I’m feeling pink inside.

It’s Wednesday today, and that means one thing– farmer’s market day!

Today I decided to go for anything at the market that provides an illusion of some sort.  I was feeling mischievous, what can I say?

First, I stopped by Samascott Orchards to pick up some apples.  I got those scarlett rose apples that Uberchef got last week.  I have not tried one yet, but as I said, I’m all about the trickery today.

I’m going to be doing some cooking this weekend at a family event, so I picked up some bok choi at Lani’s Farm, which was formerly Yuno’s Farm.  They have pretty good bok, although some of their items are a little overpriced.  I also got some romanesco cauliflower, which was just too trippy and weird-looking to pass up.

Not sure what I’m going to do with them, but it’ll be tasty.  I also picked up some watermelon radish, just because they look cool on the inside.  Check it out.  These things are absolutely radiant inside.

Then I stopped at Maxwell’s farm to pick up those sun-gold’s I’ve been raving about.  They have been getting a bit iffy, so I bought a mix of baby tomatoes.  I think it might be some of the season’s last.  I also got some chives, because I plan on making some pork dumplings this weekend (and you know this will be documented).

Ronnybrook, where were you?? You weren’t at the party today.  Come back.  I love you.

After the market, UC and I walked back to Onya for a little udon action.  Right at the front the udon dude was pulling the noodles out of the machine and dusting them with flour.

Went with the sanuki again, which looks the best of everything I’ve seen there.  I got some chicken and mixed vegetable tempura, both of which we pretty solid.

Perfect lunch.

http://bloggingforburgers.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/img00010-20091007-1345.jpg?w=300&h=225

I’ll have the chilean sea bass, or maybe just a sandwich.

Uberchef and I hit up the farmer’s market, and fall is in full swing over there!  More to come on that later.

After filling up on some Ronnybrook Lowfat Yogurt drink (which I had never had before, got the honey vanilla flavor, and it was awesome.  And the price was right– free), we were starving.  We were going to hit up a ME standby, lenny’s, but uberchef remembered that a buddy of his had told him about Barros Luco, a new Chilean spot on 52nd street named after the famous south american sandwich and Chilean president.

I had a few doubts before walking in.  First of all, the space is one of those cursed restauarant locations that needs to just become a double-decker McDonald’s if it wants to become something that will last for more than a year.  Let’s remember back to Zip Burger and 99 miles to philly for a moment…

Now that that nightmare is over, let’s live in the now, and take a trip down to South America.  The menu is simple enough– for the sandwiches, which come on freshly baked chilean bread, you can get a traditional barros luco with either steak or chicken, with melted cheese.  If you are feeling adventurous, you can go for something a bit more difficult to pronounce, and get other accoutrements.  Or, you can get vienesas, which are basically chillean hot dogs.  They also have some other sides, including empanadas and string beans, and sweet potato fries.

Uber-c and I decided to split a couple of sandwiches, and nothing else, since we were both coming down from a milkfat high.  We went with a steak chacarero, which has some pounded steak, string beans, pickled peppers, and tomato, and a chicken italiano.  We started out with the steak, taking our first bite in synch so as to avoid any judgment tampering.  We both agreed that the string beans were flavorful, and I thought it was pretty good steak for something that is basically fast food.  I had picked up some fresh basil at the market, and I think that it added a nice herbal touch that was otherwise missing.  Uberchef was missing peppers, so I think that there were some consistency issues across our two halves.  Overall, it was satisfying, but a larger portion would have been appreciated.

We then moved on to the chicken italiano.  At first glance, I didn’t have high hopes for it, and the flavor, or lack thereof, was pretty consistent with my expecations.  The color was kinda blah, the avocado was blah, the tomato was blah.  It didn’t have any kick or anything.  It just tasted like a grilled chicken sandwich from a deli.  In the words of Uberchef, “this tastes like a diet.”

Anyway, check out Barros Luco if you are in the mood for something different.  Just do yourself a favor and stick with the steak.

