restaurants « blogging for burgers

Archive for the 'restaurants' Category

Rules for a successful food tour.

Published on in Random and restaurants. Closed

I awoke this morning to a pounding headache and a feeling of nausea that started from deep within the depths of my body.  I was weak.  My eyes couldn’t focus.  I was congested.  I was exhausted.

No, I did not awake to a cold or a flu.  I woke up in a black hole after a night of raging out on the town.  Not just any kind of raging, but a food/bar crawl, sampling wares from many places in New York’s East Village.

We scoured the neighborhood like animals, looking for food and drink possibilities.  Our goal was to somehow have every continent represented in our consumption (it was achieved with the exception of antarctica… maybe we should have gotten some ice).

We stopped in at numerous locations, such as…

  • B-Bar
  • Decibel
  • Baoguette Café
  • Crif Dog
  • Blue and Gold Tavern
  • Drop Off Service
  • Zaragoza Mexican Deli
  • Led Zeppole

Yes, that list reads like a direct-response TV advertisement.  In my hungover stupor, I thought about how a group of four people could possibly go to so many places.  Sometimes Burgergal and I have trouble making a decision on ONE place, and that’s half the number of opinions.  The more I thought about it, the more a clear set of guidelines emerged from last night’s revelry.

I therefore present to you, my devoted readers, a basic set of rules so that you, too, can enjoy a night out on the town and experience the joys of a food and drink hangover.

Continue reading ‘Rules for a successful food tour.’

Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Charleston. An arterial adventure.

Published on in porkiness, restaurants and travels. Closed

Cotton country.

It’s hard for me to believe that Burgergal and I went to Charleston, SC, nearly a month ago.  It served as my third foray into the American South in the last few months, and I was looking forward to experiencing yet another region’s unique food and historic offerings.  Going to the Low Country, I knew that shrimp and grits, fried chicken, and other unhealthy goodness would be in my future.

Rather than bore you with endless words, I think I will take a different approach to this post and treat you with a photoessay about the burgerbuddies’ trip down to South Carolina.

Continue reading ‘Charleston. An arterial adventure.’

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Stuff we’ve been eating.

Published on in cooking, Greenmarkets, Pizza and restaurants. Closed

Man, oh, man, what an eating journey I have been on over the last few weeks.  Due to some technical difficulties, I was unable to post pics of some home-cooked meals, so this post is going to be a gather-all of everything that has been going on in my culinary world over the last couple of weeks.

I will start from the most important two meals that I have had in the last couple of days: my two birthday dinners.  Yes, burgerboy is one year closer to being a burgerman, and the dreaded 3-0 awaits me in 364 days.  But until then, I am going to keep eating like I am a twenty-something stud with an iron stomach.

Continue reading ‘Stuff we’ve been eating.’

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

What Have I been up to?

Published on in restaurants, sustainability and travels. Closed

I’ve been lazy over the past few weeks.

Well, to be honest, I’ve not been lazy, but have been a combination of busy and exhausted.  I have simply not found the time to serve you, the readers of my blog.

And for that, I am truly sorry.

So let me give you all a quick update on what I’ve been up to.  I’ve been traveling a bit, and of course, I’ve been eating.  One of my recent trips was down to Charlottesville, VA, for a weekend with burgergal down South (ok, and an actual reason, a trip to the Darden School of Business).  Charlottesville is a great town for local food, given the fact that it’s surrounded on pretty much all sides by farmland.  Leave the “city” and drive about 20 minutes in any direction, and you pretty much see this:

As you can see, it gets pretty rural, pretty quick.  However, tucked away within all of that open land is a place that is heralded as the perfect example of a sustainable farm: Polyface Farm.  It was featured in Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Joel Salatin, the farm’s owner, speaks around the country of the importance of the local food movement and supporting local economies.  Since we were going to be within an hour of it, BG and I had to check it out.  I wish I had been staying in the Courtyard again so I could have done some cooking with their products, but a simple visit was going to need to suffice this time.

Of course, just as we fueled the car up before the trip, we needed to fill our bellies a little bit.  A friend and former UVA student had recommended that we check out Wayside Chicken for some fried chicken.  As you all know from the eUWS project, we have been jonesing for some fried chicken for a while, and Harriet’s hadn’t quite cut the mustard.  Needless to say, we were excited.

