Why does Mikey’s Burger only have two reviews on Yelp? Zero on Menupages. You would think there’d be more customer buzz outside of the PR buzz I’ve seen online. And this new burger joint coming from the mastermind of the Baoguette empire. It doesn’t make sense to me. My curiosity led me to the LES.
Lunch on a weekday. Just two older construction workers eating at the counter. I got the Mikey’s (topped w/ corned beef, onions, pickled mustard seed). They take out a ball of meat and smash it on the hot griddle. Placed on a toasted Martin’s potato roll. For some reason, I was thinking corned beef hash when I ordered it. That’d be an interesting burger topping. But this Mikey’s had just bits of corned beef with the onions. It did come with lettuce, tomato and pickle on the side –and there were bottles of Sriracha cock sauce and spicy ketchup, but I think this burger needed to be left alone as is. It was a good burger for the price ($5.50).
The fries are the star of the show. Crisp and perfectly salted. These also needed to be left alone (sans sauce). $3 for a good portion.
I actually was hoping to try the fried tilapia fish sandwich with caviar, but it’s now off the menu. They said they had trouble using the fryer for both the tempura batter and fries. It’s unfortunate. It looks so good. This is the best photo I can find. There was a more awesome photo that existed, but now it’s lost in cyberspace. I think I just want to try a sandwich/burger with caviar on it. I wish they had the option to put caviar on my burger.
Instead of the tempura tilapia, they plan to put out a veggie and turkey burger soon. I think this week. BTW, the chef’s recommendation is the lamb burger, which does look good.
Now why hasn’t Mikey’s caught on the same way as Baoguette? It has the man behind the plan and the PR machine to back it. I’m in the middle of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. I hope it can shed a few ideas. Maybe all it needs is caviar.
[update: Okay, now there is one review on Menupages. Will this start the tipping point?]
[update2: So the menu slip I took home did say corned beef hash. There’s no comma, so maybe it meant “corned beef, hash onion…”?]
Mikey’s Burger -134 Ludlow St (btw Rivington & Stanton St) New York, NY 10002
Had lunch with Matt and Erica at Shopsin’s in the Essex Street Market. I’ve heard and read the crazy stories about this place. People getting cussed or kicked out for having more than four people or asking too many questions about the huge ass menu. I saw a youtube clip from the documentary, I Like Killing Flies, about the owner/chef Kenny Shopsin and came to the understanding that I should go in, shut my mouth and do as I’m told like he was the Soup Nazi.
It was cold this past Friday during lunch and it wasn’t packed like I’ve seen when I walked by there before. No line/wait. There were two empty tables. I wasn’t sure if we should seat ourselves. Kenny was sitting in a chair in the dining area. I was afraid to ask him. So I stood around looking for the waiter. Then he came and yelled at us that we can’t be standing in the middle (understandably) and to hang out by the wall where there was some foot traffic. The waiter went back to the kitchen and we waited for what seemed like an eternity. It was probably only five mins. We just weren’t sure if he was coming back to seat us or we were just blown off.
We did eventually get seated and got handed this huge menu. There’s some crazy sounding concoctions like Mac ‘n Cheese Pancakes, Taco Fried Chicken and Hot Lunch Sandwiches in a Bowl. I’ve studied the menu at home, read the recommendations on the boards and was still overwhelmed and unsure what to get. I heard the sliders were really good and I noticed on the latest paper menu, they’ve named one of the burger items after Nick Solares (a blogger from Serious Eats who’s reviewed and praised Shopsin’s numerous times). That has to be the ultimate for any food blogger.
A last minute change of mind and ordered the Q3. Moonpie Meatloaf, Ranch Rice & Pork Tamale – Lunch in a Skillet. Mind you, the food is pretty expensive. That was $22 there. It came out quickly, way before Matt’s Po’Girl (fried chicken, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, pesto $16) and Erica’s PIAF (eggs, gruyere sauce, fried onions on toast $14).
I was secretly hoping the Moonpie Meatloaf would have some real Moonpie in it as an ingredient. It didn’t though. It was Moonpie shaped layers of meatloaf sandwiching cheese with gravy smothering on top. It was great. Delicious. The hot sauce (homemade I believe) is excellent over the rice & beans and pork tamale.
Now when does the pork tamale ever come into play other than when you order this particular skillet meal? You can’t order it a la carte. It’s a wonder how they have so many items on the menu, so many soups, so many ingredients they need to have prepped, have it relatively quick to order, be of seemingly fresh ingredients and be delicious. How do they do it? I finally watched the documentary last night. I think it’s mainly Kenny and his daughter cooking back there. I don’t get it. It’s amazing.
Kenny was sitting out in the dining room half of the time. We pretty much went without incident throughout our meal. I snuck a few photos without a problem, unlike this NYTimes reporter. I almost felt a little jipped with what I expected. It’s like going to a Brian Jonestown Massacre concert and they finish their set without any fighting. But as soon as we were finishing up, a large family (a few young children, a few adults and few senior citizens) walked by and Kenny yells at them to go away. “We don’t like tourists!” There, I got my money’s worth.
