A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All – Part 5 – Gus’s Drive In & Olvera Street

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Rev

A Week In the Life of The Grill ‘Em All Truck
http://grillemalltruck.com
PART 5

I recently went out to LA to spend a full week in the burger trenches with Matt, Ryan and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck staff, seeing what it’s like first hand to be a real Grill ‘Em All Ghoul.

Gus’s Drive In
http://www.yelp.com/biz/guss-drive-in-los-angeles
1657 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017

THE CONQUEST

On the 7th day God rested and so did the Beastie’s. Sunday is Grill ‘Em All’s day to rest up for a week full of burger crushing. Both the Beast and Son of Beast have the day off to rest in the commissary while Chef Ryan, Matt and the rest of the crew enjoy a burger free day of rest…unless I am in town. Sunday was the one day where Matt, Ryan and I could have a big ole bro hang without having to run around taking care of business.  That morning, Matt awoke to a fine Sunday morning breakfast feast I picked up and brought to his house.

In between the glitz of Hollywood and the hip hang outs of Downtown Los Angeles is the neighborhood of Westlake. It’s some what of a residential no mans land located near MacArthur Park in an area that in the 1920s used to be a home to the city’s affluent. By the 1960s nearly all of its Caucasian population had fled the area making way for a large in flux of Korean, Filipino, Mexican, Salvadorean & Guatemalan people. Modern apartments were created from the once elegant mansions, now subdivided to hold more residents.

It’s an area of town that doesn’t boast any fancy restaurants or many of them at all. Other than a few scattered fast food chains and few take out spots, there really isn’t a lot to choose from. But there is Gus’s Drive In, located just a few blocks off both of the 101 and the Harbor Freeway on 3rd Street. Gus’s is a classic short order diner complete with patio, dining room and as in its namesake, a drive-thru. They offer fresh, fast and quality food with a friendly smile. Their menu offers a selection of breakfast items including everything from omelets to breakfast burritos as well as salads, sandwiches, Latin cuisine, crispy chicken, dinner plates and of course, burgers!

THE BURGER
My intention was to pick up some breakfast burritos as in my opinion, no trip to LA is complete with out properly made breakfast burritos but something else caught my eye. A list of 13 different burgers, several of which were recommended on various food review sites I had been checking out. Thus the Grill Em All no burger Sunday mandate was broken.

Gus’s 1/4 cheese burger is a classic California style flat patty with 1000 Island dressing and lettuce served on a sesame seed bun. If you’re in the mood for the type of burger that defines the style, this is your burger. You could go to one of the many LA burger chains but why not try something local, fresh and in my opinion, better. Gus’s uses just a little bit of the tangy sauce so as to not let the griddled beef patty win the taste war. A thin slice of cheese balances out what I consider a damn good fast-food style burger.

After Matt and I tore through a burger to split we moved onto the reason for the seasoning, a breakfast burrito with chorizo, beans, cheese and home fries. If you want a properly done breakfast burrito, you have to hit a taco stand or a place like Gus’s. Anything fancier won’t do and anything from a chain just won’t get close. The huge and greasy breakfast burrito was pretty damn good although a little heavy on the beans. I’d suggest Gus’s burrito, with bacon, ham & sausage, as the way to go. Take a quick trip to Gus’s pepper and salsa bar to top your burrito and you are good to grub.

It’s a pretty standard menu without a lot of surprises other than one, which you have no choice, you must get; Pastrami Chili Cheese Fries. Go ahead and re-read that, it’s not a type-o! Gus’s takes their long cut crispy, golden fries and tops them with a non bean coney style chili thats heavy on a tangy tomato base. Thin strips of cheese are melted a top as well as thinly sliced pastrami. Wow! It almost acts like a bacon but gives the dish a very unique taste. Be warned, the portion is INTENSE. This is withoutadoubt a reason to stop-by, dine or Drive-In!


7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev



Olvera Street
http://www.olvera-street.com

Matt and I headed downtown to grab Ryan from the train before our afternoon beer drinking session and they decided to show me a little local color. Right across from the downtown train hub is Olvera Street. It’s also known as El Pueblo Historic Monument and houses 27 historic buildings built to resemble a shopping plaza in Mexico. The original Pueblo was built in 1781 and now houses a number of outdoor cafes, taco stands, entertainers merchants and vendors selling all kinds of Mexican goods and souvenirs. Olvera Street has no entrance fee and is open daily from 10 am until 7 pm. Matt, Ryan and I took a stroll through the entire area, spending a significant amount of time looking at lucha libre masks, acting like 11 years old’s exclaiming “oh! That one is cool!”



Jan. 23, 2011

THE BURGERCOUNTQUEST
330 Burgers

The next day was filled with meetings and a random Paris Hilton sighting (I swear she was eyeballing my bacon hash) while I was having lunch with Thrillist LA and with that, a week with 2 of my favorite bros on the planet came to end.

