Nostalgia has been a common theme in culinary trends ever since the pandemic and there’s no sign of that letting up any time soon. Combine that with a drive by many Americans to eat more protein, and it comes as no surprise that restaurant customers are turning to pork chops.
Though once dismissed as dry, boring, or both, pork chops have benefited from better sourcing and improved cooking techniques, often involving a brine or marinade. They tend to be presented simply, indicating that the nostalgia factor alone satisfies guests without the need for bells, whistles, or gochujang.
Maybe that’s why their presence on menus is growing. Nearly 17% of restaurants tracked by research firm Technomic (a sister company of Nation’s Restaurant News) have pork chops on their menu, an increase of 15.8% over the past year. They often carry a hefty price tag, which doesn’t seem to detract from their popularity.
From luxury hotel dining rooms to roadside institutions, chefs are embracing straightforward preparations and pricing them with confidence — often north of $30 a plate.
Sourcing, and a good story, are at the heart of the Pork Chop that Saved the World, a menu item at The Occidental at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The restaurant dates back to 1906, but it reopened in March under the management of Starr Restaurants, based in Philadelphia and led by Stephen Starr.
The Occidental was famously the site of a dinner between a Soviet embassy official and an American news correspondent in October of 1962 that possibly helped broker an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The restaurant’s current chef, Neil O’Connell, recounted the story, in which the Soviet ordered a pork chop and the American ordered crab cakes.
The orders were switched, and whether the diners switched them back or not is a detail that’s lost to history, as is the recipe of that particular pork dish.
But the story remains and is honored by the dish’s name.
O’Connell is making sure that he’s using the best pork he can: a Berkshire pork chop from Newman Farm in Missouri.
“We found over the course of going through probably 50 tastings with Stephen [Starr] that this was the best flavor we were looking for,” O’Connell said.
He brines it for about an hour in a 10% salt solution, “just to firm it up,” he said. Then it’s seared and cooked gently, at 185 degrees Fahrenheit, to an internal temperature of 145 degrees — the legal minimum for pork served in restaurants.
Pork Chop that Saved the World at The Occidental. Photo credit: Birch Thomas
“We would like to go less, but that’s how we have to take it,” O’Connell said.
The chops are then marked on the grill and served quite traditionally, with the bone exposed and topped with a tiny paper chef’s hat, per French tradition. It’s accompanied by fondant potato glazed in pork jus, along with charred scallions and gremolata with orange zest.
At $56 for a 12-ounce chop, it still sells well — 12-15 orders on a quiet night and 15-20 on a busier night.
“I think the food trends go through so many changes,” O’Connell said. “When you have something that’s timeless, I think it stands out, and the people who come to this restaurant expect something of the timeless classic grandeur. … We just kept it clean.”
The pork’s origin is also a distinguishing factor for the dish at Hearth and Hill, which recently opened in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“We use Iberico pork,” said chef de cuisine Joshua Bernabe, who developed the menu with Eric Hill, culinary director of Hilltop Hospitality, which operates several restaurants in Utah’s capital and nearby Park City.
The chops of the Spanish pork breed are brined for at least 24 hours in salted sweet tea — a technique Hill picked up when working in Nashville. It’s then seared on both sides and finished in the oven. It’s served with huckleberry mostarda — a reduction of huckleberries, dried cherries, orange zest, shallots, white wine, white wine vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, Dijon mustard, and bell pepper — along with a delicata squash panzanella
That panzanella is made by roasting the squash and then pan sautéing it with croutons, tomatoes, and a pesto of shiso, parsley, cilantro, jalapeño peppers, red wine vinegar, and oil.
“People are loving it. It has a nice flavor from the brine, which also keeps it juicy. I love the dish, personally,” Bernabe said. It has proven to be popular at $35.
A dish called the Pork Chop Martini, priced at $38, was a top seller right out of the gate at Bar Angie, which Balos Estiatorio Restaurant Group opened in Washington, D.C., in the second week of April.
Pork chop at Hearth and Hill.
The new restaurant is meant to evoke the classic Martini bars of its founders’ native New York City, which is how the pork chop got its name.
Chef Stefanos Vouvoudakis thinly pounds a chop and coats it in seasoned breadcrumbs, cooks it in butter, and then, with the chop still in the pan, adds garlic, chicken stock, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and Italian hot peppers, cooking them down into a sauce. Then the chop is topped with Parmesan cheese and broiled to melt and brown the cheese. The chop is plated simply, topped with its pan sauce, and accompanied by a charred lemon half.
A pork chop with peach chutney is a highlight on the new menu at the recently refurbished Stagecoach Restaurant in Salado, Texas, a historic venue between Austin and Waco that first opened in 1947.
Developed by executive chef Rusty Winkstern, the bone-in pork loin is brined in a salt-and-sugar solution, baked with onion, garlic, and other spices, and then finished in the char-broiler to order. It’s served with a side of peach chutney that is a staple at Monument Café in nearby Georgetown, Texas. Priced at $25, it’s one of the restaurant’s top sellers, according to Winkstern.
Pork chops don’t have a huge presence on chain menus, but some casual-dining concepts offer them.
Last fall, Carrabba’s Italian Grill offered a 22-ounce double bone-in grilled pork chop with bourbon compound butter, priced starting at $28.99, and pork chops are a staple at Logan’s Roadhouse.
“We grill them over mesquite wood and season them with our special [spice] blend,” Logan’s senior director of culinary, Luis Haro, said in an email. “We don’t do much beyond that because I want the guest to really taste the pork, not cover it with a bunch of other flavors.”
It’s priced starting at around $20.
Chef Haro said the chops are mostly ordered by older men.
“Pork chops aren’t as big of a seller as steak or chicken, but we still move a good amount,” he said. “They’re definitely in our top 20 items.”
Pork chop at Stagecoach Inn. Photo credit: Sarah Washington
Last June, Logan’s introduced a Big Bite Grilled Pork Chop Sandwich for $13.99, made with the same mesquite-grilled chop, bone removed, with cheese, bacon sauce, pickles, sweet-and-spicy sauce, and fried onions.
“We’re looking for a few ideas for our fall/winter LTO,” Haro said. “It’ll be a premium item that I think will really resonate with our guests. I can’t share too many details yet, but I’m excited about the new pork chop we’re working on.”
Sullivan’s Steakhouse introduced a $51 double bone-in pork chop last October as part of its limited-time Fall Harvest menu, and it received rave reviews, according to chief operating officer Kenneth Hoffman.
“Due to its popularity, it earned a permanent place on our menu starting in November 2024,” he said in an email.
It’s marinated in an apple cider blend with maple syrup and is basted in a maple-apple glaze during cooking. It’s served with flash-fried shallots and roasted Brussels sprouts, both intended to “complement the pork and elevate the guest experience,” he said.
“The pork chop was added to broaden our protein offerings, and it has exceeded sales expectations. The double-bone presentation is visually impressive, and guests are responding enthusiastically to both the flavor and the plating.”
Hoffman said Sullivan’s hadn’t offered a pork chop since 2020, but they finally added one in response to consistent requests “for a top-tier pork chop offering, and this new entrée delivers exactly that — both in flavor and execution.”
He added that it appeals to a wide demographic. “Some guests are drawn to the elevated presentation and seasonal flavor profile, while others are motivated by nostalgia or a desire for something hearty and satisfying.”
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
