Food Porn Friday: Fat Kids are Harder to Kidnap

In college, my fellow swimmers and I used to have this saying, "Fat kids are harder to kidnap".

Think about it...

Needless to say, I still live my life by that motto, hence food porn Friday! Happy Weekending!

xoxo

The Kobe Beef Burger with Zuchinni fries from Burger Bar  in Las Vegas

A Night of Cheap Eats in New York

Traveling for work with my boss always means I get to eat well. However, after 4 days straight (2 in Miami and 2 in New York) of 3 hour long fine dining, I had endured enough and my patience (and stomach) was wearing thin. Now don't get me wrong, the snob in me enjoys fine dining like it's my job, but 4 days in a row... I was in desperate need of street eats- delicious, quick and cheap food.

Answering the call was my best friend's older sister Shu, who recently moved to New York to get her second, yes you read right, second law degree.

On our way to our intended first stop, Xi'an Famous Foods, we got distracted by the Wafles & Dinges truck. Impulsively we decided to do dessert before our main course because apparently, you make rash decisions when you are starving.

Owned and operated by an IBM consultant who traded in his brief case for a waffle iron, the bright yellow Wafels & Dinges Truck offers both sweet and savory options. I, under recommendation from Shu, ordered de throwdown wafel, named after the legendary Throwdown Battle with Chef Bobby Flay. The good folks from Wafels & Dinges came out victorious in case you were wondering.

Topped with a huge mound of whipped cream and smothered generously with speckuloos, de throwndown wafel was warm, delicious and was everything I wanted in an "appetizer." 

The Liege wafel itself was soft and chewy. Additionally, there was a certain denseness and sweetness to the wafel that stood out against the usual crisp Belgian Waffles that I am used too. But what made this wafel great was the little bits of pearl sugar that crystallized on the outside of the waffle, giving it an extra oomph of sweetness and texture. Mmmm. 

Meanwhile the Speckuloos- a Belgian Gingerbread spread- was simply divine. Not too sweet, it paired beautifully with the wafel and hinted subtly of a Graham cracker.

After this minor but very worthwhile sidetrack (which by the way, also included a brief interaction with an African American lady who was on a noble quest to track down and try all the food trucks in NYC), we veered back on path toward Xi'an Famous Foods. 

When we finally arrived at Xi'an Famous Foods, it had a long line out the door. Inside the small 3-table shop, pictures of menu items adorned the wall, as if we were in a foreign country and needed pictorial guides. Despite the crowd, luck was with us and we snagged a table as soon as we entered the door. 

Well... it wasn't so much luck as it was me pushing my way forward and surging for the empty table before this meek little Asian girl had a chance to blink. It wasn't even a competition, searching for tables at busy hawker centers in Singapore has me well trained. 

While I guarded our precious table, I let Shu do the ordering. First up to bat, the Mount Qi Pork Hand-pulled (aka La Mian) Noodles. 

I die. There is nothing else I can say.

Well not really, but I thought those two words would adequately convey my feelings for this dish. The freshly made noodles were perfectly pulled/slapped/stretched/ flapped and... well whatever technical magic that goes into making La Mian. With the right amount of chew and texture to it, these noodles had such a luciously rich mouthfeel to it. I'm drooling now just thinking about them. Furthermore, the thing about hand-pulled noodles that I love is not only the amazing texture but the beautifully flawed inconsistency in their size and shape.They are living proof that imperfection is interesting. And delicious!

Besides the heavenly noodles, the pork topping was sour, spicy and tingly all at the same time! The divine combination of the chewy noodles and flavorful pork really made my taste buds howl in delight! If you are looking for a deeply satisfying meal, the Mount Qi Hand-pulled noodles from Xi'an's is the way to go.

Having shared the noodles, Shu also thought it wise to order the savory cumin lamb burger. Now I don't usually include prices in my blog reviews, but I would be doing everyone a disservice if I did not tell you that this lovely lamb burger only cost $2.50! 

Price aside, let me tell you more about this lamb burger. The only similarities that the lamb burger has with a regular burger is in its size, which is roughly the same. But that is where the similarities end. 

