Shopping For Foodies, 2013: Part 5


This year’s gift roundup skewed more toward cooks than straight-up eaters, which probably tells you something about how I mainly think about food.   (Speaking of which, here’s something else: I hate wasting it, which is why one of the things on my wish list this year is a pack of cheese paper, so that next year I’ll get a leg up on the bacteria and ammonia that just love to ruin any nice wedge of Délice de Bourgogne you suffocate with plastic wrap.)

But the last item on my list goes out to all you folks who’d simply like to take your favorite foodie out for a solid bite to eat.  You could do a lot worse than treating them to my favorite new sandwich of the year, the pulled lamb shoulder from one of Reading Terminal Market’s newest tenants, the Border Springs lamb stall. 

Here’s the deal: a heap of super-tender shredded lamb piled onto a hummus-smeared brioche bun from Wild Flour Bakery, doused in a piri piri sauce that’s rocking with garlic and Thai chilis, topped with thin potato chips for crunch.  You’ll want extra napkins.

Don’t just take it from me, though.  It seems like every time I hit this counter I wind up eating next to someone who works elsewhere in the Market.  And when a guy from DiNic’s is getting his sandwich fix at Border Springs, take heed.  There are other good bets here—like the lamb neck tacos, which feature fresh blue and white tortillas from Tortilleria San Roman in the Italian Market—but the pulled shoulder is the one that keeps luring me back.  At about $10, it’s not the cheapest lunch around—but that’s why it would make for a welcome gift for anyone who appreciates a good downhome sandwich.

Bonus: You can also buy fresh whole cuts of lamb from Border Springs, which is the name of the southern Virginia farm where the flocks are tended.  It is terrific lamb—mild, mellow, and minimally gamy.  The necks are bizarrely expensive, but the legs and shoulders are priced fairly.  So why not get one?  Even if you don’t end up with a Romertopf under the tree, it’d make for a lovely Christmas dinner.

Happy holidays, Fooboozers.

Shopping For Foodies, Parts 1-5 [f8b8z]