Actually Pretty Awesome

Actually Pretty Awesome: Green Farro-Sausage Risotto at RN74

It's, like, beyond risotto.
It’s, like, beyond risotto. Photo: J. Barmann/Grub Street

While we don’t make a habit in this column of calling out side dishes, one we recently tried deserves some special attention on its own. Chef Jason Berthold at RN74 has been making a risotto out of tangy green farro that’s so delicious we’d like a huge bowlful of that alone.

It’s served with the grilled Korobuta pork loin ($28) currently on the menu, which is a nice dish itself and served with charred fresh apricot halves, Swiss chard, and a Sauternes jus. But the star is the side of this risotto, served in its own copper skillet, which is buttery-rich and acidic all at once — Berthold explained that the tang came from the barely ripe, earthy, fresh green farro itself. It’s perfectly seasoned and studded with lightly spicy and sweet fennel sausage. And it is the kind of dish that leaves you wanting more and more and then some.

In other news, Berthold is also doing a terrific, late-Spring take on grilled octopus, served with a bright herb pistou, a couple of french fries, fava beans, artichoke, and watercress (pictured below, $18). Get it while you can.

Earlier on Actually Pretty Awesome:
Vegan Charctuerie at Gather
Pickled Eggs at St. Vincent
Beef Tongue at Namu Gaji
Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken at Brasa
Green Garlic Bread at State Bird Provisions
A Dinner of Small Plates and the Duck Confit Salad at Frances
Duck Fat Chex Mix at Truck Stop Café
The Lamb Tongue Salad at Txoko
The Branzino at AQ
Dinner at Local Mission Eatery
Suckling Pig Sandwich at Sweet Woodruff
Crudités at Saison
The Roasted Broccoli Sandwich at Split Pea Seduction
George Mendes’s Partridge in a Pear Tree
The Buffalo Burger at Double Decker
A Preview of Dishes at Haven
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas
The Cocktails at Outerlands
The Meatball Gigante and the Honey Pie at Tony’s Pizza
Three New Gins from St. George Spirits
The Date Night at Sneaky’s BBQ
Crab and Dumplings at Pican
The Fried-Chicken Sliders at The Lookout
The Tripe and the Pickles at Bar Tartine
Fried Chicken and Cornmeal Doughnuts at Beast & the Hare

Actually Pretty Awesome: Green Farro-Sausage Risotto at RN74