We’re living in an age of mashup-food mania, a time in which a new frankenfood unveils itself everyday. To help you keep up with all the new hypebeast snacks on the scene, we’ll be doing a weekly roundup of ridiculous mashup foods you need to know about right now, and ranking them on staying power. Read on!
Sushi + Croissant = California Croissant
The mashup: Mr Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco has been open for about two months, but it’s already making waves thanks to off-the-wall creations like this. The “Cali Croissy” takes a smoked salmon sushi roll—nori, wasabi, pickled ginger and all—and wraps it in buttery, flaky croissant dough. It’s served with a packet of Kikkoman for the full sushi experience.
Staying power: Medium. Mr Holmes chef/owner Ry Stephen told the Bold Italic he might “play with other Cali roll fillings down the road,” so it’s likely this East-West hybrid is going to keep evolving. (Photo: Mr Holmes Bakehouse)
Ramen + Doughnut = Maple Bacon Ramen Donut
The mashup: This is the beautiful love child of Culinary Bro-Down‘s Josh Scherer and Popsugar TV host Brandi Milloy, the edible offspring of a food jock and cheerleader. We’re already fans of Culinary Bro-Down’s “ramnut,” but this new maple bacon topping makes us think we’d get along really well with Brandi Milloy.
Staying power: Low. Making ramnuts is time consuming as hell, but we’ll happily perv over them on Instagram anytime Josh Scherer’s night gets weird.
Funnel Cake + Burger = The Freakshow Burger
The mashup: We posted about Zombie Burger’s corndog-stuffed burger at the Iowa State Fair, but the Des Moines eatery has upped its game this week. The aptly named Freakshow consists of an “open-face BBQ spice funnel cake bun, corn dog fried bacon, battered cheese curds, cheddar cheese + buttered popcorn flavored nacho cheese sauce.” We imagine eating this to be akin to hallucinating at a fairground after some carnies spike your drink.
Staying power: Low. Zombie Burger rotates its specials every week—this unholy creation was actually timed to mark the season finale of American Horror Story this past Wednesday. (Photo: Facebook/ Zombie Burger)
Ramen Fried Chicken
The mashup: You’ve had chicken ramen. But have you ever had ramen (fried) chicken? Last week, Chang made a ramlet—an omelet flavored with ramen seasoning then stuffed with scrambled eggs. This week, Chang pulverizes instant ramen noodles to create a flour to coat chicken, then adds Ichiban spice and Shin Ramyun soup mix to the flour, then gets to battering and frying. “You know what this smells like? Doritos. Cool Ranch Doritos.” says Chang about the flour.
Staying power: High. About the final product, Chang comments, “You know spinal tap when you go to 11? We just went to 11. It’s fucking awesome.” We trust him.