Lisa and I were in Albuquerque a few weeks back to run some errands. At the end of the afternoon, I had a hankering for a quick hike, so we dashed over to the volcano cones that mark the western edge of the city. We hiked up one of the cones and took this picture of a pair of military helicopters just after the sun had set. We were starving after the hike, but we were having a hard time choosing a restaurant that really excited either of us. None of our usual choices really seemed to be right. Out of the blue, Lisa suggested the Nob Hill Bar and Grill. This agreed with me perfectly. It was new, and it met our craving for bar food in a nice trendy, upscale bar.
I enjoyed it so much that I insisted that we return a week later after a hike in Ojito Wilderness west of Albuquerque. Here are a couple of pix of the Ojito Wilderness:
As a bit of background, I recently stumbled into an blog and webcast about all the places to get hamburgers in the Chicago area. It's called, "The Cheeseburger Show." This show is hilariously surreal (thanks to its creator, Kevin Pang). It also showcases the many different burgers you can find out around Chicago (including my favorite, Paradise Pup). In one particular episode, he blew my mind when he featured a cheeseburger at David Burke's Primehouse that was alleged to be so good that it didn't need ketchup (for Episode 2, look here; if you'd like to see the super-hilarious uncensored part of Episode 2, look here). I found the idea that you could enjoy a hamburger without ketchup to be thoroughly preposterous, but not long after seeing this video, I came face to face with the $18 "Dirty Kobe Burger" at the Nob Hill Bar and Grill in Albuquerque. I've changed my mind about the ketchup thing.
The Dirty Kobe is not made of real Kobe beef, but instead from from beef from some local producer that produces beef that is alleged to be similar to that of famed beef from Kobe, Japan. Maybe they use the same breed of cow; I don't know. It's topped with bacon, chili con carne with cheese, fried onions (not grilled, but deep fried with breading), a fried egg, and "beeronaise" (whatever that is). It's all served on a nice sturdy bun. One sane person cannot possibly eat it alone. Lisa and I have shared one twice now, but we were not been able to finish it either time. Sadly, I don't have good picture, but this one gives you the idea:
We discovered two different beers at the Nob Hill Bar and Grill that pair with the Dirty Kobe really well. These are both British beers:
Tonight for supper, Lisa had the idea of making burgers. She also wanted to deep fry some onion rings to top the burgers just like at the Nob Hill B&G. The next thing you know, I decide that I've got to do what I can to replicate the Dirty Kobe. We did pretty good. Ours was small enough that a single person could eat it and only have a stomach ache for a few days. We overcooked the burger and the egg slightly, but no worries: it was great. Again, I don't have a great photo, but you get the idea. And you don't need ketchup. Here is our version:
No comments:
Post a Comment