NY Food Truck Lunch: 'Poor Man's' Burger From Morocho
Perry, the voice behind New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City food trucks. This week is "Burger Week" on CBS New York. We're featuring a new street food burger each day.
We were by Union Square recently and stopped by Morocho just to chat. (We had just eaten lunch.) Miguel Samanez, the head chef, and Armando, the other chef, are nice guys to talk to, and I'm learning about Peruvian food in the process.
I asked Miguel what I should get next time. He said a lot of people are ordering their burger, which he called A lo Pobre. He told me it translates to "poor man's burger," and is basically a kitchen sink burger with a Peruvian twist.
I stopped by for lunch the other day, and that's exactly what I ordered. It's just called a burger on the menu, but all the ingredients they use are described, and it cost $7.
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Watching them put it together was fun. It starts with lettuce and tomato on a lightly toasted bun. Then a big, fat, grilled burger is placed on top. Salsa criolla (cilantro, lime juice, salt, red onions & habañero) is also put on the burger.
After that, the piece-de-resistance is added - a fried egg on top with the yolk still soft. I love eggs, and a fried egg on a burger with a runny yolk is probably what sold me on this dish in the first place.
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Going on at the same time, the top of the bun gets rocoto mayo, fried plantains and red onions. Rocoto is a type of hot pepper used in Peruvian cooking. See, I am learning about Peruvian cuisine.
When it was being assembled, the yolk popped, which was fine. I would rather have the yolk pop inside the container than on my shirt, which is what usually happens. I actually got lucky for once, and went back to the office after lunch with a clean shirt.
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This was one delicious burger. The spicy mayo came through right away, as did the sweetness of the fried plantains. So did the onions, and of course the burger, which was nice and meaty and cooked to medium.
I can see why the Burger A lo Pobre is such a popular dish. It puts a delicious Peruvian spin on the burger, and is very filling for $7.
The menu at Morocho is somewhat meaty, but there are at least two dishes for vegetarians that looked good too. I'm just starting to learn about Peruvian dishes and sauces. You can too by reading the menu here, and there are descriptions of the 8 different types of sauces here.
You can follow Morocho on Twitter here or on our Mobile Munchies Twitter feed, although they park on Union Square West between 14th-15th St for lunch and dinner. No website yet, but their Facebook is here.
