Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Sandwich Recession.

...Easter Sunday, Burgers, Little Skillet and a Westie.

I've decided to make roast beef and fried shrimp po' boys for Easter Dinner.** And, chocolate risotto pudding. And, I'm saving that bottle of McWilliams Shiraz (vino cheapo). For the family brunch buffet, I'm thinking pastel de tres leches with fruit topping. The strawberries were too green at Rainbow co-op (and I honestly think we're pushing the season here), so I might go with mangoes instead or see how the Cali strawberries look elsewhere.

NOLA is my religion, so I woke up thinking about those roast beef and fried shrimp po' boys! It's the trendy thing right now—sandwiches in general are, since we're all so broke and whatnot. Tom Colicchio even has a book about sandwich making, and is heading our way (to the Bay) for his book tour. Apparently his 'Wichcraft franchises have lines out the door. I haven't been to the one in SF quite yet. I'll get there...

On Tuesday night I did find a decent buffalo burger at Pearl's Deluxe Burger in Russian Hill (is it RH or TL or TN? I'm not straight on that part of the city). Just off the corner of Post at Jones, a clean little hole in the wall serving all the greasy stuff. But, what made it my destination? In the last year, Prather Ranch, my fine meat dealer (and the peeps who introduced me to "beef-falo") lost their buffalo supplier. And, it's taking time to find another bison outfit. Sad, but true.

(they still have plenty of delicious meat, especially that Oregon Lamb)

SO, I had to cheat on them with Pearl's Deluxe... which wasn't so bad. I had the 1/2 lb. buffalo burger with cheddar and bacon (and crinkle cut sweet potato fries and some of my friends frings (fries-n-O-rings!). It was fatty and drippy and sooo-hole-in-the-wall-good. Bacon jutted! Cheese oozed! The three of us didn't even look at each other again until we were finished eating and swabbing meat juice from our faces.

My only criticism: Pearl's, get some new buns! The soft sesame seeded white roll fell apart while I was eating my ginormous, juicy burger. It obviously wasn't thick enough and had little flavor. I know the meat's the star, but I give extra points if a joint thinks about the bread.

A foodie-FRIED fact: One of my favorite SF chefs returns from a sojourn back East, and he's starting up the Little Skillet out of 330 Ritch Street (remember that spot? a few memorable evenings there). Among other snacks, they'll have CHICKEN-N-WAFFLES, PEOPLE!! (double plus good). So, please drop in 'n give ol' C-Double a shout. Let him know Spicy sent you—maybe, he'll crack a smile.

In a final note, this weekend I hope to post the long-awaited West Coast Burger photos. Spicy's own lick-your-lips creation. Plus, a revelation about the Acme Herb Slab! Check back soon for the 'Westie' burger.* It's damn good. And, you should know about it.

**(Po' boy update: In my attempt to keep it real and have sandwiches for Easter dinner, I ventured to Trader Joe's for the ingredients. "Natural" roast beef? Check. Fully-cooked, tail-off, medium shrimp—great for breading and frying? Check. Beef gravy? Uh-oh. TJ's did have their famous "turkey gravy in a box" though... So, ok, I bought it. I have a jar of Superior Touch Beef "Better than Bouillon" in my fridge, and it won't be the first time I've doctored things behind closed kitchen doors...Spicy's sneaky like that.)


~Spicy

*(no fluffy white scotty dogs were harmed in the writing of this this posting)

No comments: