At the Ethnic Market highlights international specialty foods and ingredients you're very unlikely to find at your local Gristedes.
The Japanese can claim responsibility for introducing kobe beef burgers to such temples of meat as the The Old Homestead Steak House. Now comes a startling new burger development: Japanese miniburgers. Actually they’re more like nanoburgers; each is barely the size of a nickel. If you’ve guessed by now that this snazzy little box doesn’t contain any meat whatsoever, and is actually a treat for kids, give yourself five food geek points. Given his professed fondness for White Castle slyders, one wonders whether Josh Ozersky makes mention of this Japanese oddity in his forthcoming opus, The Hamburger: A History.
Every Burger’s flip-top packaging looks like a Big Mac box and even depicts a sesame seed bun. Inside you’ll find two trays, each containing eight wee burgers. Although the name might sound like the often gross tasting Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, thankfully Every Burger comes in only one flavor, and it’s not faux meat, either. Nor, thank heavens, is it bourbon, even though the nutrition facts engrish reads “Bourbon Every Burger.”
The patty is a disk of chocolate, topped with a bit of sweet frosting for mayo. The whole thing is encased between two cookies sprinkled with ground sesame seeds. The bizarre mock burgers are available at Hong Kong Supermarket in Elmhurst. If you can’t make it to Queens, they can also be found at various Japanese markets around town, including Katagiri.
Hong Kong Supermarket, Elmhurst, 82-02 45 Ave., 718-651-3838
Katagiri, 223 E 59 St., 212-838-5453