Barros Luco

52nd st at 2nd ave

3.5 out of 7 cows (isteak alone would have been 4.5)

It’s beautiful.

I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The Schnitzel Truck Burger.

You’re welcome.

It just makes cense. Or does it?

Saw on the twitterline that La Cense Burger truck was midtown east today, so after hitting up the vietnamese fruit smoothie cart on 47th and park, I took a little stroll down to the LCB truck.  I was shocked that there was not a line, since usually when I walk by it’s like a financial geek haven.

I ordered up a steakburger with cheese, and chatted with the guys.  Apparently it was a busy day earlier on, so I had just missed the rush.  Whew.

After chatting with the guys for a little bit, I got the burger.  The patty is pretty hefty for a burger truck patty, I was surprised.  I wish I had had my cellphone, but I had left it at the office, so unfortunately no pics today   It looked a little dense, but I was hoping the flavor would make up for the texture.

Now, the La Cense cattle are grass-fed, so the texture and leanness of the burger patty might not be for everybody.  The caramelized onions help a little, but the burger is in no way the grass fed beauty of the Minetta burger.  The taste was decent but not great– you can tell it probably was quality meat at some point, but I’m not sure that the truck is the place to experience it.  The griddle top cooking didn’t really impart a crunchy char layer, but there was some decent coloring.  I would maybe get another one if I were walking by by chance, but I wouldn’t hike out of my way to get there.  But, you can rest assured that it’s all sustainable and good for the environment and all that, so that’s a plus.

3.5 out of 7 cows.

La Cense Burger Truck

Various Locations– follow them on twitter

Oh mein gut!

Das schnitzel has taken over my belly like a blitzkrieg.  BG told me the schnitzel truck was in my ‘hood so I had to get some pounded out fried goodness.  Being that i’m on a health kick, after reading about Wylie Dufresne’s self-restraint, I decided to go with some chicken schnitzel with sides of Austrian potato salad and sauerkraut.

The platter arrives like this:

mmm, schnitzelly

It’s pretty simple, like all good austrian gut-busting food should be.  I didn’t see any lingonberry jam, but I won’t hold it against them.  Did you know that in Austria, the term “wiener schnitzel” is protected by law and has to be made of veal to be called that?

Anyway, it’s the best thing i’ve gotten from a truck in a few weeks, except for myflat screen tv that fell off the back of  a truck.  Check it out.

Schnitzel Truck

Moves around-  find their location on twitter

Mantao “Burger”: Quotes necessary

The burgerboy works in midtown Manhattan, and has been frequenting the relatively new Mantao shop on 53rd street between 2nd and 3rd avenues.  Now, I am not about to get into a full review of the lunch spot, I’ll leave that to the experts over at serious eats and midtown lunch.  However, since they do feature a “burger” on the menu, I felt it should be included within my purview.

I went in the other day, and I had my sights set on the burger.  I had eaten a few of their tasty little gems before, but the burger had always managed to stay under my radar.

Until last Wednesday.

I got the angus beef burger with spicy sambal sauce.  I had a feeling that the sambal sauce wasn’t going to be spicy enough for my taste, so I rocked a side of kim chi with it.  (NB, I also got the braised pork sandwich with pickled cucumber– delicious).

I took my first bite of the burger, not really knowing what to expect.  It was, um, good?

To be honest, I don’t really know how to feel about the whole experience.  I LOVE mantao bread, first of all.  The steamy pockets of goodness, with their slight bite and doughy centers really get me going.  If I had to name the perfect vessel for sweet and salty flavor, it would be mantao bread.  The burgerboy is going to Momofuku Ssam for a bo ssam tomorrow and I am going to stuff my face with them.

But I digress.

The burger was a bit disappointing, to say the least.  The small patty was a bit pathetic, given the majestic mantao bread pocket made for it.  As expected, the sambal sauce was but an afterthought on the overcooked grey patty.  I added the kim chi, which helped perk it up a bit, but I was still left wanting more.  And not more of the burger.

When heading to Mantao, stick with the braised pork, spicy pork, or short rib.