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| - I heard of Black Camel via Now's 'Best Burger in the City' article. I think. Either way, I came here ... TWICE. I did not want to give a verdict until I gave it a fair chance.
The first time around, I had the pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce / caramelized onions. My gut impression was 'WTH? What is the fuss? The lunatics ... such blasphemy!'. Ok, maybe that reaction was slightly on the strong side. But I take my food seriously and I just did NOT like it AT ALL. I found the pork stringy and porky. The latter means that I could taste pig and nothing much else ... I just couldn't find the cohesion between the pork / sauce / onions. Perhaps it was because I came fairly late in the afternoon ... and (maybe) the pork was left on the warmer for too long. I am not sure what it was. I just couldn't get into it. I have had smokey bbq food before where the sauce just made you want to lick your fingers and / or the pork simply melted into your mouth. This sandwich did neither.
However, I was not deterred. I rarely give a verdict after only one try. So, I decided to return for the beef brisket the second time around. This time, I had the following toppings: chipotle mayo / horse radish / sautéed mushrooms. Boy, was I glad I did not give up so easily. The combination was superb IMHO. I needed the extra tangy zing from the horse radish. It just pulled everything together without being too overpowering (some horse radishes are just too strong for me). And the mushrooms were melty smooth and chewy. The bun was firm yet moist. The highlight was the brisket: it was smoky, tasty, and tender. I devoured the whole sandwich in mere minutes. And I promptly went up to the counter to get my loyalty card: god darn it, I will be coming back again ... and again ... and again. THIS ONE IS DELISH! Jackpot!!!!
BTW, the service was impeccable. My only recommendation is taking the sandwich out to the nearby park as there are only a handful of chairs in there.
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