Each Friday, this list will track five of the best things Heavy Table’s writers, editors, and photographers have recently bitten or sipped. Have a suggestion for the Hot Five? Email editor@heavytable.com.
The Hot Five is a weekly feature created by the Heavy Table and supported by Shepherd Song Farm.
The Lowry Hill Meats Burger
The burger at Lowry Hill Meats is nothing fancy. It’s a hyper-juicy quarter pound of delicious beef bedecked with caramelized onions and a salty, sticky, full-flavored house-made American cheese(!) But despite (or because of) its simplicity, it’s now become one of our favorite lunches, and the start of what we can only hope is a new Wednesday-afternoon tradition.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Flyover Country by Fair State Brewing Cooperative and Oakhold
The first thing that grabs you about Fair State and Oakhold’s barrel-aged sour Flyover Country is the aroma. It’s rich and complex, funky stone fruit and acid. We kept going back for more before even sampling the first drop; there’s a compelling story wafting upward from each glass. The beer itself is a powerful wave of flavor that breaks immediately as it hits your palate, a blast of complex acidity — riffing on coriander and orange peel — that crests quickly and exits cleanly, leaving you refreshed with each sip.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Honey Walnut Shrimp at Hong Kong Noodle
I’m a shrimp lover, which means you embrace disappointment. I imagine about 33 percent of shrimp must come from the terrible part of the ocean, but that’s not the case with the good people at Hong Kong Noodle. These big shrimps are always crispy, and they are covered in a heavenly sauce full of sweetness that is balanced by the crunch of the also-sweet candied walnuts. It’s not often that any type of meat pops in your mouth, but this absolutely does.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted from a Desert Island Top 10 post by Sean McPherson]
Goat Rice Bowl from Union Kitchen
We ordered one of everything at Yia Vang’s Union Kitchen pop-up this Monday at Grand Cafe, and we’re glad we did. Everything was good-to-excellent with a lot of funk, depth of flavor, and balance throughout. The Stout Beer Braised Goat Rice Bowl may have been our favorite single taste. The goat was stewed to tender, fully flavored perfection, and the accompanying soft-boiled egg, pickled carrots, and jicama and bok choy were lovely complements to the big soothing flavor of the meat.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by James Norton]
Hot Tuna Hoagie at Hogan Bros.
Absolutely nothing — not an atom — of this sandwich has changed since Hogan Bros. and I arrived in Northfield at almost exactly the same time, 26 years ago. It starts with soft, crustless bread, flecked with whole wheat in a pre-whole-grains-heyday kind of way. “Everything” is a perfectly calibrated balance of shredded lettuce, onions, tomato, banana peppers, mayo, and a special sauce that seems to be mostly Italian dressing. “Hot” means a quick trip to the microwave. And the whole thing drips just enough to make you feel alive and young and carefree again. And now you don’t have to worry about quarters for laundry.
[Debuting on the Hot Five | Submitted by Tricia Cornell]