Burgers aren't interesting to chefs just because young people are willing to pay a lot for dude food; it's also because they have access to better meat. Though Yoon began grinding dry-aged New York strip and mixing it with a bit of chuck in 2000, grinding meat isn't done at most restaurants. So until a few years ago, everyone used chuck for burgers. Then New York's Pat La Frieda Wholesale Meat Purveyors started selling a proprietary blend of chuck and brisket to top restaurants, some of which also had short rib and hanger steak added. Burger Bar's Hubert Keller makes his excellent burgers by grinding meat in a butcher area at the back of his restaurant. "When it comes to pizza and burgers, people are eating so many of them that when you give them a great burger or pizza, they can tell the difference," he says. On his public TV series, Secrets of a Chef, one of the three recipes in each episode is a burger. Keller is shocked at how popular burgers are, having opened his Las Vegas Burger Bar only as a favor to Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, which also houses his second Fleur de Lys restaurant. "Five years ago, nobody thought of putting their name on a burger joint. I was gambling," he said. "I thought the press would fire back and say the man has made four-star restaurants his entire life, and now he's doing a burger."
OH SNAP!! I related in an earlier response that I would love to give a shot at a burger joint of Thomas Kellers. I had no idea that Mandalay Burger Bar was his. My bad. Sad to say..the JIQ (Joint in Question) was overpriced foofoo. By the time all was said and done ..my $16 burger was overcooked, pressed, limp tomato and pickle spear as in setup on a tray anbd prepped before lunch, semi cold, service subpar and they brought me the wrong beer. Celeb chef's indeed! I will say that Emerils Delmonico at the Venetian, and that is a steak joint, is worth every single penney but ...as far as Food Network or Celeb Chef joints....talk to the hand.....or the finger!!
Cheers, TB.
Oh snap...do you love me? Please kill me! How did I screw that up? I am such a loser...I am worthless and weak and need to be put down by a vet.
Cheers, TB.
I made a special trip to Burger Bar when I was in Vegas and it was a life-changing, totally transcendent burger. Only mistake was getting the ciabatta instead of regular bread, which caused major burger slippage with the caramelized onion. One of the top two burgers of a lifetime.
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OH SNAP!! I related in an earlier response that I would love to give a shot at a burger joint of Thomas Kellers. I had no idea that Mandalay Burger Bar was his. My bad. Sad to say..the JIQ (Joint in Question) was overpriced foofoo. By the time all was said and done ..my $16 burger was overcooked, pressed, limp tomato and pickle spear as in setup on a tray anbd prepped before lunch, semi cold, service subpar and they brought me the wrong beer. Celeb chef's indeed! I will say that Emerils Delmonico at the Venetian, and that is a steak joint, is worth every single penney but ...as far as Food Network or Celeb Chef joints....talk to the hand.....or the finger!!
Cheers, TB.
texas blues at 10:13PM on 01/28/08
@texas blues: Read more closely: "... Burger Bar's Hubert Keller makes his excellent burgers ..."
It's a Keller, but not Thomas Keller.
Adam Kuban at 10:47PM on 01/28/08
Oh snap...do you love me? Please kill me! How did I screw that up? I am such a loser...I am worthless and weak and need to be put down by a vet.
Cheers, TB.
texas blues at 11:11PM on 01/29/08
HA! You just need to eat more burgers. They're proven to sharpen eyesight, brain chemistry, and the like. It's why I'm in Mensa.
Adam Kuban at 1:02AM on 01/30/08
I made a special trip to Burger Bar when I was in Vegas and it was a life-changing, totally transcendent burger. Only mistake was getting the ciabatta instead of regular bread, which caused major burger slippage with the caramelized onion. One of the top two burgers of a lifetime.
tmayson at 4:11PM on 09/18/08