T+L Reports: The Whole Hog

Get ready for some big pig love, as restaurants across the country elevate the other white meat to haute cuisine status. Chef Paul Kahan serves a prairie-raised pork belly glazed with sun-dried cherries at Chicago's Blackbird (619 W. Randolph St.; 312/715-0708; dinner for two $96). In Washington, D.C., Eric Ziebold of CityZen (1330 Maryland Ave. SW; 202/787-6006; dinner for two $140) roasts rack and saddle of Amish farm-raised shoat (young hog) with Fuji apples. And at Seattle's Salumi (309 Third Ave. S.; 206/621-8772; lunch for two $20), Armandino Batali pairs fennel salami with beet greens and mozzarella. Hungry for more?In the Complete Book of Pork (HarperCollins), sausage visionary Bruce Aidells gives tips and recipes for cooking every cut; British chef Fergus Henderson explores nose-to-tail eating in The Whole Beast (Ecco). Peter Kaminsky takes a road trip through porcine history in Pig Perfect (Hyperion), while Cornbread Nation 2 (University of North Carolina Press) relays so many barbecue tales, you can practically smell the hickory smoke.
—Francine Maroukian