Sept. 23, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Vanguard Hospitality.

Don’t miss your final week to try a dish that will cause you to rethink cuisine at Minervas.

The restaurant’s entry in the Downtown Pork Showdown, organized by Downtown Sioux Falls Inc., is the Asian-inspired Pork Bao Trio.

Sous chef Jake Schaefer and executive chef Jordan Klein collaborated on the dish.

“We wanted to do a braised pork belly with an Asian theme,” Klein said. “The pork is marinated three days in a hoisin sauce and then slow roasted.”

It’s served in a bao bun with sesame bok choy, pickled daikon and a spicy yuzu mayo.

“The feedback has been wonderful,” Klein said. “Just like with our ice cream-inspired Downtown Burger Battle entree, it takes guests time to warm up to it, but once they try it, we’ve heard nothing but good things. So we’re encouraging people to order it because it is something different for Minervas, and you have until the end of the month to try it.”

The fourth annual Downtown Pork Showdown is presented by DTSF and the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. There are almost 30 participating restaurants, and diners can rate them on a variety of categories within the DTSF Digital Passport App, including:

• Use of pork
• Flavor
• Tenderness
• Presentation
• Customer service

“We love the creativity being shown in this year’s competition and encourage diners to sample their way throughout downtown Sioux Falls before the competition ends on Sept. 30,” said Tim Meagher, chief operating officer of Vanguard Hospitality.

To learn more about the Downtown Pork Showdown, click here.