is reaching out to other nations as the US layers on more tariffs, in what appears to be an attempt by Beijing to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat. Days into the effort, it is meeting only partial success from countries unwilling to ally with the main target of US President Donald Trump’s trade war. Facing the cratering of global markets, Trump on Wednesday backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, saying countries were lining up to negotiate more favorable conditions. China has refused to seek talks, saying the US was insincere and that it
RSS