There it is.  A modest cafe and restaurant, tucked away on a pretty average street in Charlottesville.  “This chicken clucks for you.”  It actually does.  It makes a clucking sound when you walk by.

We ordered up some fried chicken: a breast for BG, thigh and a drumstick for me.  Some mac and cheese and cole slaw on the side.  Keepin’ it real.

So how was it?  It was awesome.  Take a look at that rippling layering of the batter and the crispy nooks and crannies.  The chicken was cooked perfectly, and it was well seasoned throughout.  My guess is that the chicken is allowed to soak in a brine before battering and frying.  And the temp of the oil was just right– there was definitely a little grease going on, but the crunchy exterior formed a crust that prevented sogginess.  If you are down in C-Ville any time soon, do yourself a favor and grab some lunch there.  Just remember, they are closed on Sundays.

After loading up on some fat, it was time to head out to Polyface.  Since the big February storm had just passed over the area, there was quite a bit of snow and ice on the roads, but it was all no challenge for the Kia Sportage and my Andretti-like driving abilities.  We made it out there in about an hour, and despite the confusion over the un-marked and at times un-plowed roads, we finally made it.

Just as it was in Film, Inc.  Polyface Farm.

Now, it being the middle of the winter and us being two of the only fools out on the roads in these parts, we had no idea what to expect.  The place is a working farm, but in the Winter there’s not a whole of action going on.  And it’s also the Salatin FAMILY farm, so that means that there is a house on the property, where people actually live.  So it’s kind of like pulling into someone’s driveway and saying, “let me see your chickens.”  But no worries.

We pulled in and were immediately greeted by Joel’s son, Dan Salatin.  Right off the bat he was a really nice guy, and told us to make ourselves at home and wander around, even though we weren’t buying anything.  True to his word, he pointed us in the direction of the pigs and sent us off on our way.  Everything was pretty muddy and slushy, but we got a pretty good look around in spite of the sub-par conditions.

Right off the bat, you see the chicken coops with the laying hens in them.  They’ve got two different colored birds, grey ones and brown ones, which are color coded really just to help with the processing, which happens every three years.  The first thing I was struck by was how smooth and shiny the chickens’ feathers were– the feathers looked like fur, they were so smooth.  The hens had plenty of room to roam around, and the coops smelled like a barn should smell: like hay.

Look how spacious that is!  Those hens have more room to roam around than I do in my apartment.

A quick walk around the corner and you are in the middle of the pig pens.  The pigs were pretty much doing what pigs do: hanging out in the mud, eating, getting into trouble.  Again, their living quarters did not smell at all, another testament to the cleanliness of this place and the lack of need for antibiotics.  Great stuff.

These guys are going to make some sweet bacon someday.  Until then, they’re just chillin.

There are cows, too.  Not much to say about that.

All in all, this place is great.  I wish the weather were a little more cooperative so that I could have run in the fields, but alas, that was not in the cards for me.  I’m really glad I got the opportunity to head down there, and I look forward to doing so again.

In other (more local) news, BG and I went to Northern Spy with her dad last week, prompted by Sam Sifton’s review in the NYT a few weeks’ back.  The place is all about locally-sourced food and food products (they have a small “general store”), and bobo chicken makes an appearance on the menu.  The food was simply prepared but flavorful, and definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in the East Village.  Be prepared to wait, though, as the space is small and reservations are not taken.

Tags: , , , , , , , .

Bobby Van's Revisited and a Weekend out in the Hampts.

Published on in burger spots, cooking and restaurants. Closed

A few weekends ago, BG and I headed out to Bridgehampton for a little getaway outside of the city.  With the business school applications behind me, it was time to start living again on the weekends.  I was looking forward mostly to getting in some solid wine drinking and eating.  The weather forecast called for some snow flurries, but inclement weather wasn’t going to put a damper on my planned consumption.

We were taking off on Friday night straight from work, meaning that we wouldn’t get into town until about 9pm or so.  For me, this meant only one thing– bar food at Bobby Van’s.  Although my last trip to BV’s hadn’t been exactly inspiring, I had high hopes for the sliders, and I knew that after a 3-hour train ride, I would need some nourishment.