We crushed some burgs, drank up some beers and had a ton of laughs. I got a deep inside look at what it takes to make the burgers that get crushed by you Ghouls and am completely impressed what these two native Clevelanders have built into a really awesome business. I met some cool people, found some cool new bars and put together the world’s first BanHemoth. We decided to end my trip in proper fashion, throwin’ back some beers on the patio at the world famous Rainbow Bar and Grill.Where rockers from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today still gather to drink, eat and act like it’s still 1984.

Cheers gents. TAKE IT TO THE FACE!

The matching shirts and colors were completely unintentional and in no way a show of support for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jan. 24, 2011

Part 1 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – The Other Door
Part 2 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Charlie’s Fixtures, Philippe’s & Verdugo Bar
Part 3 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Century Media & The Anvil
Part 4 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Grill Nom All & The BanHemoth

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A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All – Part 4 – The BanHemoth

Posted on 02/05/2011 by Rev

A Week In the Life of The Grill ‘Em All Truck
http://grillemalltruck.com
PART 4

I recently went out to LA to spend a full week in the burger trenches with Matt, Ryan and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck staff, seeing what it’s like first hand to be a real Grill ‘Em All Ghoul.

If you’ve been following along like a good Ghoul, you’ve seen my photo-graphical tours of the Grill ‘Em All’s Beast and Son of Beast trucks as well as their regular gigs at The Other Door and Verdugo Bar. I’ve also given you a look at the commissary where the Beastie’s rest at night, where they buy their kitchen equipment and Century Media Records, the not so secret location where Grill ‘Em All shot the episode of “Food Wars.” In fact, you’ve kind of seen everything but the hole in the wall where the boys can see it all. Which in this case is, the Grill ‘Em All prep kitchen.

While there most certainly was a day and time when all prep happened right on board the Beast, with 2 trucks now on the road and the overwhelming demand for more and more tasty burgers, it just isn’t possible anymore. For Grill ‘Em All to be able to accommodate the needs of the burger obsessed, they have to prep at a kitchen. It ensures that not only they can serve more than enough food but also so the truck can be open quicker and putting good food into the hands of hungry ghouls.

So what does get done in the prep kitchen, well besides Anthony making funny faces? That’s where the Grill ‘Em All signature Grandma’s Mosh Pit BBQ sauce is made along with their chipotle ketchup and garlic aioli. It’s also where they cut the frites that will soon be double dipped and served underneath duck confit poutine with mozzarella cheese curds and white truffle gravy. As for those toppings, they were conceived in this prep kitchen. Kenny Smith’s bacon aioli dipping sauce? Also a product of having a professional kitchen where mixes can be made and re-made until they are just right and ready to serve.

Once the frites are cut, the sauce bottles are filled, the veggies are prepped and the beast’s are gassed up, ready to serve, then what? It’s loading time. The trucks pull up to the prep kitchen are loaded with toppings, patties, buns, sodas, ice, water and of course Grill ‘Em All merchandise (which can also be ordered from their online store.)

GRILL NOM ALL IV!
The Other Door Bar
http://www.theotherdoorbar.com
10437 Burbank Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601

The Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race” was a massive TV sensation that pit 7 food trucks in competition against each other in a cross country adventure to see which of them could sell the most food. In the final battle of the “Great Food Truck Race,” LA’s Nom Nom Truck, specializing in Vietnamese Banh-Mi sandwiches lost to the Grill ‘Em All Truck in the streets of NYC. Over the course of the 7 week shoot, the 2 trucks grew a lot of respect for one another and became great friends. When they finally returned to their mutual home of LA, they cleaned up, re-stocked and went out to roll a dual truck service aptly named; GRILL NOM ALL!

At this momentous food occasion, both trucks pull up to the same spot to serve their signature dishes. Unlike the TV show, there is now however NO competition. Just two of the most famous food trucks in the world selling good food to the people. On this Saturday in particular, the 2 trucks booked a spot at The Other Door in North Hollywood to put on the 4th edition of GRILL NOM ALL!!

An advantage to teaming up with The Other Door for such a raging event was the ability for both trucks to pair their food with drinks. For Grill ‘Em All’s burgers, they paired with The Other Door’s signature shot, The Grand Slam! It’s a double glass mixture of orange juice, Jameson and butterscotch liquor while the Nom Nom’s their Banh-Mi’s with Hitachino White Beer and the their iced tea with a habanero vodka shot.

The lines started up around 11 am, an hour before the event was to start and lasted throughout the entire service until the trucks had to close up shop at 5 pm. It was a long and exhausting, yet very exciting day with a ton of great food.

