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Tag Archive - food

Attacking The Burger Defense

October 26, 2011 in by with 4 Comments

Photo via Pam's Pics- on Flickr

On Saturday, Denver Nuggets player Al Harrington took the Bugsy Challenge at Burger Joint at Flamingo Las Vegas. The Bugsy Challenge consists of a burger with six one-third-pound burger patties, six types of cheese (American, cheddar, pepper jack, fresh house-made mozzarella, Swiss and panko-crusted deep-fried provolone), chorizo, sautéed mushrooms, black and tan onion rings, three strips of applewood smoked bacon, three strips of cayenne peppered bacon and a fried egg, all oozing with Burger Joint’s special pink peppercorn aioli.

This massive burger is accompanied by a cast iron skillet packed with two whole potatoes cut in wedges and deep fried, then smothered in cheddar cheese sauce, three-cheese blend, crumbled bacon, sliced green onions and topped with two strips of cayenne peppered bacon.

The full Bugsy Challenge weighs in at 4.5 pounds and is on the house for anyone who can finish it. Harrington was given 45 minutes to complete the challenge and unfortunately did not succeed.

via NBA Player Al Harrington Attempts Bugsy Challenge at Burger Joint | Haute Living (via TBJ, PBT)

While it may be tempting to call Harrington a lightweight considering his relatively gargantuan size, successfully completing  food challenge has very little to do with physical size, and almost everything to do with strategy (and of course an unhealthy appetite). I’ve been in plenty of challenges among folks five times my size, and I’ve watched as they crumble before the meal is halfway done. Looking at the burger, it becomes clear that the challenge can’t be conquered without a game plan. And in the case that Al Harrington (or anyone, really) find themselves at Burger Joint in Las Vegas, here are my suggestions that might could be the difference between a last-second victory, and a (pants) blowout:

1. Identify the 2-3 Zone, and cut through it.

The burger’s towering stature makes it fairly clear that the burger will have to be deconstructed for any kind of progress to be achieved. I suggest removing the pick/skewer from the burger and creating a burger with both top and bottom bun with the two (2) deep-fried elements seen in the top portion of the burger, and  three (3) patties. The remaining patties, bacon, mushrooms, and whatever else is hiding should be left on the plate for later. This newly constructed burger is still fairly large, but it’s a much more manageable portion. The onion rings will add some crunch to break the monotony of texture in the burger, while the fried provolone along with the fried egg (which hopefully has a runny yolk) will provide some moisture to help you ease into the groove of consumption.

2. Keep an eye out on the perimeter. 

In the description, there are two whole potatoes that are smothered in terribly fattening substances in a cast iron skillet just waiting in the wings. Don’t lose sight of them — they might lead to your downfall if you do. By the time the makeshift 3-patty burger is finished, the potatoes should be cool enough that when you bite into it, you won’t be hit with a shot of steam and still-hot fryer oil. The last thing you need in a challenge like this is a damaged tongue. It’ll destroy your appetite, and once that’s out of the game, so are you. However, waiting to eat the potato last is also a bad idea. Not only is the entire thing full of starches that will make your already full stomach expand to uncomfortable levels, they’ll be cold by the last five minutes of the challenge. When warm, the potato will still hold enough of the moisture from the steam to glide down smoothly. Once it’s cold, the starch granules will become noticeably drier and grainier, and will quickly ruin your momentum.

3. Attack the interior, close out strong. 

This is the final stretch. Three beef patties, and the filler that surrounds it are all that’s left that stand in the way. Take out your knife and fork, and carve away. Proteins are a lot easier to eat cold than starches. And if it gets a little too dry, dousing the entire plate in Pepto Bismol should do the trick.

 

Happy eating. 

Drew Gooden: A Man About Some Chicken Wings

October 12, 2011 in by with 0 Comments

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAU6OQNIB1A]

You know that feeling you get when you pick up a 20-piece box of buffalo wings and drive home, and you’re so excited to eat them that you seriously contemplate taking off your shirt while in traffic, but decide against it because it’s a pretty terrible idea? And then you finally get to your door and you start fumbling with the keys. But this isn’t really a result of excitement; you’re just a really clumsy person who is also really awful at holding small objects. However, after a few violent shakes, the door is open and all is well and bright. You crash onto the couch, tune into the Sunday football games, and do your weekly ritual where you get wing sauce all over your fingers and wipe them under your eyes like some fragrant, off-colored eye black. Except you got buffalo sauce this week, you fool, not honey roasted BBQ, so the vinegary fumes and floating particles of capsaicin are just decimating your eyes. But not even that will stop the good vibes. And you continue to gnaw at the bits of cartilage left on the bones in absolute bliss, keeping track of the scores by wiping your saucy fingers on the walls in the form of appropriate alphanumeric symbols.

