Attack of the Burger Monster!

Greetings, Readers!

Something you may not know about me, unless you follow me on twitter here, is that besides sandwiches I also enjoy reading comic books.

So, in order to fill my love of Iron Man, Hellboy, Spider-Man, Batman, etc, I tend to visit a few comic conventions a year. I've done Comic Con before, Comikaze and a number of other ones, but this past weekend was one of my favorites: Wondercon in Anaheim.

After a day of wandering aisles with friends, looking at trades, art, and numerous things that would fall under the subject of pop culture, we left the Anaheim Convention Center at the end of the day to be greeted with a number of  fantastically smelling food trucks.

Inspecting each of the trucks available, and trying not to decide just with my stomach, I ended up picking Burger Monster. Their burger selections seemed fantastic, and their logo cracked me up. For a true burger lover though, these guys take an obsession to a whole new level.

Their menu itself isn't large, but the sandwiches sure are. Scrolling down the small list of sandwiches, I settled upon the Pigzilla, which seemed to be a special for the day.

A burger topped with Sriracha-marinated pulled pork (yes!), Swiss cheese, coleslaw, a thick slice of tomato, Burger Monster BBQ sauce, and ranch all between two sides of a brioche bun.

The main problem I had with this sandwich happened to be that I didn't exactly know how to eat it. It's a very messy sandwich and not wanting to look like a five-year old after eating spaghetti-o's, this presented a real problem.

Luckily though, with the skills I have gained in eating sandwiches the past few years, I managed to escape without so much as a drop of red sauce on my clothes. The spicy and smoky pulled pork was delicious. It had a bit of tangy punch to it and was soaked with the BBQ sauce and Sriracha marinade. The Swiss cheese added a gooey texture with smoky flavor and the cole slaw added a slightly sweet crunch.

The most impressive part of this sandwich was the brioche bun. Compared to the other ingredients it didn't really add too much flavor or shine through because of the spicy, tangy, smoky barbecue flavor, but what it did do was hold together until the end. That is an accomplishment in itself for how much sauce is on this sandwich.

What made it even better is that there was some bun left over to soak up the remaining sauce.

Overall, this was an excellent follow-up to a great day at a comic book convention. If you can find the Burger Monster truck while around Los Angeles and Orange County, I highly suggest you try them. Even if Pigzilla isn't on the menu that day, the rest of their burgers sound equally delicious.

They even have a vegetarian option for you non-meat eaters who might be interested. So, really, you don't have an excuse to miss this truck.

So, next week I'll be in Hawaii, so I won't exactly have a sandwich review for you (sorry!) but make sure you tune in the following week as I will start the first of a few reviews from the 50th state.

Until next time, Readers...


Pigzilla
**** 1/2 Stars
The Burger Monster
http://burgermonster.net/

I Got That Summertime, Summertime Sandwich

Greetings, Readers!

I hope this latest blog finds you well and full of sandwiches. The past week has seen the start of the new Baseball season, which is officially the start of spring, not some random day in late March.

And with the start of the Baseball season, comes the return of ballpark-inspired foods, and I'd like to talk about one of my favorites today (besides the classic hot dog).

Pulled Pork.

A pulled pork sandwich is one of life's great treats. You could have it spicy, sweet, or smoky. You could have it on a bun, or saddled up next to some potato salad on a plate. You could even just take a fork of it straight from the pot to your mouth.

Any way you shred it, it's a great way to prepare pork for the summer time. Especially paired with a crisp summery beer.

I've done a lot of research of finding the perfect way to make pulled pork and I've certainly tried a few styles, but today I'd like to share with you a recipe I've recently come across that makes excellent pulled pork. You'll need a slow cooker (one of my favorite inventions of all time!) for this one, and the good part of a day to make this.

You'll want to start with a five pound cut of pork. I've used pork shoulder both times I've cooked this. Start by cutting up two medium sized yellow onions into thin slices and four cloves of garlic (more if you want it really garlicky). Line the bottom of the crock pot with this mixture. Pour in one cup of chicken stock so you have the beginnings of a delicious hot tub for your pork to rest in.

In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of dark brown sugar, one tablespoon of chili powder, one tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Mix this up well and then rum this mixture onto the entire pork shoulder. When you're done, place it in the slow cooker and set on high for six to eight hours. Shred and remove any bones or fat.

I've also added a cup of the liquid in the pot to the final shredded pork for some extra flavor.

