The Best Imitation Foods and Faux Dishes in London Restaurants | Eater London

"Pangrattato, once known as “poor man’s Parmesan,” is one of those imitation foods whose symbolism has mutated considerably over time, to the point, even, of becoming the clearer sign of luxury. In London, one of the simplest and most economical of uses for old bread has come to occupy an incongruously reified position. Fried breadcrumbs crop up in surprising places — as a chilli-oregano constellation topping for the Second City sub at Bodega Rita’s, say — as well as expected ones, inevitably found at pasta titans like Trullo and Padella. But nowhere celebrates them more than Manteca, where duck fat pangrattato is the cascading crown to fazzoletti, rendering the duck ragu it’s served with almost incidental." - Hester van Hensbergen