We haven't done a weekend book giveaway in AHT-Serious Eats land in a while. And as I was looking up some historical burger info on Friday, I realized that we have a nice little stack of Josh Ozerksy's recent book, The Hamburger: A History.
As I said in an earlier review of Ozersky's book, "In five easy chapters, Ozersky handily deals with the contentious origins of the burger—which world culture spawned it and who invented the version we know today?—and then takes the reader on a fast-paced journey from the ramshackle hamburger stands of the early 1900s to White Castle (the original king of fast food) to the '50s and '60s, which see the rise and consolidation of the burger giants we know all too well today."
I see this giveaway as a nice little bookend (no pun intended) to the summer grilling/burger season, as we gave away a burger book just as summer began.
As in that earlier contest (for Hamburger America), I'm going to make you work for it. To win The Hamburger, all you have to do is COMPOSE A HAMBURGER ACROSTIC POEM in the comments here. The best five acrostic poems, as determined by the AHT staff, win.
For those of you who failed English, an acrostic poem looks like this:
Hearty Awesome Meaty Buns Undeniably juicy Rare to medium-rare Good to the last bite Eat one every day Readers of AHT love them!
My acrostic pretty much blows, but it gives you an example. You needn't use the word hamburger; feel free to use any word for your acrostic that evokes hamburgerness. Go!
Comments will close at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 2. One entry per person. I am recusing myself from judging; the other folks at AHT-Serious Eats will determine winners. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Dig your hands into mountains of seasoned ground meat for this Labor Day weekend—with the purpose of making them into burgers, that is. To get you started, here are three recipes catering to lovers of truffles, meat loaf, and cheese.
The Black Truffle Burger: When you have black truffle butter on hand and don't know what to do with it, put it in a burger for an earthy flavor
The Everything Burger: This meat loaf burger contains beef, veal, and pork for triple-meat goodness
Gourmet shares 12 of their best burger recipes accompanied by beautiful hunger-inducing burger photos. There's something for everyone—even a bulgur burger for vegetarians.
Not that you haven't seen these before, in some form or another, but this photo made the rounds recently and some people wanna see it on AHT. It's an array of Krispy Kreme doughnut burgers at the Google cafeteria at the company's New York office.
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
I was in Dallas last weekend and stopped in for lunch at barbecue chain restaurant Red Hot and Blue. I don't normally eat restaurant barbecue, so I skipped over the barbecue and checked out the burgers.
There it was—a burger fit for a king. The All-In Burger—half a pound of beef, topped with pulled pork, onion rings, cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce.
Sirloin, Black Angus and Wagyu beef in a bun do us no favors. They don't have enough fat to produce the oozy mouth feel that's half the reason for eating a hamburger. Fresh, ground chuck might sound down-market, but it works best, from the Burger Heaven chain to Andy D'Amico's terrific new Five Napkin Burger.
Easily enticed by new menu items, Marvo of product review blog The Impulsive Buy tries Jack in the Box's Nacho Cheese Burger. While I was disappointed to find out that it isn't a cheeseburger topped with tortilla chips, but a cheeseburger topped with sliced jalapenos, it's still slightly more interesting than a plain fast food cheeseburger. Marvo gives it the thumbs up:
The jalapenos gave the burger a nice heat, but not enough to think I might have contracted a burning sensation from a drunken starlet. The cheddar cheese sauce added nicely to the burger’s flavor and was as gooey and as radioactive in color as I would expect.
The Nacho Cheese Burger is available at Jack in the Box for $1.29. Marvo warns that it's on the small side, so you may need something else to eat with it. Just don't go for the BBQ Bacon Sirloin Burger.
For those of you whose definition of “hamburger” is a little more loose than ours, Everyday Food’s Dinner Tonight blog has some “experimental” burgers for you to try. Although beef is classic, turkey, lamb, and bison can also taste delicious in a bun.
38 MacDougal Street, New York, NY (b/n Prince and Houston Streets; map); 212-475-7500; hundredacresnyc.com The Short Order: Extraordinary dry-aged, coarsely ground, grass-fed and grain-finished burger. Want Fries with That? Great salty, medium-thick,skin-on fries, crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside. Price: Hamburger or cheeseburger, $18
There is no shortage of fancy-pants burgers in New York City, ranging from ridiculously overpriced Kobe burgers to burgers filled with foie gras, short ribs, and even fatback. But how does someone distinguish his or her fancy-pants burger from the pack of great burger wanna-bes?
Marc Meyer, chef and co-owner of Hundred Acres (and the co-owner of Cookshop and Five Points), had an additional burden. He felt compelled to come up with a burger that would stand out among all the other fancy-pants burgers in the city and also be different from his excellent Cookshop and Five Points burgers.
He found a farm in Virginia, Deblyn, part of the EcoFriendly Foods co-op, that raises a limited number of animals on grass and finishes them on grain. The co-op then ages the meat for 4 to 8 weeks and sells quarters to Meyer. He coarsely grinds neck and shoulder meat and puts six ounces of it on a Tom Cat bakery brioche-like bun. Meyer then takes a slice of sublime Goot Essa cheddar, adds some Vidalia onion mayo, and a side order of skin-on fries. Does he succeed in fashioning a distinctive fancy-pants burger?
New York magazine reports: "The proprietary blend will likely be too expensive for any but a few high-end clients, admits La Frieda V.P Mark Pastore. The mix will be a limited series, with each batch numbered for total traceability. 'We’re really just bringing it out for a few chefs,' Pastore says, declining to give any names. 'But we thought we would debut it at the Burger Bash. That’s where the burger world will meet, and we will be surprised if it doesn’t win.'"
