New Product Alert!!

Very Good!!

Sorry about the pic. SONIC in Green Brook is now OPEN!!

Doors open at 9AM

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/home.jsp#/home

Kids First BBQ

The two most important things about a good BBQ are food followed people. Luckily this Q had both and more including six babies less then 7 months old and one 19 month old. Those of you who have kids especially you guys out there and those of you who don’t and don’t care know how out of control and loathsome the baby talk can get, which is why it only took minutes for the guys and girls to split off middle school style into two groups. I being a guy went with the rest of the guys and quickly started talking about a gaming addiction amongst our group of friends that has gotten completely out of control (it may actually be time for an intervention). Enough of the meaningless to most chit chat; you gamers out there know who you are.

Let’s get to the meat and potatoes and that is not just a figure of speech where I am concerned. Scott picked up a London Broil that literally looked like it came from the Flintstone’s butcher. Just check out the pics!

The Ham Keeper made his famous bread salad (future blog coming about this) and a potato salad that was more or less smashed cold potatoes and onions. A few great tasting pasta salads were on the table and a giant Mac n Cheese, the word on the back deck was that it contained five cheeses. However I was too busy holding a baby to take notes. The monstrous steak was grilled to perfection with EVOO and salt n pepper and served with a side of sautéed garlic and onions. It was very tasty. For desert there were brownies, cookie topped brownies, and a nice selection of pastries from Calandra’s Bakery. One of the biggest hits of the day was a super appetizer made by a true culinary genius. I will give more details on that dish in the future, when the lover of all things bacon that made it signs up to follow the Ham.

This day that started around 2pm and I’m sure the fun ended when I left around 7PM, would a year prior still have started at 2pm but would have likely gone till 3or 4am. Oh how the times have changed... What a great day had by all!! I would like to thank our hosts Scott and Jodie.

Stay tuned for a summer long of food packed BBQ’s.

Friday Food Porn

Flip Burger in Atlanta.

http://www.flipburgerboutique.com/

Last but not least.

Liquid n2 milkshake

nutella + burnt marshmallow

Enjoy your weekend!!!!

1st BBQ of the year pics to follow.

"OUT WITH AL"

This is the first of many to come of “Out With Al”, a segment in which a friend who has local knowledge of a food they feel should be noted on “The Caged Ham” will suggest and accompany me on my culinary journey. We will get an insiders take on local favorites, mouth watering childhood memories, late night spots, etc

My first journey took place with Montclair ’s finest, John aka “Fowl Ball” aka “Ball” of Nicco’s chicken salad sandwich fame. John, a fire fighter is a life long resident of Montclair and knows good food. As I have said in the past ask a fire fighter where to find good food, just don’t ask them who has the best pizza. As much as this hurts I will admit John whoops my ass on the golf course on most days and I am the one buying drinks at the end of the round. Working two days a week during the warm months can do wonders for a guy’s swing (sorry I had to throw that in).

Back to the trip at hand, the cuisine burgers. The spot, the legendary Tierney’s Tavern at136-138 Valley Rd. in Montclair where I once told my wife I would never eat as much as a peanut at when she told me years ago they had a good burger. For those of you who have never been this is a low down dirty old school tavern that opened in 1934 and looks it. John has been coming to Tierney’s since he was a boy, making trips with his friend Billy’s father. Now John makes frequent trips whether a burger is involved or a just a post golf round victory drink. Don’t expect to get waitress service at lunch time. To be honest I am not sure if you can actually get it anytime but the friendly gentleman tending bar does all and from what I understand they all take turns in the kitchen.

We started with a nice basket of crispy wings served with hot sauce and blue cheese on the side. The wings were not hot but they were tasty. For our main course we ordered bacon cheese burgers (med) and well done fries. When our burgers came out the first thing that I noticed is that the burger is a great size, I would guess about 6oz and cooked to perfection. On top was a nice amount of bacon not too much to overpower the burger, a slice of American cheese (other options were available) served on a perfect fitting bun and accompanied by fries, which based on local knowledge must be cooked well done in order to achieve a crisp exterior. This juicy BCB was fresh tasting and my guess would be it is chuck, 80-20 the ONLY way to go. However I didn’t think the fries made a big impact.

The $5.50 for this hamburger was well worth it. If you are in the area and looking for a beer and a burger while a non-pretentious crowd of local characters hang at the bar this is the place for you.

I would give the Tierney’s burger 3HAMS.

The Best Pizza In Atl??

 I could make the best pizza in Atl.