I have to say, after watching the documentary, I really get a feel for this guy. He’s not a bad person. He means well. It downplays all those crazy diner stories I’ve read. At the end of the meal, I turned around to look at the restaurant. There was a moment where Kenny and I made eye contact. It seemed as if he was checking me out, if I was going to be a problem or something. In the end, I felt like we silently agreed that we were both human beings and to just let it be.
There’s a Free Emporium & Gift Exchange next door to Shopsin’s. Sort of an art exhibition where you can bring in an unused gift that you don’t want in exchange for something that someone else left. Pretty interesting. I asked and apparently there’s no value scale, meaning you can bring in your new iPhone in exchanged for the large Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Bar or vice versa. It’s open through January 9, 2010.
Shopsin’s – 120 Essex St Stall No. 16 (btw Rivington & Delancey St) New York 10002
Crazy hours for most office working folks. Tues-Fri 9am-3pm; Saturday 9am-2pm.
No more than 4 people in a party. Everyone must eat a meal. They can’t accommodate food allergies. No substitutions, additions or ommissions. No Cell Phones.
Watch the Shopsin’s documentary I Like Killing Flies on DVD. Also on Netflix Instant Streaming.
After our show with Anders Manly and Univox, I stumbled into The Three Monkeys wrap restaurant. I asked the guy what his favorite thing is and said the Greek Wrap, which coincidentally is the most expensive one at $8.25 for a regular. I usually don’t like eating wraps especially at this price, but he was right. It was good especially after several beers …and pretty big, like the size of a Chipotle burrito. I wonder how big the large is since it only runs about a dollar more. The two sauces on the table made it even better. The cucumber dill is my favorite. I think I drank half the bottle.
The Three Monkeys – 99 Rivington St (btw Orchard St & Ludlow St) New York, NY 10002
Went to the New Moon art exhibition (interpretations of the Chinese Zodiac) at this cool designer toy shop, My Plastic Heart …to see Emilio‘s piece. Then over to El Sombrero for Mexican. We all got something different, but as you can see they all look pretty much the same. It’s cool. I like it that way –sloppy.
Dinner at this Dominican restaurant in the lower east side, El Castillo De Jagua. I ordered the Mofongo (mashed plantains with pork skin and dipping sauce). The sauce was tomato based with shredded pork meat and potatoes. It was pretty much a soup in itself. I also had the Sancocho soup (a Spanish stew/soup with nice pork chunks). Great affordable food. I’ve read the Cuban sandwich is pretty baddass.
Then off the Living Room to catch my next-door neighbors in Ghost Gamblers and to meet up with friends, which we then got some tacos at San Loco. Me So Full.
Met up with two parts Ape School and two parts Tigers and Monkeys at Pianos for some burgers and Indian-style nachos. Nice Happy Hour special –mostly $5 burgers and $3 beers. I think I shot a music video for Ape School and none of us knew it.
Then after it was definitely time to run across the street where the cab drivers roam at Punjabi. Samosa Chaat and Pakora. The cab driver that picked us up afterwards even chatted us up (or “chaatted” us up) about Indian food. We made plans to hit Jackson Heights for some non-microwaved Indian fast food, but just not that night. Ready to hit the hay …not one moment to blog!
Pianos – 158 Ludlow St (@ Stanton St) New York 10002 Punjabi – 114 E 1st St, NYC 10009 Ape School – myspace
Monday night was a crazy fun. First stopped in for happy hour at Cake shop then went to Adam Lowitt’s comedy night at Pianos. UF represent. Ran into my friend Alex Castle. He makes some funny videos on his site. He suggested getting what he was having …the Red Wine Burger and request some red wine sauce on the fries. That sauce is awesome. So good.
Demetri Martin performed at Adam’s show. This guy’s is going to be huge. He’s going to star in a new Ang Lee movie (I don’t know much about it, but sounds like Brokeback 2) and his new TV series premieres tonight on Comedy Central. A little known fact: I had a bit part on his TV show he made for the BBC years back. I didn’t even know my character had a name until I saw it on IMDB. But they have my name mixed up with another Jason Lam who played Chinese Man #7.
Christa and Jody were still hungry so we went to San Loco. I got the Pork PeePee. It’s spelled Pork Pipian, but I swear it’s pronounced Pork PeePee. At least they understand what I’m talking about every time I say it. I made sure we had stupid sauce.
Then back in the burg for Sam Jayne’s new Monday night Karaoke at Legion. That was a lot of fun. I sang Highway Star with Sam. When I got home, I noticed all this lint on my clothes. I figured it was from the bar. It made me reluctant to go again, but then I realized that no one is making me roll around on the floor.
Pianos – 158 Ludlow St (@ Stanton) NYC 10002 San Loco – 111 Stanton St (Btw Essex & Ludlow St) New York 10002
Legion – 790 Metropolitan Ave (@ Humboldt St) Brooklyn, NY 11211 Demetri Martin’s “Important Things” on Comedy Central – featuring music from friends Elegant Too
, about the owner/chef Kenny Shopsin and came to the understanding that I should go in, shut my mouth and do as I’m told like he was the Soup Nazi.
