Due to some byzantine scheduling issues, I found myself at home at 11am on a Monday, hungry and needing to leave the house. Fortunately, J was also hungry, so we met up at the Central Square farmers market and then got some lunch. If you’ve been reading Grow Cook Eat, you’d know that she’s been about as regular at the Central Square market as I’m hoping to be at the Davis outlet.
We poked around among super-cute fresh beets, finger-like and smaller than the neighboring radishes, and some kohlrabi and garlic scapes, two vegetables new to me. I’m hoping somebody blogs some recipes for those, but I didn’t buy any – yet. We also learned that the tiny heirloom tomatoes I enjoy are still hothouse for a month or two longer, but they’re still a lot more delicious and a lot less contaminated than the typical supermarket ones these days.
After a quick snack at the market, we headed off to Four Burgers, recently opened in Central Square where Gandhi restaurant used to be, if you’re navigating by navistalgia. A deliberately simple concept Four Burgers offers just that, in beef, turkey, salmon and veggie varieties. I had tried the veggie variety last week and found it decidedly wanting (mushy, black beany, and bland), but the beef more than made up for it.
Probably not a true locavore sandwich, the Brandt beef burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato (!) was delivered medium rare as ordered, already a good sign. Waffle chips were house-made but not very crispy and not nearly salty enough. Similar critique applies to the massive plate of sweet potato fries, but they were at least flavorful. And they got better after J meddled with them, I hope she’ll blog about that. Back to the burger: simple and straightforward, a classic.
We didn’t imbibe at lunch, but Four Burgers has a brief but interesting wine and beer list. Another encouraging sign.
I ran into some good folks from Harmonix Music (we discussed BSG and Speck) and local photographer John Chervinsky, too. I’m hoping they can add reports of the final two burgers.
David, thanks for the great photos of the Central Square farmer’s market. I posted a recipe for kolhrabi on my blog (thanks for the hint), and some cooking suggestions for the garlic scapes.
Hmm yum! ;-). Thanks for sharing