Get a 360 view of the madness and a little commentary from “the world’s most socially connected burger blogger” from this video:

But that’s not all!! With all the friendly vibes happening between Grill ‘Em All and the Nommers, the event was a total success. We had thrown out a couple ideas about having Chef Ryan and Jennifer from Nom Nom face off in a cooking competition or create some sort of food item. However, the difficulty of small cooking and prep space plus the never-ending line of hungry people prevented it from becoming a reality. That’s when I took matters into my own hands and created…

THE BANHEMOTH

Yup. I did exactly what you think I did. I took a Nom Nom pork banh mi sandwich and combined with the Grill ‘Em All Truck’s famous Behemoth burger. Both sandwiches unto themselves are more than enough to feed a small family so I knew this was not going to be an easy challenge.

How to build your own BanHemoth

1. Get one of each sandwich from each truck.

Nom Nom Truck Pork Banh Mi – Bánh mì consists of a Vietnamese baguette made with both wheat and rice flour, with a layer of buttery mayonnaise, pâté, freshly sliced cucumber, jalapenos, topped with honey grilled pork,  along with thinly sliced pickled carrots and daikon (do chua), and fresh cilantro.

Grill ‘Em All Truck Behemoth – 2 Texas Toast grilled cheese sandwiches, cheddar cheese, bacon, beer soaked onions, pickles Grandma’s Mosh Pit BBQ Sauce and a 7 oz burger patty cooked medium rare.

2. Remove one of the grilled cheeses from the Behemoth. Place the pickled Banh Mu vegetables on top of one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.

3. Place the Grill ‘Em All burger patty on top of the Banh Mi vegetables. Then take the honey grilled pork from the Banh Mi and carefully place it a top the burger patty. It’s a lot of food so go slow and place it carefully.

4. Take the other grilled cheese sandwich and place it on top of the entire thing.

5. TAKE IT TO THE FACE

The Behemoth is a savory explosion of meat, cheese and bacon while the Banh Mi is a lighter and sweeter concoction. Together, the two flavor palettes created something absolutely amazing. What I thought really drew them together were the pickled jalapenos from the Nom Nom Banh Mi and the Grandma’s Mosh Pit BBQ from Grill ‘Em All. I almost would venture to say that deep fried jalapenos with BBQ dipping sauce could be it’s own side item!

I won’t lie, this was a monster of a challenge but once I started, there was no stopping. There was no possible acceptable outcome other than to eat the entire BANHEMOTH. What made it just a little easier, not only are both sandwiches absolutely fantastic on their own but once combined, even more amazing. There was also the added pressure of being watched by Chef Ryan and Jennifer waiting to see what would happen.

The Grill Nom All BanHemoth was truly one of the most fantastic, interesting, delicious and hardest to eat sandwiches I have ever had. I was off kilter for the rest of the evening, having trouble talking, walking and thinking but you know what, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. I would absolutely do it again but heavily suggest sharing it with a friend…or 7!

Jan. 22, 2011

THE BURGERCOUNTQUEST
329 Burgers

Part 1 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – The Other Door
Part 2 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Charlie’s Fixtures, Philippe’s & Verdugo Bar
Part 3 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Century Media & The Anvil

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A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All – Part 3 – Century Media

Posted on 02/02/2011 by Rev

A Week In the Life of The Grill ‘Em All Truck
http://grillemalltruck.com
PART 3

I recently went out to LA to spend a full week in the burger trenches with Matt, Ryan and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck staff, seeing what it’s like first hand to be a real Grill ‘Em All Ghoul.

The Commissary

It’s easy to think the Beast and Son of Beast are self contained units where all the cooking is done and when the day is over, it just gets parked in a driveway where it quietly rests before heading out the next morning for further burger domination. But it just ain’t that easy! First of all, there are legal issues in parking commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods. Also, the trucks need to be cleaned every day, inside and out. This not only ensures a higher quality product but also the California restaurant rating system is now applicable to food trucks. That’s not really a huge concern for Grill ‘Em All as they already adhere to the highest of cleanliness and quality standards but it is very important to them. On top of the parking and cleanliness, trucks also need refueling of oil, gas & propane. These are the natural resources behind burger domination. But what else? Grocery supplies are needed to put burgers in your face. With so many needs in the daily operation, the necessity for one stop shopping is key to the operation. How do they do it? The commissary.

At the end of a long day crushing burgers on the streets of LA, The Beast and the Son of Beast park themselves up in a commissary. It’s the shopping mall of the food truck world. There the trucks can rest peacefully and safe in the gated and supervised lot. They get washed, taken care of and there’s even a grocery supply store where trucks can get the essentials. In fact, most trucks get all of their supplies from the warehouse, but the Grill ‘Em All Truck is not most truck. To make such high end and quality food, they get key items, like meat, cheese and buns from hand chosen, high marked supplies. But things like water, soda and, as the guys call it, “Behemoth bread” are purchased from the commissary.

Seeing the commissary for me was the equivalent of walking into a practice space full of bands. Instead of stored gear, it’s trucks and instead of dozens of bands stringing up guitars, it’s dozens of LA’s most popular food trucks getting street ready. As a reformed geek, I had to say, it was really, really cool to be walking amongst the vehicular spectacles of LA’s ever growing food truck community.

