A Memorial Day Experiment

Being that today is Memorial Day we celebrate what our fellow (and fallen) servicemen and servicewomen have done for us in this country in keeping us safe and most of do this by firing up the grill and enjoying beers, family, friends and burgers, steaks, hotdogs and whatever else one can think of. For my pre-Memorial Day festivities, dry-rub ribs were the focus, but being Memorial Day, the wife and I decided on burgers but with a spin. Plus, we decided to leave the beer out of the equation. I KNOW! CRAZY! But it had to be done.

Let me back track. Earlier in the week, two wonderfully dedicated and experimental customers came in and we started talking odd food creations and the topic came up of the long weekend's burger creations. One of my favorites is a powdered onion soup packet infused medium rare hamburger with avocado and sharp cheddar, but Deb (the customer in question here) had the greatest suggestion that actually had my mouth watering and I had just finished my lunch; Curry Lamb Burgers w/ Mango Cutney. I won't lie here, the recipe, she admitted, came from the NY Times, but in my book, the credit belongs to Deb and rightfully so.

The burger entailed ground Lamb meat ground with onions and jalapenos and then grilled for 3 minutes on each side with curry powder lightly doused on it. After they are a nicely browned, they are topped with a mango chutney and served on a bun. AMAZING! But the situation arose that we didn't have any beer left after Sunday's adventures, so wine became the only adult beverage that we could enjoy, however what to do? Normally, I would have said red wine, but the curry aspect, although minimal, doesn't blend (no pun intended) well, so white became the logical answer. White wine and burgers? I generally never pair white and meat, but desperate times and, surprisingly enough, IT WORKED! We opened a basic Long Island table wine (nothing too crazy but definitely obscure) and it was the best match I never thought of. The crisp, northern Italian white blend matched so well with the juicy, spicy, somewhat smokey aspect the burger gave off.

As I sit here with my last bite and last sip, I can't help but send a mental thank you to Deb and to the NY Times and the first person who ever thought of grilled lamb. This was the greatest experiment of the month and one everyone should venture to try. Maybe not the specific match here (although I would extremely recommend it) but one you never would have thought of.

As I raise my glass, with its last sip, I raise a toast to all of our servicepeople and say thank you for everything you have done, are doing and will do. And hopefully you can enjoy this wonderful match sooner than later. Thank you all again! Happy Memorial Day!!!