Drew Gooden knows that feeling. He knows you can’t do that at a Hooters, and he knows you can’t do it at a Buffalo Wild Wings. And that’s why he will soon become the proud owner of four Wingstops in the Orlando area (though he’d probably appreciate it if you didn’t do any of your Sunday rituals at any of his locations):

Gooden — who played last season with the Milwaukee Bucks and had two seasons with Orlando in the early 2000s — along with operating partner George Taylor III last month inked a deal with Texas restaurant chain Wingstop Inc.    to open four new restaurants in the Orlando area. The pair, as Zerocon Food Systems LLC, plan to open the eatery in areas such as Altamonte Springs, Dr. Phillips, Lake Mary, the University of Central Florida main campus area in east Orlando and Winter Park, just to name a few possible locations.

via Drew Gooden moves from pro basketball to wings franchise | Orlando Business Journal

But that’s the theoretical beauty of Wingstop. Where its main competition strive for a loud, social environment, Wingstop functions primarily as a takeout type of restaurant, because it (I assume) acknowledges how primitive the act of eating wings can be. And really, it’s not something to be done in the company of those who don’t know you. Because it’s basically a certainty that you aren’t making a good first impression eating chicken wings.

Shockingly enough, however, Wingstop was not Gooden’s first choice:

“I did lot of research on different franchises,” he said, adding that he wanted to land a Five Guys deal, but that the only franchises available were outside of the United States. “Wingstop is where Five Guys was four years ago, and now it’s got 15-20 locations throughout Orlando.”

Owning several Five Guys Burgers & Fries would have been a pretty wise decision if it were available. Gooden would then be following the precedent that Caron Butler established by owning six Burger Kings. Five Guys has seen a surge in popularity, especially in areas that aren’t blessed with In-N-Out Burger locations nearby (ie. most of the country). What sets Five Guys apart from its contemporaries is the multitude of toppings available to the eater. Though, the customization factor would be much more alluring if certain toppings (grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms) were cooked properly, and if the overall quality of ingredients was better. Oh, and about the prices… Sorry. Is my In-N-Out bias showing?

In any case, Gooden is making a wise investment. With games now certainly being cut, the reality of losing  money should sink in quite soon. With Gooden’s fat contract signing last season, he should have plenty of funds for this venture. NBA players with sufficient capital should take notice. Drew Gooden is a good example of how to grow business outside of your main one. It doesn’t hurt that Gooden has found himself in a profitable market. We’re crazy for chicken, and will continue to be for the rest of time. After all, to quote (once again) the ineffable Brooklyn-based rapper Fabolous, “You can’t go cold turkey on fried chicken, you know?”

That line does not get old.

Nutritional Benefits

October 5, 2011 in by with 1 Comment

Photo from peternijenhuis via Flickr

It’s been six years since the Phoenix Suns were referring to their franchise big man Amar’e (at the time, just Amare) Stoudemire as a “point center.” Six years forward, it’s still a bit unclear what exactly a point center’s job description looked like. It certainly wasn’t discernible at the time. While Stoudemire made significant strides in his outside shooting and his overall awareness on the court, he wasn’t a do-it-all in the mold of Magic Johnson, or even his future teammate Boris Diaw. This is not a slight to one of the most remarkable offensive players in the game — just a statement of observable fact. But Amar’e has always been motivated to improve. And while his on-court play hasn’t diversified as much as once projected, he’s made significant strides in becoming a more complete cultural being.

Recently placed in the spotlight is the phenomenal Bon Appétit feature on both Stoudemire and his personal chef Maxcel Hardy. If Stoudemire’s complete embrace of New York City’s cosmopolitan lifestyle wasn’t clear enough over the past year, Adam Sachs’ feature spells it out quite plainly. However, what’s more interesting is the parallel between Stoudemire and Hardy, whose partnership could only be construed as fate playing its part. Both men emerged in 2002 as teenage talents in Florida — at age 19, Stoudemire bypassed college and entered the NBA Draft and was selected 9th overall, while Hardy established a celebrity catering company in Miami at 18 while attending Johnson & Wales University on both a basketball and culinary arts scholarship.

Of course, Stoudemire has very much identified with the Jewish faith, and consequently, has taken up a more kosher diet. Not a problem, because Hardy gained extensive knowledge of kosher cooking early on in his career working  for Gem Catering, a kosher catering company. Seriously, what else other than fate could have brought these two together?