Century Media Records
http://centurymedia.com/us

Once the trucks are loaded and ready to rock, they hit the highways and head off into South Cali to bring food to the Ghouls. Today’s mission, a lunch service at Century Media Records in Hawthorne, CA. The folks at Century Media have been huge supporters of Grill ‘Em All from their very first days as a business. Time and time again, they have had successful and fun lunch services at the label’s US headquarters. In fact, the first segment of the episode of “Food Wars” that featured Grill ‘Em All, was filmed in Century Media’s parking lot!

Check it out! FYI – That’s yours truly in the smart looking hat with the Burger Conquest logo sticking out of it, like I am some kind of 1950s newsie.

Century Media Records took like in 1998 when German thrash metal front man, Robert Kampf, decided to self-release his band Despair’s first album. From their a legacy was born and the label has expanded into several territories bolstering the careers of metal stalwarts like Shadows Fall, Lacuna Coil, Stuck Mojo, Iced Earth, Unleashed, In This Moment, Samael, Eyehategod, Strapping Young Lad, Arch Enemy and many, many, many more of your favorite metal bands.

Seeing as how I gave you a tour of the Beast in my last post, I thought it was only fair and appropriate to give you a photo-graphical look into Son of Beast. Be sure to take notice of the service-necessary dashboard items. Recognize the CD? That’s from the super-mega-rad bad Holy Grail. They provided the theme music to the Grill ‘Em All “Victory Lap” show.

Once the Son of Beast crew were set up and ready to rock, it was time to feed Century Media and all the locals that turned up to crush burgers. Today’s special, THE ANVIL; Duck confit poutine, mozzarella cheese curds & white truffle gravy on top of double dipped frites topped with duck skin cracklins and with a side bacon aioli dipping sauce. Take a moment and re-read that again, Duck confit poutine, mozzarella cheese curds & white truffle gravy on top of double dipped frites topped with duck skin cracklins and with a side bacon aioli dipping sauce…SERVED FROM A FOOD TRUCK!!

Holy Moses, no, Holy Grail!!! This is perhaps the most gourmet oriented and intense item served by any food truck on the streets. The preparation involved including acquiring the specialized ingredients are no small feat to concoct. If that doesn’t show that Ryan Harkins has earned the title of “Chef” no amount of 30 minute meal recipes or repetitions of the word “BAM!” will! How were they you ask? Deerrrrrr…AMAZING! The thick gravy is made only thicker by the melted cheese curds while the frites create a sturdy bed ala Huck Finn’s log raft. Are the cracklins necessary? Hell no and neither is the bacon aioli but why the hell not? Ghouls like it hard, heavy, intense and IN THE FACE!!

The Anvil is the Conan the Barbarian of French fries. Its Thick, dangerous, intense and brings about the lamentations of the women. Preparing to eat this requires war planning.

Jan. 21, 2011

Part 1 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – The Other Door
Part 2 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck – Charlie’s Fixtures, Philippe’s & Verdugo Bar

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A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All – Part 2 – Charlie’s Fixtures, Philippe’s & Verdugo Bar

Posted on 01/31/2011 by Rev

A Week In the Life of The Grill ‘Em All Truck
http://grillemalltruck.com
PART 2

I recently went out to LA to spend a full week in the burger trenches with Matt, Ryan and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck staff, seeing what it’s like first hand to be a real Grill ‘Em All Ghoul.

Charlie’s Fixtures
http://www.charliesfixtures.com
2251 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90006

Remember that feeling of waking up on Christmas morning to find gads and gads of presents under the tree with your name on them? The level of excitement achieved is a life defining moment. For the rest of your life, you will never feel that way again but you’ll try as hard as you can to somehow get a little goose bump covered slice of that sensation. I can only imagine how much fun a parent has watching their kid work up that much glee. While I don’t have an ankle biter of my own to taste just such an experience, but I do have Chef Ryan Harkins.

On my 2nd day in LA hanging out with the Grill ‘Em All guys, I accompanied them to Charlie’s Fixtures. At this point, they’ve been open more than 20 years and are one of the largest restaurant fixtures and equipment supply stores in Southern California. Owned by Charles Lao, who was raised in the Philippines where he earned a college degree in mechanical engineering. After moving to LA, Charlie studied the food service business for years working for an equipment dealer. In 1989, Charlie’s Fixtures opened and has become THE go to spot for cooking and restaurant supplies in SoCal. They carry everything from kitchen, janitorial, fixtures, tabletop, large and small cooking equipment and much, much more. Sound familiar? It’s a foodie haven and been featured on numerous TV shows. Watching Ryan walk into the place gave me a vision of a child’s Christmas morning.

