The Chacarero

I gave it a valiant effort.  I joked.  I hinted.  I came this close to begging.  But alas, the Banh Mi Sandwich has had it’s run.  I thought that since I’m the chef, I should be able to decide if something stays on the menu or not.  Mr. P put his foot down and said it stays a special and we needed something new.  After all, it is his name on the building.    I was going to drag it out and wait for him to come up with another special so the Banh Mi could hang around for a little while, but then I came across another “what’s hot on the coasts” food truck article and was inspired!

In keeping with our new tradition of taking trendy food truck fare and putting a Mr. P twist on it, we have the Chacarero.  Pronounced shaka-rare-ro.  Roll your Rs for an authentic sound.  It’s a Chilean sandwich made with shredded beef in a spiced gravy, served on a roll with avocado, cheese, sliced tomatoes and, here’s what makes the sandwich special, steamed green beans on top.  We took our smoked brisket, spiced it up with the Chilean gravy, put it on a roll with avocado aioli, cheddar cheese, sliced tomatoes, green beans and if you like it hot, diced jalapenos and Mr. P’s Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic sauce.  Served with our fresh cut fries, blue cheese cole slaw, or kettle chips (two flavors now:  house or sea salt with black pepper) for $9.50.  During the summer, we’ll also have salt potatoes as a side option for sandwiches and entrees.

So c’mon in for a taste of the new special.  No telling how long it’ll be around!

Mr. P’s Banh Mi Sandwich

For our next featured sandwich, we are going international!  If you’ve had the chance to be in a major metropolitan city lately, you’ve probably come across fleets of food trucks hawking a combination of street and gourmet food.  Other than the food, why else would you ever want to leave our little mountain hamlet?  Now we love our restaurants here in Schroon Lake, and we love our barbecue, but admittedly, there’s not a lot of diversity when it comes to ethnic food choices here and sometimes you just need something a little bit different.  Enter:  The Banh Mi.

The Banh Mi, a Vietnamese take on a sub-style sandwich typically served on a baguette, is one of the most popular food truck menu items trending today.  Just as many different ways as there is to make the Banh Mi, there’s equally as many ways to pronounce it.  The one we settled on is:  Banh, pronounced like auto BAHN, and Mi, pronounced ME.  It’s know for being hearty, a little bit spicy and a nice balance between warm meat and fresh, cool veggies.  The ingredients of a Banh Mi are pretty much like the ingredients of a sub sandwich; it’s whatever is to your taste.  Here’s the Mr. P’s version, available starting today, for a limited time.

Mr. P’s Banh Mi

Smoked (of course), pulled pork or chicken with sweet and tangy marinated carrots and radishes, a dash of gluten-free soy sauce, sliced cucumbers, fresh cilantro and a little dollop of mayo, all packed into a 6″ roll.  For those who like it hot, add some sliced jalapenos and Mr. P’s Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hot sauce.  Served with house chips, fresh cut fries or blue cheese cole slaw, $9.50 (Gluten-free sub rolls also available, eat a sandwich like a sandwich!  Just mention you need GF when ordering.)  Vegetarians, have no fear, for there is a grilled tofu version just for you!

Maybe one day we’ll have food trucks in Schroon Lake, but until then, we’ll just mimic whatever they are serving on the coasts!  Have to give credit to the Nomsters, creators of the Nom Nom food truck out of LA, for their detailed description of a Banh Mi.  We hope our tribute version does yours justice.

Schroon Lake Opening Weekend – Information and Forms

A committee of your fellow Schroon Lakers have been working on putting together a huge line up of events for Opening Weekend – The Official Start to Summer.  New events and activities are being added all the time, please be sure to watch our Facebook events page for details.

http://www.facebook.com/events/384966091528495/

Official Press Release (thank you Anthony Batson, www.SchroonLaker.com  for your journalistic talents!)

Expo on Main Street flyer and Vendor forms

Boat Parade Registration - it’s free and you could win Best Pirate Ship, Funniest Boat or Most Adirondack Style Boat

Garage Sale Registration - be included in the weekend’s garage sale listings and map distributed at the Chamber for $5

To make a voluntary contribution to the “Tribute for the Troops” concert, click here!

Poem in your Pocket Day

So if you haven’t heard, today is National Poem in your Pocket day!  The basic idea is you find a poem you love, put it in your pocket and carry the postive energy around with you all day long.  There are events planned around the country to share poems, so if you have one you’d like to share with us, feel free to post it here.  Our Poem in our Pocket today:

To Bacon

You taste so good,

With fat a-drippin’

and in the pan,

you’re finger-lickin’ (good),

I never cook you

in portions meager

you hiss and pop

which makes me eager

to chomp you down

with eggs and toast

but I love you bacon,

I love you most.

Sadly, we didn’t pen this little gem ourselves, so we have to give credit to Badger Clark.  For more fun poems about bacon, we found these websites you might want to check out:
http://baconfestchicago.com/announcing-the-6-finalists-of-the-bacon-poetry-contest-please-vote
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-barbecue/
http://bacontoday.com/limericks-poetry-haikus-and-bacon/

For more details about Poem in your Pocket day, visit http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406

If you tweet your poem, don’t forget to add the hashtag #pocketpoem