Burgers on CRACK: Grill Em' All Food Truck

 WARNING: this post contains obscenely good burgers. Just preparing you.  

As I was doing some research for a project at work, I stumbled upon Burger Conquest, a blog alllll about burgers and their promotion of "Grill Em' All's Victory Lap in NYC". If you've seen The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network, you would have seen the crazy antics of this food truck across the United States and ultimately to New York City where they won the race and a smooth $50,000. Naturally, when I found out they were coming back to New York and that it would be the weekend my parents were coming to visit, so began to devise a plan. We ended up have a late sunday commute into the city, with our first stop being Rub BBQ on 23rd to pick up a Grill 'Em All burger. It was a good thing we had gotten there right at 1:00 pm, because by the time 1:30 rolled around there was a line down the street waiting to taste this food truck glory. We waited about 45 minutes before being seated, from which we ordered one of each of their specialty burgers: The Behemoth, The Blue Cheer, and The Pantera. Menacing names for menacing burgers. We also ordered some fries and a beer milkshake. Yes, a milkshake with beer in it. Let that one sink in. Let me tell you--- they did not disappoint. Although they successfully put me and my parents in a food coma for the rest of the day, it was worth it. Here's the breakdown by burger:

The Pantera: Beef and pulled pork patty with deep fried mac&cheese, house cured bacon and a garlic aioli

 What I liked: Hi. Do you see this burger? there's fried macaroni and cheese on it. and bacon. Thick-cut, crunchy, fatty, bacon. Its probably a heart attack on a bun, but we live in the land of the Doubledown. We brought it upon ourselves. And I'm not hating it. The burger was bangin'. All I can say.

What I didn't like: I'm not the biggest fan of pork. Its just a preference. I've never really yearned for a pulled pork sandwich, so I don't really yearn for this either. But it was still awesome, I just probably wouldn't order it off the top of my head.

The Blue Cheer: Cranberry gastrique, Maytag blue spread, potato chips

 What I liked: This was everyone's favorite burger at the table-- I got to talk to both Matt and Ryan from Grill 'Em All after, and they said it was one of their favorites as well. The flavors just work together so well-- the sweetness of the cranberries with the slight tangy-ness of the blue cheese and the crunch of the potato chips-- it was ideal. Also, I think this was my favorite actual patty of meat-- I'm not sure what it was but it was seasoned so well and cooked to perfection. This was the belle of the ball.
What I didn't like: Nothing. I wish I had only gotten this for myself and I could have eaten the whole thing.

The Behemoth: Grilled cheese buns, smoked cheddar,  applewood smoked bacon, beer soaked onions

Let me just preface this in saying that this had been in my mind what I was most excited to try. On the show, everyone raved about the behemoth-- I don't know if that was because the burger was so good or just the mad scientist idea of making a burger with grilled cheese buns. Either way, I knew I had to order it just to say I did. 

What I liked: I've said it before-- I love cheese. All kinds. Doesn't matter. I haven't found a cheese I didn't like. If I was stuck on a desert island and all I had was a fridge full of different cheeses, I would never leave. So grilled cheese is obviously an ideal sandwich for me. And Grilled cheese with a cheeseburger? Duh. It was cheesy goodness. Once again, the bacon was crisp and delicious, and the burger was ideal. 

What I didn't like: I don't think I'm a fan of the whole beer soaked onion thing, but thats just because I don't really like beer. They gave an odd flavor accent to the burger that definitely stood out among the other ingredients, but it didn't put it over the top for me. This burger also was the burger that pushed my cholesterol over the edge and put me into a sloth-like daze, so at that point I had to put it down and take a break.

Black Chocolate Beer Milkshake: vanilla ice cream, Shiner black beer, chocolate

I just thought I would add this as well, for all who didn't know what a beer milkshake would look like. There it is. Again, I don't love beer, and it really had beer in it, so I wasn't dying to slop one of these up on the weekends. But I will admit it was good. 

Overall, It was a good time. The parentals and I walked it off in central park post-burger coma, and then we headed to the parent's weekend party at my house. I'm glad I got to share my family weekend with such an awesome trio of burgers. One point-- they are based out of LA, so if you're in the area, go to www.grillemalltruck.com and see what this scary goodness is all about! 

Also, don't forget to check out Burger Conquest-- without their post, I would have never known! To see their posts on the event, go to burgerconquest.blogspot.com 

Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10 stars