What have you done, Oak Cliff?
About 55 steps from the front door of Stock and Barrel, wherein lies a burger so mighty it should come with the Gladiator soundtrack, is the little food hut ¡C. Señor!. With the warmed concrete tables, the faded paint job and the cold Topo Chicos, it's one of those quick food places you'll immediately love. The Food Critic Guy recently had the Cubano and said it was "fantastic." Actually, C Senor is so close to Stock and Barrel that you could order the Yucca fries on the way to the bathroom.
I went for the burger, which has an unpredictable ingredient list: Beef and chorizo patty, spiced ketchup, diced onion, potato strings (crispy and thin!), pepperjack cheese -- all on a soft Cuban roll. It was seven-and-a-half bucks, so I added the yucca fries. Those come dusted with a chili salt. I was so proud and excited about my order that I was thrown off when the nice gentleman behind the counter didn't firmly shake my hand and say, "I just want to shake the hand of the person who put in the best order I've ever heard." I know, man. I know.
Here's one mistake I made: I ate one of the Yucca fries as I was driving away. I actually thought they would make it home. Hilarious rookie mistake. Do not do this. It's nearly dangerous. These yuccas, dusted with chili and salt, have a bolder flavor than any potato fry and are puffed into the shape of tiny skyscrapers. They're so good that I actually caught myself dipping a fat fry in the punchy, house-made ketchup while turning left to enter Highway 35. If you had them, you wouldn't judge.
The burger came with a tiny packet of crunchy potato strings speared to the bun. Immediately and feverishly dumped those on top of the burger. Cheese was melted gloriously onto the wrapper, which is always a good sign. I may or may not have plucked the melted cheese off the wrapper to eat it. Anyway --
If it's possible for a burger to be fun, it's the ¡C. Señor! burger. The whole thing is unpredictable: Some bites were layered with mild, soft cheese, and others gave off a home-cooked, almost-Sloppy Joe flavor with the seasoned ketchup with diced onion. The most awesome oil ever, chorizo oil, made its way to the cheese and added a richness to the bun. Add the crunch of those potato strings and the burger was gone with the speed of a snake strike. The burger was cooked nicely too, with a few bursts of pink. One complaint: the Cuban roll had the stiffness of being almost stale.
So, again, thanks a bunch, Oak Cliff! Really appreciate you stacking good cheeseburgers hilariously close to each other. OK, fine, I guess we'll just have to get both.
It'll probably be in the same night.
