Two exciting meat-eating adventures from this past weekend.
Its been a bit over 6 months since Keizo Shimamoto showed up to the Brooklyn Smorgasbourg with his "more-famous-than-the-cronut" creation, the ramen burger. A certain someone, who is obsesesd with ramen has been wanting to try this thing out since August. So we journeyed all the way to Williamsburg for the Smorgasbourg but was too late in getting a head start on the 2 hour+ line of hungry eaters eagerly awaiting their chance to sample the ramen burger, of which there was a limited quantity. And then before we knew it, it was January already. Yesterday, we stumbled into the winter, indoor version of the Smorgasbourg and what did you know? There was the ramen burger stand and no line.
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| Two ramen buns, secret sauce, arugula, green onions and 1/4lb chuck beef patty |
So was this overhyped? Maybe I would answer differently if I had to wait for 2 hours starving to death but since I didn't, my final verdict is this is one yummy burger. Well-cooked (not dry!) patty with a secret sauce pretty similar to hoisin and nicely al dente ramen noodles mixed in. Would I order it again? Assuming there's no 2 hour line, I will say its a definite yes.
Dinner at Peter Luger's
Unlike the ramen burger which has only been around for a few months, we had dinner at the most famous and oldest steak establishment in New York, Peter Luger's. Voted best steak of the city by Zagat for 30 years in a row, this place had some pretty high standards to live up to. Seriously, how does a place get voted #1 for 30 years in a row? Now I understand when people call places "institutions".
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| Peter Luger's famous steak sauce is pretty much their version of a cocktail sauce, we weren't the biggest fans. But let me rave about the thick crispy bacon. It was life-changing good. And even the guy who hates (I mean will not eat it) bacon loved this bacon. I know this is probably blasphemous to say [but the bacon was probably better than the steak]. |
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| The star of the menu, dry-aged, bone-in porterhouse. Not sure why the portion size is meant for 2 since its enough meat to feed a small country. Half of the steak featured filet and the other side of the bone was a New York strip, cooked medium-rare with a nice char on the outside. So was this really the best steak I have ever had? In terms of pure steak, meatyness, I would say yes. The filet literally melted in your mouth. But me liking things salty wished there had been more seasoning and to the meat. And unlike korean BBQ, which we always devour no matter how full we are, we left a good portion on the plate to take home. |
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| Not exactly sure how we still had room for dessert but its one of those meals where you need to do it right, so we got cheesecake. Man it was some good cheesecake, served with the house made "schlagg" (aka whipped cream). And to top the meal off, some chocolate gold coins, supposedly the same ones they've been giving out sine the restaurant first opened eons ago. |