While my culinary training extends as far as a bus boy for a restaurant in my hometown and 2 different fast food restaurants, but I could still see why all the hullabaloo. From knives to brushes to wash tubs to flat top griddles to sauce guns, this place is a restaurateurs cookware nirvana. My favorite part, the GIGANTIC whisks that looked more like Nomadic battle scepters. These are clearly the most HEAVY METAL-esque item available in fine cookware. “Fear not fair Maiden, I will smote thee whipped concoction with my whisk of steel.” Thankfully Matt was able to keep “the kids” on a short leash to keep us on the mission of getting kitchen supplies.

Philippe’s
http://www.philippes.com
1001 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

When the idea of lunch came about, I throughout a suggestion; Philippe’s, one of my FAVORITE places to eat in all of California. My idea was met with a “OH HELL YEAH” and the car was pointed down town, filled with 3 dudes looking to stuff their faces with dripping meat.

Philippe’s opened just after the turn of the century, in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu. His claim to fame? Inventing the “French Dipped Sandwich.” Like all great food creations, it started by accident when Philippe accidentally dropped the French roll, intended to hold thinly sliced beef, into a roasting pan. The customer, a cop, asked to have the sandwich regardless and thus was born a new revolution in sandwiches, “au jus”. Philippe sold the restaurant in 1927 and it stayed there until 1951. The construction of the 101 Highway forced a move, landing the restaurant into it’s current two-story location in downtown Los Angeles.

Inside you’ll find long lines of people, all queued up for the same thing, a bite of hot, juicy sandwich history. Get in a line, peruse the menu and be ready to order when it’s your time at the counter. It’s a busy place and although the menu is large, you really only need to know one thing, get a dipped sandwich but do NOT exceed more than double dip. A triple dip will leave you with an extremely soggy mess. If that’s how you like it, you might as well just get soup. Choose from beef, pork, ham, lamb or turkey and pair with a selection of delicious sides. Your order will be up soon and you can gather around one of the family style picnic tables to enjoy. Do NOT skip out on the house made mustard, it’s amazing but be warned, not only is it addictive, it’s hotter than the surface of the sun!

Matt and Ryan’s eyes were clearly bigger than their stomachs when they ordered 3 sandwiches, 5 different sides & sodas. Me, I kept it simple, a beef sandwich, double dipped  and small bowl of chili on the side with a house made lemonade to wash it down. Detroit natives will under it when I say the tasty Philippe chili tastes like our beloved coney chili. It’s a not-to-thick concoction made without beans that is savory, peppery and delicious. Perfect share as a start for a couple spoonfuls or to dip into with crackers. I’ve been there many times and never before ordered cheese on my dip but this visit was to be different as I asked for mine with blue cheese. Was it good? Oh yeah, it was great but what really made it great was the way the hot mustard and the savory cheese combined together around the juicy beef. Philippe’s is a true winner.

The Verdugo Bar
http://www.verdugobar.com
3408 Verdugo Road
Los Angeles, CA 90065

Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to do something and the Verdugo Bar in the Glassell Park section of Los Angeles, CA knows this as fact. Slightly off the beaten path, this large lounge, complete with a massive out door gated patio, describes itself using only 3 words, “beer, booze and beats.” (Reminds of an awesome bar in NYC called Idle Hands!) With the raddest collection of craft beers on draft and in bottles, the Verdugo rocks proudly behind it’s unassuming lit up “cocktails” sign. Hungry? Show up on Wednesday nights when the Grill ‘Em All Truck makes a regular stop to serve up gourmet burgers that pair VERY well with tasty beers. Order your beers at the front bar and head right out back to the patio. The truck pulls right up to the gate for easy burg ordering and retrieval.

FYI – The folks behind the Verdugo Bar are the same one’s that bring you The Other Door in North Hollywood.

I’ve sunk my chompers into nearly every one of Chef Ryan’s regular creations which closes the book on my personal menu discovering ability. Tonight’s service featured only the regular menu items with no special treats available for tasting. While hanging out with Chris from the electro-indie-pop band Electric Valentine, who happens to be a vegetarian, I realized there was one regular menu item that I had not had the pleasure of devouring, the veggie burger.

All of the Grill ‘Em All Truck burger creations are available as a veggie burgers but the one I thought would supplement the best was the Blue Cheer. It’s a burger with maytag blue cheese, cranberry gastrique and munchos. Let’s be honest, a grilled cheese with just those items would be superb so the chances of a veggie burger ruining it were slim to none. Thankfully the Grill ‘Em All Truck veggie patties are excellent! They’re intended for grilling and come with a real char taste.  If you like the Blue Cheer because of the toppings, choosing the veggie option is not a move to be frowned upon. Chris and I crushed our burgers out in the parking along with Miles, a fellow burger blogger from 2 Buns, 1 Cow.

