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It’s that kind of sandwich. The hulking focaccia con porchetta is one of Sydney’s original restaurant sangas and has real gravitas.
Sitting down to eat Da Orazio’s focaccia con porchetta is like sliding your chips across the blackjack table for one final bet. You’re going all in. You’re committed. You’re definitely not messing about. The focaccia con porchetta has gravitas and presence. In fact, when the hulking beauty lands on the table, my dining partner responds involuntarily with what can only be described as a primal grunt. It’s that kind of sandwich.
Tell me more
If you’re imagining something you discovered upon opening your school lunchbox, you’re entirely wrong. Think bigger. This one is more like a pizza sandwich the size of a dinner plate, but with height. It comes cut in quarters, so it can easily feed four, or two people if you don’t want anything else from the Da Orazio menu (although, factor in a post-sandwich lie-down).
Even though the name suggests so, the top and bottom layers aren’t made with focaccia – it’s a more deflated Italian bread called schiacciatina (it’s also known as schiacciata) that’s less airy and oily. When you order the sandwich, the pizzaiolo hand-stretches the dough, dresses it with extra virgin olive oil, herbs, sea salt and pepper, then slides it into Da Orazio’s commanding wood-fire brick pizza oven.
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How about that pork
As with the Roman street dish it’s loosely based on, it’s hard not to see the rolled pork belly as the headliner. Owner Orazio D’Elia says it’s marinated for 48 hours with rosemary, thyme, sage and fennel seeds, then cooked slow and long to juicy. The sandwich is made with a mix of harder pork end bits and soft middle meat. For something so hulking, its flavour is surprisingly delicate. And while it’s a resounding triumph, I would argue it’s not the meat that’s the ultimate star.
Ah, interesting, what is?
Often with Sandwich Watch entries – a column dedicated to the best breaded things in Sydney – there’s one clear star ingredient. But with this overachiever, each element is equally important.
The crisp, fresh cos lettuce gives the sandwich an essential crunch and freshness, the chilli-marinated grilled eggplant adds a savoury creaminess, and the mayo provides some lubrication. I like chilli on most things, and the restaurant offers chilli flakes and chilli oil, but because this sanga doesn’t need more unctuous juice, go the flakes.
But there’s one more important element
The char. The pizzaiolo expertly spins the schiacciatina in the oven to get consistent puff and dimples, but lets it occasionally linger, so there’s just-singed spots. Clever.
Tell me about Da Orazio
The focaccia con porchetta entered Sydney’s dining scene in 2014 when the Bondi eatery opened, making it one of Sydney’s original restaurant sandwiches. (Ester’s blood sausage sanga is another notable entry.)
Back then the restaurant was called Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta (the Pizza + Porchetta has since been dropped), and now D’Elia is the sole owner. Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizzas remain a focus – they’re still some of the best in the city – but there’s also pasta (the spicy vodka rigatoni is a bestseller) and antipasti (those charcoal lamb skewers are still excellent).
Where to get it
It’s $45 but can feed four people. “Otherwise it makes for a great lunch the next day if you need to take it away,” says D’Elia.
It’s available from Da Orazio, at 75-79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, daily for dinner from 5pm to late, and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, daorazio.com.au
This is the latest instalment of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Sydney sandwiches you need to know about.
