Top Secret 2
AKA: A Manly Feast of the Land
 ???, Ohio        Date of Visit  05/16/14         Not A Chance

Continuing my self-serving habit of not revealing locations to non-restaurants where I get to eat. The only reason you’re not allowed to know is I gotta make sure no one tries to horn in on my action. I will tell you this once a year pop-up restaurant happens in the garage of the folks who keep our cars running well. My Honda recently passed 200,000 miles, these folks are the reason why.
 

Before we get to the awesomeness that ensues, I need to mention if you live in the area, need some work done and can make out the building, you are not going to find more honest, reputable and skilled crew to keep you safe on the road. It is an extension of the genuine kindness they show all of their customers that I get to partake in this feast. I get included because I think they know my appreciation of both their generosity and the ingredients.

Everything that doesn’t come out of a bag (there was a plethora of chips available this year) is prepared on the grill out back or in an electric skillet. I usually bring a dessert because even with my training I’m just never going to top what comes alongside the chips on the Dixie paper china.

The magic is a glorious mushroom burger. That’s it, but to the initiated, it is a thing of beauty.
 

The burger is venison. Just a hint of game and loads of dark, dusky meatiness, it doesn’t take much to stand out in a sandwich but this thick patty brings a serious blast of awesome. Today’s Bambi was culled personally by the Master of Internal Combustion. I told you it was a manly man’s feast of the land.  A slice of American cheese and a couple small plops of mayo add fattiness but aren’t really what take this burger from delicious to extraordinary. That comes from the other locavore specialty.
 

If You Only Knew
 

One member (name not included to provide plausible deniability) of the event has access to one of those rare tricks of nature…fresh morel mushrooms. You can’t plant ‘em, cultivating them requires a PhD in mycology, but you can find em hiding in the woods. This person knows a place they can be found and shares the varying yearly bounty. Looking like the antagonist from a 60’s black-n-white flick about alien invaders, these little fungi walk the line between subtle and blatant umami.

Today the little wrinkled cones were split into two batches. One was wrapped in foil with butter and onions and hung out with the burgers on the grill. I was given the honor of sautéing the other half and topped them with a little bit of buerre noisette. I added some of the onion scented slabs to the burger and enjoyed the sautéed slowly and without other ingredients to distract. Simply stupendous and farm-to-table without the farm or the table…it doesn’t get more manly than that.
 

Just A Taste Of Natures Beautiful Bounty
 

Rare and rapturous ingredients, convivial company, I dare you to try and do better. What a treat.