The “Burger Al Pastor” at BIG & little’s

Yesterday, during my lunch break, I needed to run an errand up to the Spice House in Old Town for reasons which will be revealed in good time people, have a little patience. Anyway, I figured a lunchtime bike ride was a good excuse to get another bloggable sandwich but Old Town itself is kind of a sandwich wasteland IMO (that is, if you’re a giant snob like me and don’t consider the proximity of half-a-dozen Subways to be sandwich heaven). I guess I could have gotten something at Old Jerusalem but I wasn’t feeling it.

I don’t know what made me think of BIG & little–it’s weird how it’s so close to that area but somehow the 2 blocks separating Orleans from Wells make them seem like 2 different worlds. But it was a fantastic idea and I don’t get there enough.

I walked in and spent a few minutes just gaping at the menu. It’s largely still familiar–a few new things here and there–but there’s so much there that choices are difficult. I stepped up to the counter and BIG himself, Gary Strauss, was taking orders. I asked him for a little guidance.

“You want the Pastor burger,” he said, “and fries. It’s a pretty big burger, so you might not be able to finish the fries–but you’ll want them.” Happy to take his advice, that’s what I ordered.

The Burger al Pastor

The Burger al Pastor is a half pound of house-ground chuck, hand-formed and grilled to order (I got mine medium rare), with (processed) swiss cheese, chili aioli, deep-fried jalapeno rings, deep-fried chunks of pork belly, and grilled pineapple. It’s obscene.

Didn’t catch the pork belly in the last pic? Here it is.

And by obscene I mean delicious of course. I inhaled this burger at a rate that kind of frightened me, actually.

My notes:

• I’d either fry the jalapenos less or add a bunch more, ’cause I could use a bigger hit of heat.
  • If that makes the burger sloppier, SO BE IT.
• The pork belly was crispy and delicious–it might not be needed on a burger but that’s not the way we think around here pal so I loved it.
  • I’m not sure if the pork belly was marinated or otherwise seasoned, but it tasted of a bit more than just pork and pork fat
  • Not that pork and pork fat wouldn’t be enough
• The combination of the pineapple & juicy burger almost immediately started disintegrating the bottom bun but it actually managed to hold together fairly well.
• I’d like to see the addition of some grilled onions
  • The onions shouldn’t be fully caramelized since the pineapple is already adding the sweetness but I feel like a cooked-onion flavor would help the impression of al pastor they’re apparently going for here.
  • If that makes the burger sloppier, see my first note.

Regarding the fries, he was right. I wanted them. The fresh-cut fries weren’t quite as crisp as I’d like but they were cooked darker than I’ve gotten them there in the past, which is a start. You can get them with your fancy cajun salt, or truffle salt, but I just went with the basic item. Fried potatoes are love.

Fried potatoes are love. Also, burgers are sandwiches.

He was also right that I didn’t finish them.

Jim Behymer

I like sandwiches.

I like a lot of other things too but sandwiches are pretty great