Meat, Metal, & Chocolate

This weekend was a gut-buster, to say the least. Despite spending the majority of my time with my vegan friend, I probably ate a good metric ton of meat. My journey began at Big Daddy's, a shitty diner in the UES. The reason for attending: burgers from the geniuses behind Grill Em All. After winning a contest on the Food Network, the guys decided to do a victory lap of sorts and cook their signature burgers at some restaurants around the city.

I went with a little monster called The Behemoth, and it did not disappointment. A solid beef patty topped with pickles, beer-soaked onions, and bacon, it had a great taste combination and was cooked very nicely. The kicker, though, was the buns. Because each "bun" was in fact a full grilled cheese sandwich. Ever since I tangoed with the Luther burger, I can handle anything as a bun substitution, but this proved to be a formidable foe. Much to my shame, I was not able to finish the entire burger (by about 2 bites!), and my dining companions gave me a lot of shit for that. It's ok, I deserved it.

Saturday, after missing dinner by about 6 hours (thank you MTA!), I wolfed down a spicy pork meatball hero much to the envy (I assume it was envy) of my vegan friend at The Meatball Shop. While I do think this place is a bit overhyped, you can't deny that they make awesome meatball sandwiches and amazing sides. Their ice cream sandwiches are also some of the best in the city, although this time it was too late in the night to justify eating one. My friend's roasted brussel sprouts were great as well.

I also had some great desserts this weekend. Despite living about 2 blocks away from it, I had never actually eat at famed vegan bakery Babycakes...probably because I'm not, you know, a vegan. Look, I respect vegans and everything they stand for, and like my veggies as much as the next guy, but when it comes down to it, I'm choosing ice cream over soy ice cream and a burger over a veggie burger 100 out of 100 times. Imitation things aren't necessarily bad, but moral reasons aside, I'm going with the better tasting item.

Anyway, I tried a mint brownie cupcake and a cookie sandwich. They were both great, although the mint frosting had a bit of a funky aftertaste. I would say I can tell the difference when it comes to baked goods, but put me in a blind taste test and I'd probably fail. I talk a big game, but just give me a cupcake and I'll shut up.

My final food destination of the weekend was the New Amsterdam Market. I had been here a few times last year when it was a monthly event. Luckily it's now weekly (and a great place for free samples). Unfortunately we arrived at the tail end of the market, and most of the places had already closed shop. We decided to get some chocolate, and we absolutely made the right choice by purchasing a sea salt & almond dark chocolate bar from Mast Brothers. It's probably the best chocolate bar I've ever had. I don't know why, but sea salt goes great with dark chocolate.

In conclusion, meat trumps not meat, and chocolate trumps not chocolate.