Steamy beefiness. |
K. LaMay's Steamed Cheeseburgers
170-5 Main St., Middletown, (860) 347-0602, klamayssteamedcheeseburgers.com
Here's a question: What's Connecticut's signature food? Stop a stranger in Tennessee, Ohio or Wyoming and chances are they won't have a hunch about what's a good bet for grub in the Nutmeg State. We all know we've got righteous pizza and mean lobster rolls, but the word isn't necessarily out beyond our borders. The steamed cheeseburger might be another candidate for a food item of statewide fame. But it depends who you ask.
Turns out, not everyone around here even eats steamed cheeseburgers, but we're kind of known for them in the central part of the state. Don't believe us? There was a documentary about hamburgers a few years back that selected eight burger joints of note from around the country to spotlight, and little old Connecticut had two of the featured establishments. One of them, Ted's in Meriden, was presented as the place to go if you wanted to sample a steamed cheeseburger. Middletown is now giving Meriden a run for its money in the iconic-steamed-cheeseburger department. (There are some places on the Berlin Turnpike that proudly compete for steamed-cheeseburger prominence, too.) O'Rourke's Diner has long served steamed cheeseburgers (the meat patties, along with slabs of cheddar cheese, are cooked in little steam boxes). And now K. LaMay's Steamed Cheeseburgers down the road a little on Main Street, has entered the game.
K. LaMay's is obviously focused on steamed cheeseburgers — I'm not sure if there's another establishment in the state that puts "steamed cheeseburgers" front and center right there in the restaurant's name. It's more than just the name. A look at the menu reveals that there's little else to focus on. The sandwich offerings include: steamed cheeseburger ($4.95), steamed hamburger ($3.95), double steamed cheeseburger ($6.95), hot cheese sandwich (no meat) ($3.95) and BLT ($4.50), with added bacon and cheese options. It's rare to find a place so committed to such a minimalist selection. And one can see signs of their resolve softening; there were hand-written signs announcing the addition of new items like a steak and cheese sandwich and they've also introduced a turkey bacon cheddar melt, which, given the beef-centric nature of everything else, seems like a major departure.
And beef-centric is one way to describe the steamed cheeseburger. It's strange; when we think of beef we generally think of it being kissed by the char from a grill or a fire. It's so central to the idea that most of us have of beef's taste that to steam the meat somehow seems like we're missing some key element. But don't be fooled, a steamed cheeseburger is strangely more "beefy" than many macho char-broiled half-pound numbers. That might be because once you factor our those dominant carbonized flavors of smoke and fire what you end up with has more beef essence. Whether you want to be getting your beef essence from ground beef instead of say, a porterhouse, is a question you'll have to ask yourself (but you probably won't go steaming your steak anytime, so maybe it's a non-question). This isn't to say that meat is the only thing going on with the steamed burgers at K. LaMay's. That sharp cheddar plays nearly a scene-stealing supporting role to the beef. The cheese is laid on thick, and once it spends time in the steamer the only word that comes to mind to describe it is "slab-like."
The burgers at K. LaMay's are juicy and tasty, and they're a little bigger than many or the more compact steamed burgers you'll find in the area. They're served on a hard roll lightly dusted with (I think) a hint of corn meal. These are a perfect counterpart for the steamed burger. They have enough body and substance to hold up to the juiciness without needing to be toasted, and yet the roll doesn't require any extra tooth-work to get through.
The steak and cheese was flavored with grilled onions, sweet and caramelized and crispy. The beef was more like slices of corned beef than the razor-thin sheets of the stuff one finds on Philly style sandwiches. Onion rings came in medium big hoops, with a medium-thick batter-fried coating. Fries had bits of skin still attached in places. Not drastically rustic and rough, but not the mass-produced uniform-pressed fast-food type either. If K. Lamay's is thinking of adding to its minimal menu, I might lobby for a milk shake. Keeping true to the CT-pride evident in its steamed-burger focus, the restaurant serves Foxon Park (New Haven) sodas.
If you've got a Whalers jersey, if you take out-of-town visitors to Hartford's Little Italy, or down to New Haven for pizza, or if you wrinkle your nose at lobster rolls with mayonnaise, you might consider the steamed cheeseburgers at K. LaMay's as your new culinary badge of state pride.
