Nice Buns! And, A First Martini

Posted on 14 July 2008 under Buffalo, Eat This Blog, Grilling | 5 Comments

I have to admit, I have a thing for nice buns. Get them just right, and they’re a thing of beauty.

See, the buns have to be appropriate for the application. Recently at the Luna Pier Dog House we tried using a different kind of hot dog bun for our hot dogs and coneys. Light and fluffy, they looked really cool when we bought them. However, in practice they literally collapsed under pressure, not only tearing too easly but actually separatingat the bottom when we added the sauce to the coney.

As it turns out, the tougher the hot dog bun, the better it is at the Dog House.

Over the weekend I found the opposite applies to hamburger buns. Up at the Kroger in New Baltimore, Michigan (just east of I-94 exit 243) they carry a lot of Michigan-made products. One bakery that’s well-represented is Russo’s Bakery in Clinton Township. We picked up quite a few of their products and were quite happy with all of them.

Saturday for lunch at David’s cottage on Walpole Island on the north end of Lake St. Clair, I made Mary and I some buffalo burgers. I added bacon chunks and parmesan cheese to the meat before grilling, and served them with pepper-jack cheese on Russo’s Onion Buns.

Those buns just plain flabbergasted us.

Each one was a full three inches in height. Uncut, they were light and fluffy, with great pieces of toasted onion on top. Served warm with those burgers on them, they were probably some of the best buns for burgers I’ve ever had.

I think I should have bought more and brought them home …

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Saturday evening at Crabby Joe’s in Wallaceburg, Ontario, I finally had my first-ever martini! I ordered their Classic Gin version, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mary had one sip and made the most-awful face, not liking it whatsoever. I kept the rest for myself, eating the olives too. Next time I’ll try the Classic Vodka just to see what the difference is for myself. I doubt I’ll try any of their frou-frou versions … they just don’t sound all that interesting to me.