Pata Negra

Pata Negra Restaurant Review:

Rafael Mateo's Spanish wine bar is named after a pig, so Pata Negra predictably celebrates Iberian pork products (often late into the evening). The owners make do with very little in the way of space on the inside, maximizing it with high tables and plenty of candlelight. The kitchen turns out small plates paired with an elite selection of Spanish wines and sherries. For ham connoisseurs, Pata Negra's slices of the rare jamón Ibérico are a huge draw. The ham is not only prized for being hard to find on these shores, but for its smooth flavor derived from the pigs' diet of acorns, and up to 36 months of curing. Cheeses, also Spanish, are sourced from Murray's, like the eminently snackable smoky Idiazabal from Spain's Basque region. Items like a hearty pork loin and garrotxa cheese combo with a tangy garlic mojo spread round out the menu.