Cinco de Mayo Burgers & Shakes @ The Filling Station Co

This month’s Special Burger and Shake at the Filling Station in New Canaan celebrates Cinco de Mayo by offering a departure from its traditional hamburger ingredients. The May 2011 Special pairs a Chorizo Burger with the Special Shake of the Month, Dulce de Leche. The former combines the spiciness of a house made chorizo patty with the mild flavors of queso fresco, lettuce, tomato and house-made lime cilantro crema, while the latter adds a different ingredient to its Dulce de Leche interpretation.

As a hamburger traditionalist, I required a few bites to feel comfortable with the taste and texture of the non-traditional chorizo burger. The ingredients in the patty included cumin and smoked paprika and created more of a Middle East flavor than Mexican, and can best be described as robust and full-bodied. The texture of the burger also reminded me more of the Filling Station’s falafel burger creation than a hamburger. The crema and the lettuce and tomato added a softening to the boldness of the meat and the queso fresco almost took a back seat to the other, stronger flavors. Overall, the combination created a flavorful interpretation of a chorizo sausage and the toppings were a nice addition. This month’s special will be more of a fun-burger than a daily burger.

The unusual addition to this month’s special shake is coconut, which Filling Station adds to the traditional Dulce de Leche ingredient, condensed milk. The result is a sweet vanilla-based shake with a hint of coconut. What I found interesting, as I was eating the burger the coconut flavor became more pronounced after a bite of the spicy chorizo burger, almost converting my feeling that it was more of a coconut shake than a Dulce de Leche shake.

Overall the May 2011 Special Burger and Shake is an interesting and flavorful interpretation using non-traditional ingredients and combinations in tribute to Cinco de Mayo and offers an add-on fun-burger to its tradition menu. I would order one to see the creativity of a hamburger to celebrate an historic event. Stay tuned for next month’s overview of the Filling Station Burger of the Month which this beef lover hopes returns a twist of an old-time favorite.

Comments

[Lubber]

Why does this guy only write about The Filling Station?? Does Jeff Food have a piece of thee action??? Odd.

[Jeff "jfood" Schlesinger]

Hey Lubber

CTBites and I always want to address any perceived conflict of interest from our readership so I hope the following helps you feel more comfortable in both the site and my reviews.

The Filling Station articles are basically a monthly review of the special burger and shake. It has been a regular piece dating back to late 2010. There are also June-August reviews that are more current if you care to look at these as well. Likewise, if you look deeper you will find about 20 other articles that I have written about other Fairfield County restaurants. In fact, in New Canaan alone, there are reviews of Cava, CSE, the former Aloi with others in the works. I do not "only" write about Filling Station.

"Jeff Food" or "Jfood" or "Jeff Schlesinger," (all the same person) does not have a "piece of the action" in Filling Station or any other retaurant.

Glad that you enjoy the articles and I hope this clears any misconceptions.

Best