Suffice to say. Amar’e Stoudemire is living the life. He is a wealthy, wealthy man playing a sport that he is incredibly good at in a city that treats their sports figures as immortals. He is a prolific socialite with connections in every direction, and yet through all the noise, he has time and space to emphasize the importance of his own health and spirituality. And he pays someone who is ready to cook for him whenever he wants. The gravity of that concept is unfathomable to mere peons like myself.

It doesn’t hurt to know good people, and from Sach’s feature, there is no shortage of connections for Amar’e Stoudemire. Most notable is Brooklyn-based rapper Fabolous, who easily wins the award for best quote ever:

The rapper Fabolous is standing by the pool table. “I’m fond of his work,” he says of Hardy’s culinary prowess. Fabolous also respects Stoudemire’s interest in eating well: “I pig out all the time, but I plan to trend down the fried stuff when I get older. You gotta chisel at it, though. You can’t go cold turkey on fried chicken, you know?”

via Amar’e Stoudemire’s Full-Court Southern Feast | Bon Appetit

(“You can’t go cold turkey on fried chicken” is going on my headstone.)

Fabolous commends Stoudemire’s reformed eating habits, and rightfully so. As a player, understanding nutritional balance and exploring culinary alternatives is a necessity in not only discovering the body’s thresholds, but applying pressure on those boundaries once age begins to set in. And as a person, Stoudemire is learning, strengthening his spiritual bonds, becoming a cultural point forward, all in one (presumably satisfying) bite.

Was It Something He Ate?

September 28, 2011 in by with 2 Comments

Photo from victorkao via Flickr.

“There is no food under heaven that can compare with the Hangzhou cuisine.” – Su Dongpo, Song Dynasty poet

Earl Clark respectfully disagrees, Dongpo.

Well, that’s a bit of an inference. Not sure if bailing (after a month) on his new/former team, the Zhejiang Tigers, willing to pay a year’s worth of guaranteed money on grounds of culinary incompatibility is entirely respectful, though I’m sure there was no malice in the decision. In fact, there are probably legitimate, good-natured intentions behind the departure.

But we were spoiled with the initial headline from HoopChina, with the help of Google Translate, which read: “Not used to Chinese food, Clark left the mansions teams”. 

Of course, the Chinese language is light-years away from English, and there will inevitably be something lost in translation. Perhaps it was a quick and successful snarky bit that us American folk are taking a bit too seriously (and in my case, entirely too seriously). But the troubling/beautiful thing at this juncture is that we may never know. This Earl Clark doesn’t like Chinese food bit has time to brew and mythologize. And I am so ready to add my useless fodder.

If, indeed, Earl Clark didn’t like the food he was getting in the Zhejiang province, here’s a few theories on why not.

1. He doesn’t like bamboo shoots. 

With the fascination many NBA players seemed to have with pandas during this offseason, one might’ve expected more tolerance with consuming the staple of a panda’s diet. Bamboo shoots are generally tender, but are able to withstand heavy braising to infuse both flavor and a certain mouthfeel, which makes it an absolutely vital ingredient in Zhejiang cuisine, which is heavy on braising/stewing. One of the region’s most essential dishes is bamboo shoots braised in soy sauce and sugar. This might not be the culprit, but when experiencing a new culture, you never know what will strike you as off-putting.

2. Earl isn’t much of a seafood guy.

Zhejiang is known (quite literally) as the “land of fish and rice.” Both play such an important role in the routine diets of this particular region. Being on the easternmost coast of China, there is unlimited access to the East China Sea, which houses myriad types of fish, crabs, and shrimp. Common dishes include hairy crab (a signature dish of Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital both politically and culinarily) steamed in soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger, andpoached fish in a sweet and sour vinegar sauce. The acidity of the vinegar is used to highlight the freshness of the seafood, which isn’t a foreign concept, but vinegar is never not an overtly pungent culinary weapon.

3. He didn’t like Dongpo Pork. 

This isn’t the reason. Just putting that out there. Dongpo Pork is at the epicenter of what makes Zhejiang cuisine one of the eight great cuisines of China. There’s been a resurgence of interest recently with the use of pork belly in America. I blame/commend the foodies. But there might not be a place in the world that does pork belly better than Hangzhou. The meat is cooked upwards of 5-6 hours in a meticulous process that involves three different methods of cooking. The cubes of park is initially boiled.  The cooked pieces of pork are then allowed to cook in a mixture of aged rice wine, soy sauce, ginger, and sugar until the mixture completely reduces and leaves the pork belly with a dark brown color and a glistening sheen. But that’s not the end of the process. Then the pork is steamed until it’s a tender, unctuous cube of greatness unlike anything else. This isn’t the reason, and if it is, I don’t want to know.