Alla Spina makes GQ’s “The 50 Best Things to Eat and Drink Right Now” List

No. 25
Pig Tails with Fennel Agrodolce
Alla Spina, Philadelphia

If you’re new to fried pig tails, start here. If you’re an old hand, be prepared. They’ve never tasted so sweet, so tangy, so extreme, so profound. What did you expect? Alla Spina is chef Marc Vetri’s Italian take on the British gastropub, where excess is everything. The tails are hacked into small chunks, braised, floured, and fried. The sauce is a classic Sicilian sweet-and-sour, enhanced with fennel, which Vetri has always admired as an accent, even in desserts. Enough? Not likely. A little butter adds a finishing touch.

—Alan Richman