A Tour of the Beast

As many of you know, the Grill ‘EM All Truck won the Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race” and with that were able to get a 2nd truck. The original, named “The Beast,” gave birth to “Son of Beast.” While both trucks are significantly different, the quality of the food is not. Either truck will serve you great food, made with love and care in a very clean and well prepared truck kitchen. As the nature of my trip was to learn all the ins and outs of Grill ‘Em All Ghoul-dom, I thought it best to give you a little photo pictorial of The Beast’s facilities. All puns intended, it’s a well oiled machine made for cranking out delicious burgers but making sure burger lovers and metal heads are having a great time while hanging out around it.

Jan. 20, 2011

THE BURGERCOUNTQUEST
328 Burgers

Experience Part 1 of A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All Truck

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Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival – Balls In Your Mouth

Posted on 01/30/2011 by Rev

IDLE HANDS AND BILLY HURRICANES TEAMED UP TO PUT OUR BALLS IN YOUR MOUTH AT THE NY BEER, BOURBON & BBQ FESTIVAL.

If you were there, you experienced in first hand. The bar I own with my friends, Idle Hands Bar, joined forces with our upstairs neighbors, Billy Hurricane’s to host a booth at the 2nd Annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival. I suggest we make Beer and Bourbon BBQ Meatballs and like he always does, Kyle from Billy Hurricane’s took it to an extreme. Kyle created a tangy and hot, BBQ sauce that was made with real bacon and covered deep-fried meatballs with it. Right before they were served to the excited masses, they took a little bath in Butternuts Porkslap Ale & Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon.

I think you’re all aware of my meatball obsession so know that I wouldn’t endorse something we made unless I thought it was absolutely awesome and these mother scratchers are AMAZING. These are not your Grandmother’s meatballs. They are hot, spicy, juicy, peppery, beefy, bacony and really sauced up. The very brief deep-frying process gives the outside a little bit of crunch but leaves the inside really juicy. These molten monsters will have you begging for more. I HIGHLY suggest you wash them down with a beer, especially a Porkslap!


8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

To see how they’re made and what went down at the festival, take a look at this video:

But that’s not all!! The Festival meatballs are NOW AVAILABLE at Idle Hands & Billy Hurricane’s. Get your patoots down to the East Village and PUT OUR BALLS IN YOUR MOUTH!!

Check out more photos from our booth at the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival on our facebook page. For more info on the meatballs, go to the Idle Hands website.

We only set up for the first session of the event AKA “The Bacon Bash Session” and once the steam clears, the drunks get pushed out onto the streets while all the vendors set up for “The Whole Hog.” The big difference between the 2 sessions is that a random smattering of food samplings is included in the “Bacon Bash” and “The Whole Hog” offers up a plate of pulled pork. Of course you can buy a pass to both, known as the “Grand Poobah,” or you can set up a booth to serve awesome meatballs. Then you can hang out for the 2nd session and get a nice buzz on sampling tasty beers and delicious bourbons! Whatever you choose, it’s a great event that I wouldn’t suggest scheduling anything after, UNLESS it’s enjoying bourbon, beer and rock at Idle Hands!

Jan. 29, 2011 – 12 – 9 pm

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A Week In The Life of Grill ‘Em All – Part 1 – The Other Door

Posted on 01/28/2011 by Rev

A Week In the Life of The Grill ‘Em All Truck
http://grillemalltruck.com
PART 1

January 22nd will go down in the history of my life as a day the time space continuum changed.  On that day, I happened to be in Los Angeles and I set up and after show meet and eat with the Grill ‘Em All Truck. Only a few weeks old. the heavy metal themed, gourmet hamburger truck, owned by Chef Ryan Harkins and Matt Chernus was already kicking up love on the streets of LA.

Flash Forward to a year later and what seemed and innocent meeting of 3 people turned into a series of award ceremony invites, TV show appearances, a 2nd truck, cross country promotional blitzes, a BBQ sauce, a fan club, a web-TV series and above all, a great friendship between 3 burger lovin thrashers. To celebrate our anniversary, I recently went out to LA to spend a full week in the burger trenches with Matt, Ryan and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck staff, seeing what it’s like first hand to be a real Grill ‘Em All Ghoul.

DAY 1 – Jan. 19, 2011 – 9:29 PM

The Other Door Bar
http://www.theotherdoorbar.com
10437 Burbank Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601

After an early AM waking  hour, cross country flight and an afternoon of meetings, I was ready to crush some burgs and pound back some beers. Every Wednesday night, you’ll find one of the two Grill ‘Em All Trucks serving food in the parking lot of The Other Door. It’s a brand new bar that looks like a no frills lounge with a homey vibe, great beers and a really fun and friendly staff. Whether you’re sitting at the large bar, playing pool or darts or just chilling on one of the leather couches, you’re bound to get comfortable real quick. Think the bar your uncle would build in his house if his wife let him. There’s a DJ room in the back, a smoking lounge outside and if you go on a Wednesday night, a gourmet burger truck in the parking lot!  Order your burgers and frites from the truck and then grab a seat at the bar. Be sure to wash down your Waste ‘Em All (burger topped with green chilies, pepper jack, beer soaked onions) with one of the Other Door’s great selection of craft beers.

