5 Napkin Burger's New Menu Upgrade

Image by 5 Napkin Burger

One of my all time burger faves in Astoria, 5 Napkin Burger never ceases to impress me with how they always keep things fresh and interesting for their patrons.  Not only are they experts in juicy, succulent and creative burgers, but now they're expanding their menu to new items, which are conducive to sharing, being that they're technically small plates.  

There are several categories of the new menu items including all American snacks, sushi and additional cocktails too.  Here's a little taste of what you can expect, as of today.

Wasabi deviled eggs with siracha
Warm Bavarian pretzel sticks with cheese fondue
Pimento cheese potato skins (pictured above)
Pesto flatbread
Crispy fried calamari
5 Napkin tacos with chipotle chicken, pulled pork, chipotle tofu, carne asada, grilled mahi or tempura shrimp

Maki rolls, including spicy tuna-cucumber, California crab, vegetable - avocado and spicy yellowtail

Triple roasted pineapple margarita, with Hornitos Reposada tequila
5 Napkin classic margarita, made with El Jimador Silver and citrus
Tecate michelada, with Frank's red hot and salt
Diablo agave, with Tanteo jalapeno tequila, cucumber and citrus

5 Napkin Burger - 35-01 36th Street, Astoria, NY 11106 
718.433.2727
N/Q Train to 36th Avenue
5napkinburger.com 

Bacon Deviled Eggs - A Smoky Football Treat

As football mania continues with the Giants’ big win last week, I’ve been experimenting with fun football treats that I’ve been trying out on friends and family. Last week’s was a creative rendition of deviled eggs, which were made with sinful, smoky bacon bits inside the egg filling and on top too.

I got the idea to do this from an article in this month’s Bon Appetit that highlighted many non-traditional ways to make a deviled egg. The bacon option really appealed to me, especially since I’ve been on a bacon kick lately (i.e. did you see my chocolate chip bacon pancakes?).

Broiling off some really good quality bacon, I got it nice and crisp, then let it cool down and cut it up into little chunks. This then got mixed in with the egg yolk filling, together with some creamy mayo and also the super flavorful bacon drippings that I saved for myself. As you can tell from the picture, the overall effect looked vibrant and appetizing, and my guests were pretty happy with it too. I stuffed the eggs in a rustic fashion, simply by using a spoon instead of a fancy piping technique, and it definitely fit the occasion.

Hope you have fun experimenting too, and do let me know about the different combinations you come up with.

Bacon Deviled Eggs (serves 6)
Ingredients:
12 eggs, hard boiled
3 tbs of mayonnaise
2 tsp of grain mustard or Dijon mustard
3 - 4 pieces of organic bacon, broiled
Handful of parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 or set to broil.  Place bacon on a lined baking sheet and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.  Chop into small pieces and reserve about 1/4 of it for the topping.  Strain bacon drippings into a small bowl.

Place eggs in a large saucepan, add water to cover by 1".  Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain.  Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely, about 10 minutes; peel.  Halve lengthwise and remove yolks.

Finely mash reserved yolks, bacon fat, mayonnaise and mustard in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper, but use the salt sparingly.

Take a spoon and scoop out the filling into each egg in a rustic fashion.  Top with the remainder of the bacon and the chopped parsley. 

Recipe adopted from Bon Appetit, February 2012 issue

Grafton Street - Reinventing the Boston Pub

Grafton Street - 1230 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138

617.497.0400

Red Line T to Harvard Square

www.graftonstreetcambridge.com

I was originally looking forward to trying Boston's trendy South End eateries but when that didn't materialize, we opted for a trusty standby--good ol' pub food. We ended up at Grafton Street in Cambridge, which is a modern take on old fashioned pub grub. We were pleasantly surprised by the supple menu and everyone had a chance to try something different.

Atmosphere:

Grafton Street looks and feels like a cross between a modern chain restaurant and a pub--the lighting is dim, the wall decor is whimsical and the atmosphere is social. The space is pretty extensive and they're great at accommodating larger groups. Our party of six was able to sit comfortably at a semi-private area set off from the other tables--there was even a retractable curtain to give us extra privacy. A cool centerpiece that we all admired was the oversized lamp, positioned directly above our table--it was definitely a show-stopper that seemed inspired by Asian culture. A bit out of place I thought but nonetheless cool and different.

Food:

The menu offered a lot of variety and we all took advantage of it, as everyone ordered something different. Some dishes were expected staples (Fish and Chips, Cobb Salad) but others were inventive and surprising (Deviled eggs 4 ways, Atlantic Salmon Pizza). Here is a sampling of our diverse dinner:

Deviled Eggs 4 Ways: This was one of our starters and we chose it because it presented an unusual spin on a classic dish. The four variations included grilled tuna, queen olives, chives and olive tapenade. In all of these, the yolk was luxuriously creamy and my favorite variation was the tuna--a). because I've never had it before and b). because it had a delicious smoky taste.

One Perfect Cheese: Another unexpected starter, this one was an embellished cheese platter. Warm crusty bread was the centerpiece, surrounded by four corners of toppings--cheese, honey, an assortment of toasted nuts and dried apricots. While this plate was incredibly simple, stacking all four toppings on the bread made it come to life. The best part was drizzling the honey on the nuts and cheese--a decadent treat.

Atlantic Salmon Flatbread Pizza: This combination was quite different from a traditional pizza and included grilled salmon bits, dill havarti, shaved red onions, horseradish cream and capers. The only pizza-esque thing about it was the crust! I enjoyed it immensely because of its crunchy (not greasy) dough. The horseradish sauce was creamy and surprisingly gentle--it awakened my senses in a pleasant way. I know that salmon could sometimes be overcooked and fishy but this one was super light and grilled so well that I was able to eat most of my portion.

Other Dishes: Some of the other entrees that were devoured included Peter's Sweet Potato Agnoloti (pirogy shaped pasta filled with sweet potato and topped with bacon, brown butter, lemon and baby arugula), Fiana's Butternut Squash Risotto (topped with cranberry jam, sage and pecorino), Mami's Roast Half Chicken (with grilled Brussels sprouts and potato puree), Oci's Fish and Chips (beer battered cod with house cured steak fries, spicy tartar sauce and coleslaw) and Ida's Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad (with all the traditional fixins). While I tried almost all of these, my favorite was Peter's pasta dish. It tasted like dessert from the sweet potato and the thick bacon was spectacular.

Service and Cost:
Our waitress was a young college student, I presume. She was bubbly and knowledgeable and knew when to probe us and when to leave us alone. Our dishes were nicely spaced out between the starters--I hate it when the main course comes right after you finish your apps.

Dining here is very affordable, given the large portions and the quality of food. Appetizers range from $5.95-$13.95, entrees from $7.95-$18.95 and dessert from $6.75-$7.95. They also brew a variety of fresh teas from Irish Breakfast to China Green--all teas are $3. Your wallet will not suffer when dining here, especially with large groups.

2 Mmmms