A very good choice for a burger would be at Clarke Standard. One of the things that makes them a little different is the grilled buttered bun. I’m a huge fan of that and it is starting to catch on at other burger shops. The other great thing about Clarke Standard is around the block from my job. I have a feeling this will be on my list whenever I head out for lunch. This burger is in the same burger class as a Shake Shack burger. Clarke Standard use only 100% USDA verified, hormone and antibiotic free Natural Angus ground every day using a wide-gauge plate for a loose-textured patty and a juicier, more flavorful burger. Check out the juices for yourself.

Forgive us. It’s been 18 days since we’ve posted anything. There are reasons we will later go into but for now, suffice it to say we are full, at least 5 lbs heavier and planning for the turn of the year (It’s Spanish themed. More on that soon too.) The above Christmas beast image represents 2 of a 7 bone roast. The frenzy lasted 4 days straight this year, an Anello record. We hope you have all overindulged as much as we have. Have an amazing New Years. We’ve got one last post brewing before 2013 and it’s destination focused.

A few years ago I fell in love with the Bistro Burger at Big Nicks. Its been a few years and many burgers in between, and the Bistro Burger is still a ridiculously good burger. I’m not going to get into what makes it so go because we covered it in the “Ant’s Last Supper” post. Here is my recent Bistro Burger

Still as delicious as always. The waitress was really nice and gave us a couple balaclava’s for dessert on the house.

Now lets talk about a new burger that has hit the city and is making a statement and a push for BEST BURGER IN THE CITY. It’s at the Brindle Room in the East Village. A little birdie told me about this burger and made the statement that it is his favorite burger in the city right now and may be the best in the city overall. That little birdie was non other that Jay.

Friday night I was deciding to either get on a packed subway and take it home to queens or I could solve my starvation and see what the fuss is about at the Brindle Room. It was an easy choice even though it was a cold and wet night out. When I sat down at the bar in the back I got the menu and started to panic. I walked all the way there in the cold rain and the burger was not on the menu. I almost walked out but I asked the bartender if it was possible to get it. She said it was not on the menu because so many people love this burger and they want to get people to order other things that are on the menu. She still hooked me up.

Let me tell you what makes this burger so special. All I told the bartender was I wanted a medium burger with american cheese. It comes with caramelized onion on it automatically and when you bite into it there is so much burger juice that pours out of it. I also liked that each bit had a crunch to it. They grill the bun so it is perfectly toasted almost like how a grill cheese sandwich is toasted with butter. Delicious! Next time I need to go with Jay.

I also got a desert on the house. Funny how this weekend I got 2 burgers and 2 complementary deserts.

Two days ago the Giants lost their season opener to the Dallas Cowboys. An unfortunate start to the season and a topic I know little about. The fortunate part of the day was the play by play meat fest that came across my iPhone as the two fools below tailgated them selves into a protein and bacon maple beer stupor. I’ve know Dave and Ian for a solid 20 years now. Of the many adventures we’ve had, this is one I am sad I missed.

Tailgating for these two Giants fanatics is serious business. It starts at 8am and doesn’t end until game time, 5 hours later. For the occasion, Ian decided to craft this sausage stuffed pork loin. But, that wasn’t enough. He felt it needed more pig and the lattice bacon stocking provided the perfect smokey fix to the naked loin. Obviously I didn’t taste it but with the internal sausage and external bacon in play he created a fat infusing sandwich. That pork loin could have been cooked to hell and still be juicy as lucy with all that melted lard around it. Of course, that’s not what happened. The loin was cooked to perfection and the sliced medallions were scarfed up like candy. PIG candy! Hopefully, for me, next time I am present for this Meatopia. Hopefully, for them, next time the Giants win.

It is not that easy to find BBQ in Astoria but there is one place that I know of that serves only BBQ in this area, Butcher Bar. This BBQ restaurant is not only a good place to get your BBQ but it also sells meat like a butcher. They have a display case showing all there organic grass fed meats, sausage, and beef patties that are raised locally.

It’s a cozy atmosphere at butcher bar and they even have a back patio. Although the day the southerner and I decided to try them out it was super hot and the AC inside was much nicer. Everything we saw for the BBQ was all ketchup based. So if your from the south your going to notice no mustard or vinegar based BBQ. I’m from the north so ketchup is what I’m used to.

I had the Philly Cheese Brisket Sandwich. It was the perfect combo of a philly cheese steak and brisket sandwich. Loads of melted cheese, now who doesn’t like that??

The southerner had a pulled pork sandwich. Great bun and a good mix of pork and sauce.

They have a nice menu at Butcher Bar. Things are a little pricy for Astoria but the meat is organic so you get what you pay for.

Yep, that is right folks. Not only can you get ridiculous ribs at Rudy’s but you get some gas there also. This place is amazing. The menu is short and sweet and you order everything by the pound. I ordered a half pound of baby backs, pork spare and St. Louis ribs. I couldn’t help myself, it was so much fun just to order the food by weight. I also got their sausage. I figured I’m already in for a pound and a half of meat whats another half pound. They have a huge smoker where they cook all their meats. There are a bunch of Rudy’s around but I think the one in Frisco TX is the only one with the gas station. This is a Texas staple and a must go.