That’s exactly what I did when I was joined by my now California based burger buddy, Jackie. Until Jackie moved out to LA from NJ to live with her kick ass boyfriend Matt, she was the top member of Burger Conquest’s “Team Burger.” I hadn’t see my pal Jacks in a long time so it was a great way to kick off a super rad week with Grill ‘Em All. We also split an order of the Grill ‘Em All “Hatchet Fries.” Themed after their Molly Hatchet burger, it’s seared fennel sausage gravy, maple drizzle and cheese served a top of double dipped pomme frites. Holy wow! It’s a starchy, gooey, sweet and savory treat that will have you humming.

Just passing by on a walk with the family pooch? All good! The Grill ‘Em All Truck is eager to please their K-9 buddies.


THE BURGERCOUNTQUEST
327 Burgers

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Grill ‘Em All Victory Lap – Episode 3

Posted on 01/27/2011 by Rev

Chef Ryan, Matt and the rest of the Grill ‘Em All Truck crew came to NYC to thank the great city for helping them to win the Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race.” On that trip, they took over 8 kitchens in 4 days, serving nearly 2000 burgers to an excited and hungry legion of burger enthusiasts.  Sponsored by the fantastic people at Burger Maker, the entire adventure was shot and turned into a series of webisodes called the “Victory Lap.”

I’m proud to debut the 3rd installment of the “Victory Lap” here on Burger Conquest. This one showcases an amazing lunch service at Rub BBQ, home to the BEST burger in NYC where Grill ‘Em All debuted the Pantera Burger, a monster creation with deep-fried macaroni and cheese, BBQ pulled pork, thick cut bacon, and cheddar cheese. With lines down the street, burgermaniacs rushed to get their mits around this limited edition burger. The 2nd part sees the guys taking over urban roadhouse, Thunder Jackson’s with a surprise visit from Camille Ford, host of the Travel Channel’s “Food Wars.”

TAKE IT TO THE FACE!

To see all the episodes of the “Victory Lap,” check out the Grill ‘Em All Truck youtube channel.

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Rub BBQ – The French Onion Soup Secret

Posted on 01/24/2011 by Rev

Rub BBQ
http://www.rubbbq.net/
208 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

THE CONQUEST
It’s right there —>

Just over the far side of your browser. I call it the “Burger Rank” and the first category is “TOP BURGERS IN NYC.” I get asked all the time and I mean ALL THE TIME, “Rev. What is the best burger in NYC?” That’s why I put it up there so you don’t have to hunt me down to ask. What the “Burger Rank” doesn’t tell you is which is my favorite. The answer to that question? Rub BBQ’s Monday Night Secret Burger. It’s probably one of the most heralded, talked about and anticipated burgers in all the burgerverse and it’s only available on Monday nights.

Every Monday, beginning at 6 pm, Rub BBQ starts serving them but doesn’t put them on the menu. You need to know to ask and while you’re at it, there is one more thing you should know. There is always more than 1 burger. Each week Rub offers up THE “Rub Burger” which is Burger Conquest fave but they also put forth a different specialty each week. Ever since this burger ritual began more than a year ago, Rub BBQ has NEVER repeated a special burger. While I would like to tell you i’ve eaten them all, I haven’t but spend 10 minutes with owner Andrew Fischel and Chef Scott Smith and you’ll feel like you missed out on 60-70 of the most important burgers ever made.

Read up on these 4 that I’ve reviewed and you’ll understand;
Onion Burger
Guberburger
Burnt End Burger
Giovanni Burger

And if that ain’t enough to get you running down there on a Monday night, know that Rub BBQ outside of serving the best burger in NYC, also has world renowned BBQ and when I say all of it is good, that’s an understatement. So what’s my point? I’ve clearly written the place up a whole bunch on my Glorious Pursuit of Delicious Burgers so why am I at it again?

When Andrew Fischel sends you an email that says “call me,” you call him. When he tells you on the phone “can you come in and eat burgers tonight?” you don’t even care to ask why, you just say “YES.”

THE BURGER
I walk in, mosey up to the bar, order a Shiner Bock and wait for Andrew. “Dude! You gotta eat the special burger tonight. It’s an onion soup burger. Chef Scott has been cooking the soup all day long! I need to know what you think.” That’s like the King asking one of his knights for his opinion on the kingdom.  “Yes your majesty, I do think the maiden is quite lovely and I love what you did with the peasant slave trade.”

The onion soup burger comes with the Rub BBQ perfectly burger patty made with a secret blend of ground beef, then topped with Gruyere & Provolone cheese melted on thick toast and with a scoop of onion soup on top. The onion soup has been cooking all day, allowing the onions to reduce, not unlike they would in a proper slider but with a significantly more intense flavor palette. I had to keep myself from shoving this savory and amazing concoction down my slop gullet in less than 2 bites. I forced myself to slowly work my way through it, delicious bite after delicious bite.

