How Momofuku Stole My Million Dollar Idea with a Sausage

I recently came up with my million dollar New York City food cart idea. The plan was to make pork burgers in the style of laab, chock full of lemongrass and toasted rice powder. I knew it would be a surefire hit. I'd set up shop in midtown during the day, filling the stomachs of office workers for $7 dollars a pop for a laab burger and all the accompaniments.  At night, I would trek down to the East Village to let sloshed NYU students sober up over some laab burgers served in a more low-brow style with a sesame bun and can of Four Loko. Alas, this great idea came to an end as I was perusing the Momofuku cookbook.  It was there—page 176, to be exact—that I spotted Tien Ho's recipe for Lemongrass Pork Sausage. It sounded similar enough to my idea, but I knew that the toasted rice powder, my secret ingredient, would set my dish apart.  Then I read the blurb above the recipe, which stated that toasted rice powder would be a nice addition to the sausage.  That's right, Tien Ho and David Change had my idea before I'd even thought of it. Back to the drawing board it is.  As for the Momofuku Lemongrass Pork Sausage? Well, I think theirs is better than mine would have been anyway.

Lamb Burger with Goat Cheese, Pickled Ramp Leaves and Aioli

Feeling some self-pity for staying in my prison cell apartment last Saturday night, I decided to cheer myself up with a gussied up lamb burger.  Aside from the ground lamb which I had purchased earlier in the day, I had all of the components to make the fancy burger  that I call comfort food (I swear I'm not a snob): pickled ramps that I made the other day, some goat cheese in the fridge, and a brioche roll in the freezer.  I began with the ramps, cutting off three ramp bulbs and used them in place of garlic in a basic aioli recipe.  I toasted the brioche bun and smeared a generous knife full of the aioli on one side.  Preparing the lamb patty, I inserted a small round of goat cheese into the middle of it, then cooked the burger to medium-rare.  I topped the patty with a small handful of the tangy pickled ramp leaves and wedged everything between the bun.  The onion rings I made to serve alongside the burger were a disaster, but the burger was enough to make me forget their soggy mediocrity. It was absolute perfection, especially when washed down with a couple Sixpoint beers and a few episodes of The Wire.  Not bad work for a Saturday night.

Quick Bite: DBGB Kitchen & Bar

The Significant Eater and I recently stopped in for lunch at DBGB Kitchen & Bar, Daniel Boulud's much-hyped new restaurant in the once rundown, soon to be ultra-trendy Bowery neighborhood. Walking into the main dining room, most foodie nerds will find it difficult to contain themselves once they spot what is essentially a culinary Hall of Fame lining the walls: copper kitchenwares from nearly every famous chef one can imagine: Jacques Pepin, Ferran Adria, Alice Waters, and Dan Barber, just to name a few of the displays I could view from my seat. My personal favorite was Andrew Carmellini's pasta machine. Needless to say, I was slightly distracted throughout lunch trying to check out all of the superstar chefs who were featured on the walls.

Food-wise, DBGB did not let me down. I ordered the basic "Yankee" burger, a standard hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and a Guss' pickle. The Significant Eater went with the DBGB Dog, a hot dog topped with sauteed onions and relish. I would never rate a restaurant solely based on its burger and hot dog, but since so many people seem to do exactly that in these burger-obsessed days, I can easily say that DBGB will be atop many New Yorkers' list. My burger was nicely charred on the outside but cooked to a juicy medium-rare in the center. I was glad that I ordered the most unadorned burger on the menu because the Yankee burger needed nothing else. The hot dog the Significant Eater ordered was well-executed as well; one bite told me that the mildly spiced sausage was handmade by a topnotch kitchen and not just some run-of-the-mill frank. The fries that came with each of our meals were also well-salted and perfectly crispy. Everything went down well with a Sixpoint IPA. For dessert, we ordered the Kreik Beer-Cherry (pictured), a sundae that had lots of cherry and no discernible beer flavor--most likely a good thing.

All in all, I was very impressed by my quick bite at DBGB. I will definitely return to try the its more ambitious offerings, which I fully expect to be just as good as my lunch samplings. Even if they aren't, I will surely continue to stop in for a burger and a beer.