Plantains are not that popular in the U.S., but the rest of the world eats them up. They are a starchy staple of many tropical countries' diets. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 23 regional dishes that revolve around plantains. In the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, and Venezuela they are sliced into chips and called plátanos maduros. In Cuba they are mashed into a porridge known as fufu. Plantains are fried in Ivory Coast and served with a tomato onion sauce and grilled fish to make aloco.
This recipe for Plantain Shoestring Fries from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes is a great introduction to cooking with plantains. Most stores sell ripe and unripe plantains; they both look like giant mutant bananas, except that one type will be green and firm and the other will be black and soft. This recipe calls for the unripe, green variety, which is starchy enough to fry up crisp.
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Best Hamburger in Anchorage, AK: Arctic Roadrunner Local Burgerman, besides being fun to say, serves up a solid burger in the cold reaches of the far north. [MetalSucks]
Sydney's New Burger Mania: Grill'd is a departure from the "greasy takeaway shop" fare where the philosophy is "healthy burgers, healthy mind." [Grab Your Fork]
Burger Truck Trend Continues in California: Johnny Rockets, the Southern California burger chain, is debuting a food truck on July 30 at the Washington Redskins training camp. [OCRegister.com]
Fries the Way to Go at Checkers/Rally's:The fries at this burger chain are battered with "seasoned crack." [Food in Mouth]
Googling "taco burger" mostly results in recipes for taco-flavored burgers. That's not nearly as cool as J. C. Reid's taco burger at Eating Our Words consisting of a burger topped with taco filling, thus combining two of Houston's most beloved foodstuffs. Reid grabbed some beef tongue tacos from a taco truck, brought them to Hubcap Grill, and joined the two in harmony:
This taco burger was amazing. The coarse texture of the beef patty worked great with the finer texture of the tongue. The spicy cilantro and onions were the perfect toppings for the burger. The hot sauces added an incredible kick to the whole assemblage. A true culinary fusion.
Whenever I get the chance to use a photo of the Hamburger Fatty Melt, I take it.
Every week on Serious Eats we hold a Weekend Cook and Tell where we suggest a cooking project for the weekend for members of the Serious Eats community to make and report on the following week. This week's Fourth of July-appropriate project: burgers!
Check out AHT's recipes section if you need some inspiration. Here are some of our less conventional burger recipes:
Today McDonald's rolls out their first new burgers nationwide in eight years: Angus Third Pounders. Kevin Pang of Chicago Tribune has a rundown of the three $3.99 burgers, recommending the Mushroom & Swiss over the Deluxe and the Bacon & Cheese. Related:McDonald's Angus Third Pounder
A distressing comment was left yesterday by AHT reader mduda on my recent review of White Diamond:
Sadly, White Diamond in Linden appears to be closed. There is a paper "CLOSED" sign in the window, the listed phone number rings unanswered, and the restaurant was closed and locked when visited last week on two separate days for lunch and dinner. Very sad—I only had the chance to eat there once, but excellent burgers.
I have been calling in a frantic panic since yesterday but the phone just rings and rings with no answer. I actually went back to White Diamond the week after my review with Josh Ozersky and I have to say that it was even better than I described. Ozersky was as impressed and even blogged about it over at Rachel Ray
Hopefully they are just on holiday; we are coming up on the July Fourth weekend after all, although you would expect that the sign would indicate this. If it turns out that White Diamond is really closed, it is a real tragedy for it is truly one of the last of a dying breed of genuinely authentic slider emporiums. The hamburger I ate on my last visit was as close to the platonic ideal of hamburger perfection as any I have tried. In fact, it might have been the best hamburger I have ever eaten.
If any of our readers have further information please let us know.
An email from Switzerland-based artist Marcella Lassen just alerted me to her new website, and I realized I've been remiss in highlighting her series of hamburger art here on AHT. She actually has a separate site for the series, www.hamburger-art.de, which gives the following explanation of her work:
Though her subject matter, the hamburger, has its roots in daily American life, in the 21st Century it has taken center stage on a global scale. Ms. Lassen’s consistent focus on this seemingly trivial subject manifests the significance of the hamburger being one of the very few cultural icons known in even the remotest corners of the world. Both formally and in content, her interpretations elaborate how this simple bun with a meat patty has found its way into our collective consciousness: what it represents for each individual consumer and non-consumer, and how individual interpretation is colored by social, political, economic, ecological, even personal factors. The content of Ms. Lassen’s interpretations is defined by a variety of perspectives: ironic, or philosophical, critical or with a humorous slant. "It contains an expanding powerhouse of potential for creative interpretation," she says.
Above, clockwise from left: "The Blue Burger," "The White Lettered Burger," and "The Squiggly Line Burger," all gouache on paper.
Ed, HELP! Just walked past Joe Jr's, my beloved local greasy spoon [Kamp is very fond of greasy spoons. —Ed], and they have big handwritten signs in the window saying they've lost their lease after 35 yrs. They are asking people to sign a petition to save Joe Jr. and to "spread the word," I guess in hopes of pressuring the landlord not to cut them loose.
Could Joe Jr's really be history? Say it ain't so, Joe! Where will hungover serious eaters who live in Greenwich Village go to recuperate?
Joe Jr. Restaurant
482 Sixth Avenue, New York NY 10011 (at West 12th Street; map)
212-924-5220
Plantains are not that popular in the U.S., but the rest of the world eats them up. They are a starchy staple of many tropical countries' diets. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 23 regional dishes that revolve around plantains. In the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, and Venezuela they are sliced into chips and called plátanos maduros. In Cuba they are mashed into a porridge known as fufu. Plantains are fried in Ivory Coast and served with a tomato onion sauce and grilled fish to make aloco.
An email from Switzerland-based artist Marcella Lassen just alerted me to 
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