#shopsin

- Kenny Shopsin

I’m in the middle of reading a book.  The book was given to me by my friend Dave, who for the few weeks before heading out on a three month trip to Europe has been staying on my couch (really how I got the book is immaterial, but it seemed like a good way to introduce what would otherwise have been a boring paragraph).  The Book is titled Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin.

Kenny Shopsin is crazy.  I’m sure he would volunteer that, so I don’t feel too awful writing that about him.  Kenny is also brilliant (I submit as evidence this mention of Alain Ducasse, legendary French chef, loving his food: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12food-t.html).  If you want to know about his restaurant, read that article.  I’m talking about the book.  Focus.

When Dave gave me Eat Me, I flipped around and read some of the recipes.  I kept that up for about two hours.  In between bits of brilliant cooking are lines like “as far as I’m concerned, bread and garlic are the essence of life” and “[it] has a nice, fluffy texture to it, like nipples when you suck on them” (both quotes, incidentally, are from the same paragraph- pg. 135).  Basically, this book is amazing and hysterical.

Kenny’s Brilliance Exhibit B: pg. 90, which recounts the history and recipe for Mac n Cheese Pancakes.  In case you chose not to double back and read that again [you lazy bastard], I’ll repeat: Mac n Cheese Pancakes.  Allow a moment for that to sink in.

The recipe is simple.  1- Make pancakes.  2- Before you flip them, put cooked macaroni on top, followed by shredded cheddar.  3- Flip.  Serve with maple syrup and hot sauce.  The link above has a more in depth recipe, which the diligent among you may have seen by now.  If you need any more instruction, I think there’s a video on there also. 

I’m going to ask you a favor now, which will take a little more willpower for some of you than others.  Whatever you thought about my description, try it.  Don’t leave out the syrup or hot sauce. 

The other night, I wasn't feeling up to cooking. So I decided to see what treats might be in store for me in Chelsea Market. I headed over to Dickson's Farmstand and went for the 80/20 burger. They stopped offering this treat last fall just when I was ready to pop my burger cherry. I had been eyeing it for a week or two once they put it back in the meat case and knew this was what was for dinner.

I am a creature of habit. I will hear something once, then assume it will always mean or refer to the same thing, like with Sweet Breads for example. Prior to that fateful night a few fall's ago at Essex & Delancy, my only contact with anything called sweet bread was some sort of doughy bread that was sweet, like Mallorca Sweet Bread from Puerto Rico (or some Starbucks, so odd!) or Mexican Sweet Bread. So yes, I was a bit confused how it fit into the dish, but I dove right in. Right into a calves pituitary gland. I've never been the same since.

I'd heard of an 80/20 burger before, and it meant 80% lean, which is ideal for a burger according to one of my hero's, Kenny Shopsin:

So I got three since we were having Frankie over for dinner.

Gorgeous... Each one weighs 1/2 lb and they are only $5 each. I snagged a nice square piece of NY Cheddar from The Manhattan Fruit Exchange and some soft sandwich buns from Amy's Breads. I like to get a nice square piece so I can cut my own cheddar slices. I hate that crap from Kraft.

When I tossed those bad boys on my very hot iron skillet, I realized something special about these burgers. These were not the burgers Kenny was talking about, not by a long shot. If we has smell-o-vision, you'd be able to get the full picture of what I was experiencing. A slight smokey, porky accent to the beefy mist coming from the burgers hinted that once again, I was dead wrong.

80% grass fed beef, 20% smoked pork belly (aka bacon)

I found that these needed about 6 minutes a side for medium rare. They were on the thick side and I held back from pressing down on them like a Diner cook. Once flipped, I put a slice of cheddar on each burger. I prepped the rolls with some amazing honey balsamic mustard that I also picked up at Dickson's. Tossed down a few slices of avocado on top, then smothered that with the burger.

Finish it off with a thick slice and a side of roasted potatoes. Sinful, delicious, worth every calorie!