The resulting pork has a little bit of smoke flavor, and a noticeable sweet kick to it that brings out the natural pork flavor as well. By getting sweet slider buns, I've made mini sandwiches out of the mixture which are easy to consume with one hand while holding a light colored beer in the other.

If you wanted to counteract the sweetness and add a little crunch to your slider, i'd suggest making a jalapeno slaw (regular cole slaw would be too sweet), or for fun add some potato chips for a saltier addition. Barbecue sauce is also a good ingredient to use, port-cooking, in order to add a smokier/tangier flavor.

Anyway, if you try this out, let me know what you created and added to the pulled pork sliders. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Until next week, Readers...

Great Lakes, Great Sandwiches

Greetings, Dear Readers!

This past holiday weekend I headed to Cleveland for a wedding on this beautiful holiday weekend, and I was able to make some time to be able to sample some of the delicious sandwiches there.

It's been awhile since I've been to Cleveland (visiting Melt in 2010) and I had a list of a few places that I'd want to visit, most notable of which was Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Having increased my knowledge and love of homebrewing since Charlene gave me my first brewing kit two and a half years ago, I have always wanted to go on brewery tours to see how the bigger companies do it.

So prior to eating and drinking at Great Lakes Brewing, we were walked through the process, sampled their beers and smelled the scent of their Christmas Ale (which I'm told is amazing) as it cooked.

After learning their process, we sat down to dinner at the brewpub across the street. I quickly settled on the Pulled Pork Sandwich because the BBQ sauce in the sandwich was made with their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, which easily turned out to be a favorite of mine.

The porter has a chocolate, coffee and smoky flavor that when cooked down into a BBQ sauce adds a little sweet and smoke flavor to the sauce.

Cooking the pulled pork in that BBQ sauce made the pork tender and juice as it fell apart in your mouth with a sweet and tangy flavor.

Topped off with a mound of cool and sweet cole slaw, which added a needed textural crunch, this may be one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I've ever had.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. will definitely be a place that I will be visiting in the future on my next trip to Cleveland.

Now if only I can get their beer sent out to Los Angeles...namely that mystical Christmas Ale.

Besides my trip to the Brewery I also was able to tour The Federal Reserve, and catch an Indians game at Progressive Field (Jacobs Field for those die-hards) which was enjoyable. Although Cleveland lost 12-7 against Oakland, it was great to see a game in another city. As a baseball fan, it's also a lot less stressful to watch a game between two teams you're not particular a fan of (though I did buy some Indians merchandise).

I had a sausage sandwich but was actually too hungry at that point and forgot to take a photo of it.

Ah, well.

These two stops were just the first day of my trip to Cleveland, so be sure to come back next week for the second of three stops in the 216.

Until next week...


Pulled Pork Sandwich
***** Stars
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
2516 Market Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
www.greatlakesbrewing.com

Just Follow The Golden Road...To Deliciousness!

Greetings, Readers!

Feelinjg inspired by last week's entry with Tony's Darts Away, I decided to try out another local beer themed locale. This week I stopped by Golden Road Brewing.

Also run by Tony Yanow, this massive micro-brewery opened up on a small stretch of land between train tracks and the I-5 in Atwater Village.

I had been wanting to visit Golden Road when they originally opened late last year, but I my plans were continually thwarted. I had even tried their Golden Road Hef before even stepping into their brewery because of its availability at many local bars (canned, not bottle btw).

Finally making a stop at the brewery this past week, I was not only excited by their enticing beer menu, but after having sampled the food at Tony's Darts Away, I was eager to find a sandwich that would appeal to me here.

It didn't take long to decide on the pulled pork sandwich. The shredded pork was braised in the aforementioned Golden Road Hefeweizen, and stacked high on the bun along with shredded Napa cabbage and whole grain agave mustard on a croissant.

Yes, a croissant.

When I first got my food, I was a bit confused. Maybe I was given the wrong sandwich. I had never been given a pulled pork sandwich on a croissant before, or even anything after breakfast hours, so this was a bit strange.

But did it taste so good.

The buttery, flaky croissant really contrasted amazingly with the sharp mustard and strong flavors from the barbecued pork. The cabbage joined the party and added some crunch to the mix, which was definitely needed to contrast with the soft croissant.

Overall, this may be the best pulled pork sandwich I have ever had. Combine it with some potato salad and two pints of Golden Road's own draft offerings, and you have a delicious meal.

I cannot wait to go back.

Until next week, Readers!



Pulled Pork Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Golden Road Brewery Pub
5410 West San Fernando Road
Los Angeles, CA
www.goldenroad.la