70 Alexander St.
Crows Nest
Ph: (02) 9460 6877
Craig Macindoe is a chef, blogger, tweeter, and passionate supporter of sutainable farming and produce. His MUMU Grill, as well as serving organic produce, also regularly hosts dinners highlighting this passion.
I had been visiting P, who unfortunately was too busy for lunch, so I decided to satiate my steak sandwich craving at MUMU.
Steak Sandwich ($16.90)
from the Express Lunch Menu
Described thus : Prime Rib, Rocket, Tomato, Manchego, caramelised onions on house made bread served with chips.
The thing that was immediately distinctive about this sandwich was the presence of cheese, which I only infrequently encounter in steak sandwiches.
Manchego cheese has a long historic and literary tradition, including a mention by Cervantes in "Don Quixote of La Mancha".
The Denomination of Origin (Denominación de Origen Protegida) Ruling defines the area where Manchego cheese can be produced : the Castile-La Mancha Autonomous Region, within which the provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real and Cuenca y Albacete lie. Manchego cheese has been protected by the Denomination of Origin since 1984, and it stipulates the exclusive use of milk from manchega sheep breed, as well as an ageing period of a minimum of 60 days.
This is a hefty generous specimen of a steak sandwich which I decided to eat (after having cut it in half) with my hands. This was probably the wrong decision, as the onions and juice of the steak ended up almost as much on my hands as in my mouth. I guess the cutlery was provided with good reason.
As a steak sandwich lover, I am always curious as to whether I will be asked for how I wish the steak to be cooked or whether, because of the cut of the steak, I am presented with it in whatever fashion they cook it. This tends to happen with those places that use minute steak.
At MUMU, the steak is king, and in my sandwich, it was cooked to perfection.
The steak was mouthfuls of joy. Juice, tender and flavoursome. Ironically, perhaps, the one distinctive feature of the sandwich, the Manchego, is probably the thing that I would have preferred to have been left out! The was both because of its strong taste, which was competing with that of the meat, and because the steak was so good that the mere presence of the cheese took my attention away from the taste of the meat.
A quarter of my way into the sandwich, I realised that what I really wanted to do was to just eat the meat and nothing else, it was that good.
Chef MUMU, that steak rocked.
[AP]
I think I'm quite old school with my steak sandwiches, but I've always found them much more satisfying when they're from the local fish and chip shop. You know the deal - factory white bread, a thin slice of god-knows-what-steak-but-it-sure-isn't-porterhouse, onions, some everyday lettuce, and a smattering of tomato sauce. When at a pub or cafe, the "gourmet" steak sandwich is inevitably a disappointment, esepcially when paying over $15 for one of them.
ReplyDeletegood to hear it was a yummy meal. he sure knows how to cook meat :-)
ReplyDeleteSimon - yes he does :)
ReplyDeleteDaniel - I like the old school ones too, and in fact @felixexplody introduced me to one that costs only $5 and hits the spot :) MUMU's steak really is very good though!