I had a crew of about 6 others with me and lets just say we defiantly covered the menu. Also you have to try their brisket and potato salad, both are Killer. I almost went back to get both for my own dessert but I was stuffed after 2 pounds of meat.

Baby Back Rib

Pork Spare Rib

Sausage

I have recently been in Cincinnati and my co workers and I were headed to the Red and Giants game on a rainy Tuesday night. We decided to get some food before the game instead of eating hot dogs all night. We stopped off at Local 127 and was not sure what we were getting into but there was a giant pig in the middle of the restaurant. That is always a good sign.

We ordered a bunch of stuff for the table and based everything on the waiters recommendations and the pork dishes. We were a little disappointed at the recommendations we went with. It was not the taste of the food but a lot of the apps had the same type of sauce and taste with different dishes. I just want to highlight our favorite small plate and large plate. Here is how it went down

Our favorite of the small plates was the Roasted Beets with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, Crispy Shallots, and Red Wine Reduction seen above. It had such a good taste to it mixing the beets and goat cheese. They nailed that dish.

Our favorite of the large plates was the Porkopolis which includes White Bean Ragout, Wilted Cabbage, Bacon-Tomato Jam, and Red Wine Reduction. With a name like Porkopolis how could it be bad. There was different pork tastes in each bite and I liked how it laid on a bed of white beans.

The one large plate that tasted good but through us for a loop was the Meat Loaf Mac & Cheese with Squash, Mushroom Gravy, and House Made Ketchup. It was more of a meat loaf dish than a mac and cheese dish. The noodles were all under the meat loaf and not that much of it. In the picture you can even see any noodles. We never got the taste of the squash in the dish. The meat loaf had some great taste but I guess our expectations were more of a mac and cheese dish than a meat loaf dish.

We were so stuffed that after dinner we went to the game and made it by the 5th inning. It was so wet and we were so full we walked in watched an inning and left. I actually have know idea who won the game. I’m a Yankee fan so it really doesn’t matter.

This morning I woke up with a craving for a burger. I have not had one in a while and it is typically a staple in my food regiment. I was by myself for the day and wanted to go to a spot in my neighborhood that I’ve always wanted to want try but never get a chance to go. We all have a place like that in our neighborhood. Today was my day to go after it. The place I am referring to is Petey’s Burgers. I am glad I finally got off my butt and made it there. Petey’s burger concept originally come from Southern California and was brought over to Astoria (and now also in Long Island City) where the owner, Petey is originally from. These burgers are made fresh and delicious. They have a small to the point menu which I like. It doesn’t give you the headache of having to decide from 15 different burgers. I went with a standard cheeseburger and had them grill the onions. It’s a great mix of softness, burger and melted cheese. The way a burger should taste. I made one mistake when I ordered. I should have went for the double cheeseburger. That is what I’ll devour next time I head to Petey’s.

I also ordered their Greek Veggie Burger. I usually don’t even think about veggie burgers but I read a write up about how great the Greek Veggie Burger was so I had to check out the hype. It was equally delicious. There is a lot of spinach, mushrooms, onions in that patty so all you vegetarians don’t think for a second you can’t go to Petey’s with your carnivorous friends. For you carnivores that like to be a little healthy and order a side salad to get a little greens with a meal, at Petey’s, you can order Veggie Burger on the side as your, in quotes, side salad. What a great way to get your greens. Oh and I would double patty that too.

I had some work in Minneapolis recently and after a long day the team decided on steaks for dinner. Murray’s is one of the more known steak houses as well as one of the last family owned in the twin cities. Our waitress was wonderful, she has been there 40 years and her husband who is the butcher has been there 35 years. That is a long time of delicious beef. The team and I indulged into a few appetizers before we ordered our steaks. Shrimp wrapped in bacon, escargot, and mac & cheese followed by caesar salads. I liked how all of that came before we ordered our steaks. Maybe it is a “just-in-case-you’re-full-already-and-don’t-want-to-order-the-steaks or as many steaks” idea. It’s a good way to not waste good meat. However, this did not stop us from getting our meat. We ordered the ribeye, porterhouse and I shared the strip sirloin for two. The steak for two was huge. It came about 2.5 inches thick and was sliced for you at the table. All the steaks were cooked with a dry rub and the spices were perfect. The steaks were perfectly cooked and complemented with the fresh horseradish and sauteed mushrooms. See above and below.

Ribeye

Porterhouse

London called and I answered with wife in tow. A 72 hour long banger and mash crawl sent us to the far ends of London proper allowing us to discover a myriad of tasty outside of our self-prescribed sausage hunt. A few delicious, quick food joints and a small disappointment at one of London’s most famous chef’s hot spots are among the oven fresh topics. Look for the highlights in upcoming posts this week and next. We might even get to print a few words from my wife on this one. Her “Born in Britain” was in full effect and the nostalgia meter was off the chart. For now think about eating 10 sausages in 3 days. Then look close at the above image. Tasty right?