Here are some things we’ve learned since arriving in New York:

1. Dogs rule the city. Babies are second in command.
2. You can transfer from the subway to the metro without a physical transfer slip.
3. The Upper West Side is full of wonderful, teeming supermarkets, and the Upper East Side is completely devoid of them.

It’s nuts. Where do people who live on the East Side shop? We’ve been stalking the area around Mount Sinai in search of a decent food store (with decent prices), and the closest thing we’ve found is a Gristedes. If anyone knows of anywhere worth visiting, we’d really appreciate the guidance!

In the meantime, we’ve had to make do with canned beans. Just kidding – we wanted to use canned beans, and considering how much we like them, I’m not sure we could have found anything that much better.

The concept for this meal was burger and fries: the remix. I know that we usually blog individual dishes, but these go so well together that we couldn’t resist.  We did southwestern-flavored black bean burgers with a bright mango relish, and subbed baked yuca wedges for fries. The combination made a wonderfully surprising and filling vegetarian dinner.

Because we didn’t have much to do this afternoon, we ended up making the buns for the burgers as well. Though they were fun to bake, I’m honestly not sure whether they were worth the effort. Next time, we’ll probably just pick up a bag. That is, if we can find a supermarket.

Ingredients and Instructions:
(black bean burgers)
2 cans black beans
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
avocado, lettuce, tomato (optional fixings)

Rinse black beans. In a large bowl, mash beans with a masher or the back of a large spoon. Stir in mayonnaise and continue mashing until consistency resembles a very thick paste. Stir in cumin, scallion, panko, cilantro, and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat olive oil in a large pan, place burgers on the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until burgers have browned. Serve with mango relish, and any other fixings (avocado, lettuce, tomato).

(mango relish)
1 mango, diced
1/4 tsp lime zest
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Stir together mango and pepper in a bowl. Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, zest and scallion. Pour over mango mixture, stir, and season with salt and pepper.

(yuca wedges)
1 yuca, cut into wedges
2 tbsp
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

Fill a medium-size pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add yuca to boiling water, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. Preheat oven to 375. Toss yuca wedges in oil, cayenne, salt and pepper. Place wedges on a baking sheet, and cook for about 40 minutes, or until outsides of wedges are brown and crispy.