the old world

sometimes, the oddest things show up in the no-name food line. over the last couple of weeks, they've been doing classics of european comfort food. chicken chasseur/cacciatore, grilled skate with brown butter sauce, coq au vin. today, next to the grilled endive, there was a large tray of fresh bucatini all'amatriciana, fat ropes of pasta lavished with a thick, clinging sauce of tomatoes, chili-infused oil, and pork fat. scattered throughout were tiny squares of the pork that had been fried until they were crisp and the fat had rendered out into the sauce. the traditional meat used here is guanciale -- dry-cured pork jowl -- and the morning news gives instructions on making guanciale for those so inclined. if you're lazier, niman ranch makes and sells the stuff.