Varasano's Pizza

NE Atlanta

"Jeff Varasano's Famous New York Pizza Recipe


One of the 'Elite 8' Pizzerias in the US by Every Day with Rachael Ray

Voted Best Pizza in Atlanta for 2009 by Jezebel Magazine

Named one of the 14 Best New Restaurants by Atlanta Magazine

Voted Best Neapolitan Pizza by AtlantaCuisine.com"

I would like to thank my buddy Shawn for putting his life on the line to eat this pizza.

All joking aside, everything put into the making of this pizza is well thought out. Owner Jeff Varasano spent years of his life trying to perfect his craft, pizza that is a knock off of Patsy's in NYC. Some say his pies are better. I would speculate that these people are members of his family.

More info on Jeff.

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

This Grandma is HOT!!

What is Grandma pizza?

"Variations abound, but the basic outlines are as follows: a thin layer of dough is stretched into an oiled, square "Sicilian" pan, topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, crushed uncooked canned tomatoes, chopped garlic and olive oil, and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp."

Call it what you want, if you find a good Grandma you may never go back to plain pizza.

Bill’s Burger (enjoy the great photos by me)

Located in the trendy Meatpacking District, at 22 Ninth Ave @ W 13th St .,

Bill’s Burger is an instant classic. Their ground beef mix is crafted by none other then the master meat purveyor himself, Pat La Frieda. Let’s face it Pat is a celebrity in the world of burgers and anything coming from him is a huge hit http://www.lafrieda.com/.

Getting back to Bill’s, would I dare say this is the best burger in the city? No, but it is damn good. My favorite burgers are still the Shake Shack’s “Shack Burger” and the Minetta Tavern’s “Black Label Burger” (which is the best burger anywhere, if you can get in or want to cough up $26 bucks for a burger) which are also Pat La Frieda exclusive blends of meat.

That said, at Bill’s they start with a marbled ball of meat and smash it on the grill a la Shake Shack style, then generously season it with salt and pepper. When it is finished cooking it has an awesome crust and it is served on a diner style seeded bun with plain old American Cheese. For those looking for something a little different then the “Bill’s Classic” they have a good choice of burgers on the menu. Next time I’ll be trying the “Bobcat”, which has Mexican Green Chilies and Jack Cheese. I’m not even going to talk about the fries, take a look for your self.

On weekends they are open until 4AM, so after a night of partying you may find yourself eating next to Lindsey Lohan who is trying to beat them on the bill or some regular Joe looking to eat a great burger and have a drink from the finely stocked bar.

I give Bill’s Bar &Burger 4 HAMS. It is a must try.

http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/bills-bar-burger/

New Product Alert!!!

Hot Pockets

SideShots

4 Mini Cheesburgers

(hamburger and cheese with sauce in a bun)

It's what you would expect a hot pocket mini burger to taste like.

I Have NO Self Control

I try not to make a habit of eating like a complete animal at lunch but sometimes I just can’t control myself. One of these times occurred recently when I was in the former town of pizza master Scott from Scott’s pizza tours, who may be more excited about pizza then any man alive or even dead for that matter. If you are looking for something fun to do, this is a must (http://www.scottspizzatours.com/).

Long story short I was in the "Boken" and texted Scott, who was on a two week tour of the US eating pizza and doing pizza related things (told you he was crazy for pizza) to ask his professional opinion on where and what to eat. I use to live in Hoboken during my bachelor days, but was looking for something off the beaten path. O boy did he deliver. The place he suggested is Delfino’s Pizzeria at 500 Jefferson St. , an old school hole in the wall that plays homage to all actors Italian, from the cast of The Sopranos, to fellow Hobokenites, Frank Sinatra and Danny Aiello.

For the first time in the last 10 months I wasn’t at a pizzeria to eat the pizza I was there to eat, drum roll please………………..The Fried Calzone! And yes it is exactly what it sounds like a Fried Calzone, a tad bigger then my open hand. This fluffy fried dough had and explosion of ricotta cheese and ham flying out of the opening like price “Rollbacks” at Wal-Mart on Black Friday and a crust that tasted similar to the “Pizza Frites” from St. Ann ’s Festa in Raritan (I will get back to that in June) was served with a side a marinara sauce. Although it was nice mixture of mozzarella with ricotta and ham I think I had my fill of lunch time cholesterol for a while and can’t see myself rushing back anytime soon. However if you are looking for something a little different then your usual Washington Avenue greasy food spots then give it shot.