Instead of a meat patty, this burger has chunks of smokey cumin coated lamb that are sauteed with jalapenos, onions, and scallions. The lamb is then stuffed into a hard, crispy-warm bun that is more like a toasted English muffin. Similar to a Hamburger or not, this lamb burger is deeply aromatic and fragrant and tasted like nothing out of any Asian eatery I know. 

Stuffed and deeply satisfied, we wandered the streets of New York (where we actually made a quick pit stop for an Australian Meat Pie) for a while before heading back to Shu's gorgeous new home. 

Later that night, and yes, with the Phua's there is always a later that night ;), we found ourselves at Pomme Frites looking to satisfy our late night hankering for fries. 

Another "Hole in the Wall", Pomme Frites serves just fries and a multitude of dipping sauces. We shared a large order of the Belgian fries with the following sauces and garnishes to compliment them: Ketchup, especial (frite sauce, ketchup and raw onions), frites sauce (traditional European mayo) and a horseradish mayo. 

Freshly cut and fried in a giant vat, the fries were hot and sinfully crispy on the outside, while mealy on the inside. They were the perfect vehicle for the myriad of sauces we ordered, and the perfect late-night snack.

Details:

Wafels & Dinges

Xi'an Famous Foods

81st Mark's Place

New York, NY 10003

Pommes Frites

123 Second Ave

New York, NY 10003

212-674-1234

The Counter

My previous roommate was the first person to introduce me to The Counter. She told me the sweet fries were to die for (picture this wide-eyed 5'3 Japanese girl declaring, in her Japanese accent, "Niiic we habe to go to The Counterr"). And so we went, we ate and we conquered. She wasn't lying, the sweet fries were good.

That was at least 2 years ago and even though The Counter's sweet potato fries were delicious, I haven't been back there since then. It's not that I didn't like my food, it was more that there are other (sometimes better) burger options closer to home. Anyway the other Wednesday night, motivated by a buy one burger get one free coupon (I'm a straight out of college recessionista!), my friend and I made plans to dine there.

For those of you who don't know, The Counter is a build-your-own-burger joint and so the possibilities are endless and in my opinion, slightly overwhelming. I'm extremely indecisive, therefore decisions and limitless options are just a nightmare. In fact, I think that's kind of why I like Father's Office since they refuse to let you make any sort of adjustment to your burger order (and of course the minor detail that their burgers are like a party in your mouth).

Anyway after much hmm-ing and umm-ing, I settled on ordering a turkey burger on an english muffin topped with sprouts, cucumbers, organic lettuce and grilled onions with a side of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. And of course a full order of french fries and sweet potato fries to split.

The order of fries (both sweet and regular) came in generous portions. I guess each order was already sized for sharing. Oopsie. But I am not going to lie, I am not the slightest bit embarrassed to admit that between my friend and I, we polished off both orders. What can I say, fries are my Kryptonite.

Served with a side of horseradish mayo, the sweet potato fries were just as delicious as I remember them! Cut to the perfect size (not too thin and wimpy, and not too thick and wedgy), each fry was deliciously crunchy and comforting. My guess is that they double fry them at different temperatures in order to get the inside and outside crispy. Meanwhile, the french fries were just alright. They were cut to the shoestring variety and my one complaint about shoestring fries is that you literally have to grab 6-10 fries at a go just to get the right amount of fry per mouthful ratio! In other words, shoestring fries make me look like I am stuffing my face, which I most probably already am but at least normal cut fries don't emphasize the fact.

As for my turkey burger, I must say that I've never had a burger on an english muffin (I am more of a traditionalist when it comes to buns) but the english muffin was a great option as it provided a harder alternative to a the normally soft pillowy bun. My burger was tender and juicy; and I loved the sprouts and cucumbers. While everything was great, the star of my burger was definitely the grilled onions. Caramelized to perfection, I found myself picking out the sublimely sweet onions from the burger just to enjoy them separately. Mmmm...

Details:

The Counter

2901 Ocean Park Blvd

Santa Monica, CA 90405

310 399 8383