As expected, we got to Bridgehampton at about 9.  After picking up the car, we headed over to Bobby Van’s.  Even though it was the off-season, the place was bumpin’ with locals looking to cut the lack of excitement with a few drinks and some grub.  After a short wait, we nestled up to the bar and ordered a couple of Brooklyn Winters.  (Side note, I’ve really be hooked on the Brooklyn Brewery Winter Ale this season.  It’s got a great depth and body to it without being overly heavy.  A great seasonal brew from the local boys.)  I didn’t need to see the menu– an order of mini Kobe burgers and a order of the lamb sliders with mint chimichurri.  It was burger time.

After a brief wait, the six little gems arrived.  They all arrived on nicely buttered brioche buns.  You always know how unhealthy a bun is based on its reflective surface.  I could practically see myself in these things.

Without going into too much detail, I’ve gotta say that the bar burgers are much better than their full-sized sibling.  They were great.  I found the Kobe ones better than the lamb, but this was probably because the mint chimichurri was fairly lacking in substance, and the lamb patties were a bit too mild for my taste– they lacked that gaminess that I look for in a good lamb burger.  Either way, the meal was truly satisfying, and was a great way to kickoff the weekend.

Later that evening, the remaining guests arrived, and we proceeded to put back a few bottles of wine with ease.  A good night’s sleep ensued.

The next day, we headed out to the bowling alley, where my rusty skills impressed no one.  Then the ladies did a little shopping while the men put back a few brews at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton.  But enough of this “outdoor” activity, let’s get back to some eating.  The culmination was supposed to be a big Saturday night dinner.  Although we were only six people, I envisioned a giant roast pig filled with sausages and other meat products, as featured in Fellini’s Satyricon.  The copious amounts of food that we prepared were actually not too far off.

Owen made a toasted walnut and sun-dried tomato pesto, which was great– a combination of earthy walnuts combined with a little salty tang from the tomatoes and a touch of balsamic vinegar.  He also made some cheesy onion bread, baked in the oven until melted and delicious– as he described, it was like “onion soup on toast.”  BG thought it was a bit too salty from the cheese, but I could have eaten that stuff all night without any complaints.  Perhaps I would have been bloated for a week, but well worth the pain.

The bread is on the left of the bowl of green, which in this photo looks like a giant bowl of guacamole, but was in fact a shredded brussels sprout salad, keeping in line with the whole bloating theme.

The main event was a big bowl of pasta that Owen also rocked, with a simple red tomato sauce, very similar to the Scarpetta sauce that is taking over the Upper West Side like a red-tomato plague.

So what did I do in this whole mess?  I know, it’s not like me to just sit back and enjoy without getting my hands in on the action.  I had only one contribution, but one that I took very seriously.

Meatballs.

I am by no means a meatball master.  I have dabbled in the spherical balls of goodness, but I am hardly an expert of the subject.  I usually like to cook them in red sauce, but because we had a vegetarian in the house, these guys had to be made separately from any sauce.  No sauce?  No worries.  Let’s just crank up the fat content.

I went with an 85% lean ground beef (I wanted 80%, but BG persuaded me to be “healthy”), and matched that with an equal amount of ground pork.  The secret ingredient was a good glob of bacon fat leftover from the morning’s bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches.  Aside from that, the mixture was pretty standard: a good amount of parmesan cheese, parsley, some fresh baguette soaked in milk, and a good amount of salt and pepper.

Not wanting to take the chance of eating anything dry, I opted for a pan-frying and finishing the lot in the oven.  About 45 minutes later, we had delicious, golden-brown balls of meat.  None of us would have an iron deficiency after this meal, that was for sure.  They were tender from the milk-soaked bread, with a great earthiness from the parmesan cheese and a little freshness from the parsley.  Not too bad, I must say.  A little close-up of the onion bread, salad, and meatballs is featured below.

All in all, a great weekend, with a return to NYC just in time to see the Saints win the Super Bowl.  Even better.

Tags: , , , , .

Arterial clogging, part one.

Published on in restaurants. Closed

So it was burgergal’s birthday this past weekend, and of course this required eating out.

A few times.  And last week, too.

It kicked off with Wednesday night at Locanda Verde, for a double celebration with burgergal’s dad, (burgerman?) who also celebrated being another year older.  I didn’t take any shots of that meal, since, as you  may recall, Locanda is so dark that none of the pics come out.

But I can certainly write a lot about the meal.  In the absence of pics, I’ll keep it brief.

The meal rocked.

I had been to LV twice but had never experienced the pleasure of eating anything off of their regular menu.  BG had and thought it was great, so I was pumped.  I was finally going to experience something from LV that was not fried or coated in truffles.

On second thought, that doesn’t sound like a good thing, after all.

We started out with some crostini to enjoy with a few glasses of wine.  Some fresh ricotta with roasted garlic bread, another with sausage and pickled ramps (hello!), and a chicken liver mousse.  The chicken liver was the only one that was just “ok”– the liver was too smooth for my liking.  The sausage was exceptional, and everyone loves fresh ricotta.

For actual food, we decided to get a few things and share.  We started out with the lamb sliders, which I had seen recently in a photo and thought they looked eerily similar to the Little Owl sliders.  The taste, however, was compeltely different.  The delicate lamb had only a hint of gaminess, which I love about lamb, and the addition of a thin slice of cucumber and caprino cheese (a soft goat’s milk cheese) brings the slider to a whole new level.

We then had a couple of pastas: the gigante with Sunday ragu, and a ravioli with meat filling (veal, pork, and beef, I believe).  Both pastas were hearty and satisfying, the perfect interlude before the main event: the garlic roasted chicken.  It was garlicky and succulent, roasted to perfection, with some parsnips and other veg on the side.  It was a pretty perfect roast chicken.

Since it was a double birthday celebration, we had to indulge in a few desserts as well.  The maple budino was excellent, topped with roasted walnuts; the toffee date cake was fine, but nothing to write home about, nor was the “chocolate fantasy,” which was billed as something magical but was really just a brownie with two or three gelati on top.  All in, however, it was a great meal.

Part two of the BG birthday extravaganza was Friday night’s dinner at Big Nick’s.  This place was more on my turf than on burgergal’s, but after spending a bit more cheddar on her christmas present than originally planned, it was all that was in the cards for her bday (except for the present and brunch at A Voce– more to come on that in the next post).  Feisty Foodie had done a writeup about the Bistro Burger (I know, don’t get excited for a throwback to the old days in the West Village), and I knew that it was going to be mine.

And it was.

It was an enjoyable burger.  Although not the best one I have ever had, it was a solid representation of Big Nick’s, and I was glad to share it with my main squeeze in celebration of her day of birth.  But, if we keep eating like that, it might be a shorter list of future birthdays.

So what did we do?  We kept eating like that.  Fast-forward to Saturday night.  11.45pm.  Momofuku Noodle is the place.  Fried chicken in my face.

I had high hopes for the fried chicken at Momofuku.  Every blogger in the city knows about the $100 fried chicken dinner, with two types (one Southern style with Old Bay and one triple-fried Korean style with bibim sauce), so I won’t belabor that point.  The point I will belabor is that it really wasn’t anything special.

Yeah, I said it.

Everyone in this town has a hard-on for the Momofuku empire, including, to a degree, myself.  I can’t say enough good things about the bo ssam, and I’ve even given the guy second chances after a dinner at Noodle Bar ended up with me “giving back” the entire meal within 20 minutes of eating.  But the fried chicken was just not anything special.  When it comes to the southern style, I honestly prefer the colonel’s original recipe.  The old bay was not a great addition, and the chicken was so salty I’m still thirsty three days later.  Some of the meat was brutally undercooked (I’ve read about that happening on other posts about this, too), but I didn’t even care to send it back, because it was too salty to eat anyway.  Set me up with some bon chon or KFC any day.

The Korean version was a different story, and it was actually quite tasty, but again, not really worth the hype that surrounds it.  I enjoyed it.  I’ll leave it at that.  The sauce was good, the chicken was (thankfully) cooked.

That’s my plate.  Clearly I still ate my fair portion, and then some.  I gave the chicken the old college try.  I ate a lot of it.  I wanted to love it.  I really did.  But I just couldn’t.  I fell victim to the David Chang-hysteria that has swept this city.

But who am I?  Try it yourselves and let me know how it goes.

Tags: , , , .