Chef Scott came out from the back and asked me what I thought. I was honest. “Scott, while I would NEVER tell you to take the beef out of this, you should know that it’s good enough to be served as a French onion soup grilled cheese!” “Rev,” he started to say, “that’s a damn good idea. “What can I say? I have a few of them from time to time.


9 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
320 Burgers

Jan. 3, 2011 – 7:00 PM

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Poco – Auld Lamb Slider

Posted on 01/21/2011 by Rev

Poco
http://www.poconyc.com/
33 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

THE CONQUEST
I started this site with the intention of talking about good food I got to eat with family and friends. It’s grown into so much more than I ever intended. Burger Conquest gives me an additional reason to hang out with my friends and meet new people. It also provides a great reason to celebrate, well, just about anything. One of my favorite days to celebrate is New Year’s Eve. There is no other holiday that brings together people for a party like the last day of the year. Everyone’s eating, drinking, celebrating and as the clock signifies it’s a new year, I love that 45-60 minutes where everyone is hugging, kissing, high-fiving and in general showing love and excitement. You just can’t get that feeling any other day or time.

I say what better way to send off a year than by eating burgers with your friends! That’s exactly what my wife Cara and I did with our friends Paul and Dawn. As we had planned to hit my bourbon, beer and rock speakeasy bar, Idle Hands, for the ringing in of baby new year, we wanted to eat somewhere near the bar. Enter, Poco, a lively tapas restaurant who’s food menu is is made even more special by their drink menu. It’s a really fun place, with a great menu designed, in part, by award winning chef Abe Lopez, one time victor of the Food Network’s “Chopped.”

You can read a full Burger Conquest review of the place by clicking here.

THE BURGER
I was wooed into a Burger Conquesting of Poco by owner Sarah Grizzle. Sarah, much like the restaurant she owns, is fun, creative and always accommodating. She demanded I come in and sink my teeth into one of their lamb sliders. As my luck would have it, on that night in particular, Poco ran out of their signature lamb sliders. For this New Year’s Eve dinner, I was praying not to have a repeat. Thankfully, that was not the case!

I find lamb to be a super iffy type of meat and in fact, I am so picky about it that 9 times out of 10, I’ll choose not to order it. But, when you get that 1 out of 10 and it pays off, it’s generally a pretty magical food moment. The lamb slider (although technically a mini-burger, not a slider) at Poco falls into this category. It’s a juicy little 2, maybe 3 bite treat whose spicing tastes more like you would find in Ortega taco mix than what I would come to expect in a lamb burger. Whatever the mix, it’s great and seeing as how I own the bar down the block, there’s a good chance I could become a permanent fixture here just to eat them! Especially when you can get them with pulled pork macaroni and cheese!


8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGERCOUNTQUEST
319 Burgers

Dec. 31, 2010 – 8:36 PM

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Zaitzeff – I’m a Good Friend

Posted on 01/19/2011 by Rev

Zaitzeff
http://www.zaitzeffnyc.com/
18 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009

Dec. 28, 2010 – 9:59 PM

THE CONQUEST
I’m a good friend. I might not pick you up at the airport (I don’t own a car) and I’m also not going to do your windows, but I’m a good friend. Just ask my good pal Josh who sent me the following email on this night; “My whole trip to Utah just got canceled, cause my flight got canceled and they cant get me on another one. CAN WE PLEASE GO DRINK A LOT NOWWWW. Lets go, get a burger, go to a bar, drink my sorrows away!” What kind of person would I be to say no to someone who so desperately needed my attention and time? I can’t and I didn’t.

A few moments later I was out the door and on the way to my bar, Idle Hands, located in the East Village of NYC. Josh was already there chugging on a beer when I arrived. “Where can we get a good burger around here?” Josh asked me. That’s an easy question to answer seeing as how Zaitzeff is directly across the street from the bar. Josh clearly had needs and I didn’t want to take a moment of time away from him and our pints of Ommegang Adoration, so I pulled up my Seamless Web iPhone app and ordered up a couple of burgers for delivery.

THE  BURGER
I’ve already reviewed the fantastic turkey burger at Zaitzeff but in case you missed it, click here to read it. What I did want to talk about though was a topping I had not tried there before, jalapenos. Normally when you order jalapenos at any restaurant, you expect to get the pre-sliced, straight out of a jar pickled jalapenos and don’t get me wrong, they are good. But Zaitzeff does it a different way. They take whole, fresh jalapenos, slice them open and cook them on the grill, seeds, oil and all. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up the burger and saw them. One bite confirmed 2 things, A. they were awesome and B. they were hot and in fact, significantly hotter than what I am used too. I enjoyed their smokey heat so much that I might consider them to be a mandatory topping on future burgers from Zaitzeff!

No need to wait until your friends are in need, head down to the EVILL now for a burger from Zaitzeff while sipping on beers at Idle Hands bar.


8 out of 10 Ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
318 Burgers

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