Thursday, July 17, 2008, by Ben
Everyone loves to sit in Madison Square Park and grin at the city spinning around them. It’s an old fact. Everyone loves Shake Shack. Another aging fact. Everyone grumbles about the line. Also a fact. The hamburgers are delicious. Fact again. The towering mountain of meat, cheese and deep fried mushrooms known as the “Shack Stack” is fantastic. New fact!
What might seem very un-gourmet coming from the Danny Meyer ownedUnion Square Hospitality Group (USHG) is a tasty sandwich that tests everyone’s jaw-dislocating ability. It’s not a hamburger is the UBERBURGER. It sings a song that goes something like this: bun, burger patty, cheese, deep fried cheese filled portabella mushroom, burger patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, (mustard), bun. See, it really is the uberburger. Try to order it that way! Say, “one uberburger please.”
The burger is overwhelming. It’s a test. It’s an experiment in hyperbole. It’s delicious. I’d order it again in a heartbeat. Naturally, if you’re not that hungry or are under 5′5″, you probably should stick to a regular (or double) burger. It’s also a good idea to clear your calendar for an hour or two afterward, eating that much meat and cheese induced a class 3 food coma (difficulty keeping ones eyes open, general feeling of warmth and contentment, sluggish verbal response). The burger’s here aren’t as chic as they could be and they’re not the best in the area, but the experience of ordering from a stand and sitting in the park in a safe cocoon of calm is like no other.
The love for shake shack is so big, last year someone started a user-contributed photostream of the line (apparently abandoned) at Shack Watchers.
12/2/200 8EDIT: Looks like Danny M. liked the idea so much, they put it into their website: Shake Shack NYC.
It looks puny from this height:
’shroom Burger:
The Stack Unveiled:
It looks delicious from this height:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008, by Ben
Finally, France has fallen to the power of the sandwich: the great American hamburger. A few silly inconsistencies (improvements?):
- Â ”nine out of 10 people use knife and fork.”
- “Ketchup does not automatically come with a burger. If requested, it may appear in a porcelain bowl.”
- “She’s kneaded a mixture of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and tangy cornichons and capers into the ground meat. Parmesan shavings stand in for the usual Cheddar.”
But, ovbiously, “The burger has become gastronomic.â€
Tuesday, July 15, 2008, by Ben
To conclude our feature on Dutch sandwiches, I have a fine beauty that is often thrown together rather haphazardly: the tomato, basil and mozzarella. You see this sandwich everywhere (Cosi calls it the ‘TBM’) and it’s a staple foodstuff for vegetarians on the move. In the states, these are awful, soggy bland sandwiches. The mozzarella is usually old and tasteless, the basil thrown in without thought and the only taste from the tomatoes is cold and mushy. They get even worse when they are pre-made and wrapped in plastic food wrap as the tomato leaks into the bread and the mozzarella drys out. Just the thought makes me thirsty.
This one is another story entirely: the mozzarella is abundant and fresh, the pesto sauce is flavorful and gently drizzled, and the tomatoes are fresh and crispy. Even the roll is a fine choice: soft and multi-grain, it compressed nicely and wasn’t chewy at all. The pine nuts and arugula provided a nice variation in texture. The only mistake: all those frizze greens. I hate fighting with frizze greens. I tried to flatten them on top and include them with their filler companions, but gave up and removed a bunch of them like unruly school children for a time-out. I appreciate that the chef was trying to add more texture, but the arugula did a good enough job. Moral: frizze greens are almost always a waste of time in sandwiches.
Look past the forest of frizze:
Delicious:
Monday, July 7, 2008, by Ben
Dotting the canals and beltways of Amsterdam are these “haringhuis”, or herring stands. In these little stands ladies gut and clean fresh herrings to make herring sandwiches, the so-called national dish of the Netherlands. Let me repeat that: The NATIONAL DISH of the Netherlands is a raw herring sandwich. I will happily become a single-issue voter for any candidate that will support a national sandwich. Just make it good.
Back to the Herring! It’s served filleted with some chopped onions, boring pickles and a little mayonnaise in a soft hot-dog bun. It’s cold and a bit mushy, but has a refreshing freshness and bite from the onions and pickles that it’s a pleasure to eat. It also helps that it’s incredibly soft and I could probably eat it without teeth. I had one and a half before getting a little grossed out at the lack of texture variation. It’s definitely worth trying, but not something that I’m clamoring for more of. Then again, I’d love to try the same thing made with tuna or salmon…
See the softness?:
It’s soft and fresh from the dryer:
Softness exposed!
Come Closer, Closer…
Sunday, June 29, 2008, by Ben
Only on the best summer days do you find yourself wandering into a beautiful Art Deco restaurant around lunchtime, in front of some of those scenic canals that Amsterdam is known for, in this case, Brouwersgracht (brewer’s canal) and the Herengracht (gentlemen’s canal), having a tasty lunch. Well, that sounds well and good, who cares? Where are the sandwiches?! Here, at Restaraunt De Belhamel (Brouwersgracht 60, 1013 GX Amsteradm), where they are delicious.
This morsel is gravlax with capers, crème fraiche and a greens on a ciabatta roll (5.5 Euros). It was delicious. While I could do without the annoying inclusion of those frizzy greens on top, the capers, creme fraiche and gravlox created a beautiful, smooth symphony of happy. The gravlox was tender and fresh, the creme fraiche was smooth and wasn’t heavy at all. All told, it was one ‘wich I’d love to repeat for lunch, oh, about 6 days a week.
And for 5.50 Euros? Hell, for 5.50 Euros, this is a ‘wich that everyone can appreciate 6 days a week!
Eater-Vision:
Bird-Vision:
Mini-Eater-Vision:
Wednesday, June 25, 2008, by Ben
The NY Times food column “Feed Me” has an article about the Croque Monsieur at Bar Boulud, the upscale “slice of pig heaven” from Daniel Boulud. Actually, most of the article is about the authors summer drinking habits, but eventually he gets around to watching the sous-chef at Bar Boulud make a Croque Monsieur. I don’t agree that it’s perfect summer food as he tries to persuade. It’s got way too much ham and cheese to make it suitable for warm weather. It’s much more likely to induce severe food coma than to encourage that fresh, airy feeling people want in the summertime. For more summery ‘wiches try some cured, smoked or baked fish (salmon, mackerel, etc.) on light bread, without cheese. Or try a bahn mi, full of meat and veggies.
More importantly, they published the recipe! Now you don’t have to pay $17/wich to discover greatness. Naturally, there are no magic ingredients, they use the same ‘ol ham, cheese and bechemel sauce recipe as everyone else (though they use all home-made ingredients, other than milk).
Other Croque Monsieur sites:
- Wikipedia’s Entry: did you know it first appeared in 1910?
- The Paupered Chef: what would you do with 10 lbs of ham?
- MidtownLunch: Tuesday is Croque Monsieur Day!
Now repeat the words “crispy outside and gooey center” 10 times!
