I’ve been hearing good things about the Ploughman’s Burger, Frites ‘N’ Meats’ Burger of the Week. If it’s as good as it looks, Today’s Lunch should be a winner.
For the uninitiated, the Ploughman Burger has gruyere and cheddar cheese, onion jam and “sassy” cole slaw. They asked if I wanted bacon, and you already know what my answer will be. Hell yes!. How can it be a ploughman’s burger without meat on top?
I called ahead to order so I wouldn’t have to wait at the truck. Great idea! It was pretty busy, and looked like a 20-30 minute wait without calling ahead. When I picked up my order, I asked Vadim what made the cole slaw “sassy”. He said they added salsa verde to their homemade cole slaw. Sounds interesting. I also got an order of frites, and they threw in a dum dum lollipop for yuks. How did they know I love dum dums?
Upon opening the lunch bag (no styrofoam here), it was obvious this was a serious burger. The first bite tasted of seasoned beef, sweet onion jam and brioche bun – wonderful! Subsequent bites brought out the taste of thick-cut bacon and cheese – but the stars of the show were the burger and the onion jam, with the brioche bun in a supporting role (ouch!).
The “sassy” cole slaw added a nice crunchy texture to the burger, but with everything else on the bun, the cole slaw was more about texture than taste. Nevertheless, it did add something to the burger.
I really like their frites too. Long, thin french fries lightly salted and served in a paper cone. They have a few special sauces for the frites, but I prefer plain old ketchup.
Today’s Lunch gets a 9 out of 10. The burger could have been a little juicier, but that’s a minor quibble. It certainly was not dried out – it just didn’t have juice dripping down from each bite.
Where they lose a point is on value. The Ploughman’s Burger was $9.50 with bacon on top, and the frites were $3. Even though I love their frites, the burger would have been enough for lunch, and $12.50 is double what I usually spend for lunch.
The prices are a bit high because they use all top-notch ingredients, but I like the fact that they buy local. DeBragga & Spitler beef, Murray’s Cheese and Balthazar Bakery provide the main staples for Frites ‘N’ Meats, and we’re big believers in buying local.
The ultimate compliment is that I would go back for this lunch again any time. In fact, after eating the Ploughman’s Burger, I was ready to go out and plow 6th Avenue.
