- Never mind the RSVP, says chef Walls.
To celebrate the completion of their new full kitchen, top-ranked banh mi joint Double Dragon will debut a new menu tonight, with free passed plates starting at 6pm. They’ve also made good on their quietly-held liquor license, and now offer a full cocktail program where once there were just beers (you have to buy the drinks for yourself).
The new menu looks to take chef/owner Rob Walls’ creativity in new directions with items like, “…a 5-Spice Bacon Burger with Szechuan Peppercorn Relish, Kimchi-Brined Fried Chicken Thighs, Mapo Tofu, Yakitori-Style Grilled Squid and bar snacks like Nuoc Cham Chicharrones and Chili-Lime Peanuts.” I like that they’re just frying thighs – the perfect joint for fried chicken.
I stopped in on Friday to try the Szechuan burger. The Szechuan peppercorn sauce was subtle but distinctly Asian, and nicely in tune with the deeply charred but medium-rare meat, sambal aioli, and generous layer of crisp bacon. It came across as a nicely tuned fusion item: still very much a hamburger, given unique personality with carefully-designed spices.
- Chris Onstad
- Double Dragon’s Szechuan Burger, from their new menu.
How did sambal become the newest not-actually-hot hot sauce go-to for so many places? Is it because it’s sweet?
DD does serve good food; I go there often. But I rebel when they take an ordinary sandwich, add a little cilantro and pickled veggies and call it Banh Mi. It’s a fine taste, but the name is phony. Where’s the baguette? Why is it so greasy?
It’s as bad as the fashion for calling everything made with red pepper, “Cajun”.