Grub it up a notch

Spicing up an ordinary, if decent, work burger with some homemade salsa? That's Hard Grubbin.

No real rumination needed, but I would be one delinquent brah if I didn't provide the recipe for the salsa, so here it is:

+ 2 - 3 medium vine ripe tomatoes
+ 1/2 tennis ball-sized red onion
+ 1 ample spoonful of habanero puree
+ 1 ample spoonful of jalapeno puree
+ 1 small can of crushed pineapple
+ 1 small can of corn, drained
+ 1 tsp. course-ground sea salt
+ 1/8 - 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

Dice the tomatoes, finely dice the red onion, and add the rest of the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Stir well. The flavors mesh the longer you let it sit (i.e. overnight in the fridge), but it's the kind of thing that you could bang together and have ready to eat in minutes.

* Yes, that's my fake bluetooth in the photo. Thanks, Chippah.
** Big ups to the H.P.

HG in the Woods

Hola Hard Grubbers. Never forget that leaving the city always offers an opportunity to really grub hard! With stars twinkling overhead and Mother Nature's nighttime symphony of birds and beasts as the background music, one can truly feel that they were genetically predisposed to take down copious amounts of meat. After 48hrs of such male bonding shenanigans as paintball and beer drinking, can you really not end Saturday night with a burger, topped with mustard and kielbasa? Methinks not. Cheers to Chris Wu on his upcoming nuptials and for giving this contributor an excuse to grub hard with no hint of traffic in the vicinity.

NYC's worst burger...so far

Zaitzeff Burgers

72 Nassau Street

NYC/Financial District

Generally I reserve my postings to those hard grubbin shrines I think the world needs to learn about, not offering the sub-par restaurants my time or effort. However, after visiting Zaitzeff Burgers in the Financial District I knew I had to come forward so none of you would make the same mistake I did.
If you’ve followed HG you know we constantly advise readers not to listen to any non-HG reviews. It’s a waste of your time and grubbin efforts. Not one to heed advice, especially my own, I decided to try one of the New York Time’s suggestions for the best burger, Zaitzeff’s Burgers. I made a grave mistake. Seriously, fuck this place.
I get there during my one hour lunch break and order the ¼ Sirloin Burger, with cheese and french fries, and then I wait. And wait. Around 30 minutes later this guy walks out with the poor meal you see below. The burger should have been called a slider at best. It was weak on flavor and even weaker on volume. It reminded me of those tiny burnt burgers you’d eat at your friend’s pool party when you were 12, then angrily waiting the thirty minutes before your friends mom would let you get back in the pool. The bun was this weird flattened and browned bread which added nothing but I guess it's their feeble stab at originality. The fries were oily; no better than those you would get at any diner. Actually, significantly worse. Amazingly, the place was packed with Wall Street types grubbin like they’ve figured out NYC’s best kept secret. Here’s the real punch in the face. Check out the receipt.

Yup, that’s right, over $16 dollars for a tiny burger and fries. Amazing they can get away with this. I’ll try to stay away from the negative reviews in the future but hopefully this will save a few of you from the grubbin nightmare I experienced today. Lucky for me, the next grub sesh is only a few hours away.

Koreantown Cheap and Fast and Good Hard Grubbin

I was in midtown and really wanted to eat at a good Korean
Restaurant but there was too many to choose from so I called a friend that told me a about a place that four different Koreans has taken her to all on different occasions. Kunjip (translation: Our house) was amazing.

Kunjip
9 W 32nd St between 5th Ave and Broadway
New York, NY 10001

I wait in, what looks like, a really long line but in only takes 10 mins because they turn tables like I've never seen before. They hand you a menu while waiting and take your order even before you sit down.


Most Korean restaurants will give you "side dishes" or appetizers on the house no matter what you order. It was a whole other meal in this case. The bubbling egg dish was super exciting. Though I love all of the pickled spicy vegetables too.







Then I got my favorite menu item the bi bim bop this time with bulgoki (marninated steak) eaten with chili paste. Beware of the little old woman that comes along and briskly stirs it all together if you don't do it yourself. So good and I had left overs too.

Is there such a thing as '"leftover bacon?"

After a hard grub of bacon and eggs on a recent rough business Sunday, I was left with some extra bacon in the fridge come supper time.

Soy and Garlic clove marinated steaks a la Foreman Grille was on the menu, and a lightbulb popped over my head, or was it that my Spidey sense went off?

The urge to "Double Up" was strong!

"I''ma wrap this steak in the bacon", my internal and external dialogue screamed, loudly.

The side is some chicken Rice-A-Roni with fresh string beans.

Standard loaf of french bread to soak up the delicious beef and pork juices from the plate.

 

Old man drops sage advise about marketing, vodka, and hot dogs on a plate to Fat Friend.

This series is indeed a major situation. This episode is Hard Grubbin centric for sure.

I will leave it up to the reader to delve more into the world of Dr. Tran.

Actually, here's one more HG related animation: