I was sniffing out good food in Sunset Park the other day, when I passed a very old-school butcher shop--New Public Meat Market, open since 1940. The piles of pristine honeycomb tripe in the window looked like a good sign, but then I spotted an even better sign. The one that reads: "Se preparan lechones (roast pork)." In case you speak neither English nor Spanish (a definite possibility in Sunset Park) there's also a helpful picture of a whole, perky-eared, crispy-skinned pig on a gigantic rotisserie over a fire.

Obviously, I went in to get some. I was picturing a big hunk of pig that they would hack up for me by the pound. No, it turns out that you must go whole hog. As it were.

Order the lechones a week in advance, and you'll take home your very own, whole roast pig. That's a dinner party I'd like to be invited to. The guy behind the counter told me that the pigs are generally about 25 pounds, and cost $110. Not a bad deal, considering the 25 pounds of roast pig could feed a very large crowd. Although, you may want to take a cab home; I'm not sure how your fellow subway riders would feel about the dead pig slung over your shoulder.

New Public Meat Market
5021 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn (Sunset Park)
718-871-1188