Professional food stylist and photographer Libbie Summers describes a hamburger-shooting session on her blog. Although her setup seems simple—white boards, a tripod, and good lighting—the photo on her laptop's monitor looks promising. Just make sure you have a photogenic burger.
The Wall Street Journal reports [subscription required] that the move to a smaller Whopper is in response to rising food prices: "The burger giant will test the $1 Whopper Jr.—down from 2.2 ounces apiece to 2 ounces—in various markets. 'We're trying to be as innovative as possible,' John Chidsey, chief executive of Burger King, said." [Tip o' the hat to P.M.]
Be careful the next time you leave a head of lettuce near a hamburger. At least, a hungry head of lettuce. This video from Meatatrians Unite captures the rare sighting of a carnivorous vegetable during feeding time. That poor burger didn't stand a chance. Watch the video after the jump.
Editor's Note: A few weeks ago, J. G. Wallace, a former food-service professional, avid cook, devout foodie, and newspaper food writer, contacted AHT about Powers Hamburgers in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "Powers is an often overlooked player on the slider scene," he wrote. "They come very close to Hackensack's White Manna, and I am qualified to say that since I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. My wife is from Fort Wayne and we now live 20 miles outside of Fort Wayne. I went to Powers and got some great pics, and enjoyed what many locals call onion burgers with meat. Would you be interested in a write-up?" Of course we were, and here it is. Thank you, J. G.! Burgermeisters, have at it!
Powers Hamburgers
1402 S Harrison Street, Fort Wayne IN 46802; (at West Brackenridge Street; map); 260-422-6620 The Short Order: The approximately 2-ounce sliders are generously topped with grilled onions and optional American cheese (nothing else), and served on a potato roll. Price: Hamburger, $0.85 (double, $1.60); cheeseburger, $0.95 (double, $1.80)
By J. G. Wallace | What I am about to write may seem like burger blasphemy to some of AHT's readers, but as a New Jersey native, burger fanatic, and obsessive "foodie," I'm prepared to say Powers Hamburgers in Fort Wayne, Indiana compares very well to White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, both in terms of the actual slider, atmosphere, and overall experience. Is it possible, you ask, for there to be a Nirvana-like hamburger experience in a mid-sized Midwestern city best known to many Americans as the home of M*A*S*H's Major Frank Burns? To be fair, Fort Wayne also hosted the first night baseball game under lights, was the former home of the Detroit Pistons—then called the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons—and once had a mayor named Harry Baals (you can't make this stuff up).
More Than 60 Years of History
Before you say it's not possible for a Hoosier slider shack to be compared to one of America's best and most famous burgers, just talk a walk with me to 1402 South Harrison Street in downtown Fort Wayne. It's in the old downtown business district, across the street from the U.S. District Federal Courthouse. Over the years many businesses have moved away from the center city as the city expanded, but Powers Hamburgers has stood steadfast since 1940. The small white Art Deco style building with black trim and black and white awnings hasn't changed much since it opened. The Powers Hamburger story begins in that same period of burger history that spawned places like White Manna, along with White Mana in Jersey City, White Castle, and the slider in general.
Robb Walsh of the Houston Presspraises Five Guys' burger, pointing out "the big stack of fresh crispy vegetables they pile on it" and the throughtful construction. He wasn't a fan of the fries though, which he said were overcooked.
L'Hippo's burger looks better than it tastes. Photograph taken by David Lebovitz
When Paris-based chef and blogger David Lebovitzhad a burger craving in the land of cheese and baguettes, where burgers tend to be "wildly overpriced and nothing more than a glorified, microwaved sandwich," he looked towards French chain restaurant Hippoppotamus. Despite the promising appearance and approval from a Parisian neighbor, the burger wasn't all that.
My friend and I rated the burger at l'Hippo a tepid 6 out of 10. Even though we ordered the same basic burger, her patty was a good bit...okay...a lot larger than mine [...] and the bun was stale, not fresh and toasty-brown..
But David doesn't mean to complain that much; "Because sometimes, a guy's just gotta have a burger." Besides, he seems to have accepted his fate of not being able to easily find a great burger in Paris.
Posted by Nick Solares, August 26, 2008 at 10:00 AM
If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another review from Nick Solares. Nick is also the publisher of Beef Aficionado, his blog that explores beef beyond burgerdom.
Apple Pan
10801 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90064 (map); 310-475-3585 The Short Order: Plump, succulent, and tender quarter pound burgers made with toasted, squishy buns are generously topped with lettuce, cheese, pickles, and mayonnaise. They're arguably the finest example of the California-style burger Want Fries with That? Crispy and delicious, they're worth getting Notes: Closed on Mondays. Tue.-Thu. and Sun., 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Back in 2005 Hamburger Hadley reported on the the venerable Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. It has since been featured in George Motz's Hamburger America—rumor has it that the idea for Motz's film and subsequent book originated at Apple Pan's counter over a burger. As the newest member of the AHT staff, I considered it a rite of passage to make Apple Pan a destination when I recently visited Los Angeles.
An Eatery That Takes You Back in Time
Nothing has changed since Hadley's visit—the Apple Pan remains exactly as he described. In fact, I doubt that much has changed at the Apple Pan since it opened back in 1947. At that time the Apple Pan was surrounded by the citrus groves and family farms that blanketed the undulating terrain of what was then rural West Los Angeles. A riding stable used to be located just across the street—a lady that I struck up conversation with at the counter remembers taking lessons there as a child and then heading over to the Apple Pan for burgers. She confirmed that absolutely nothing has changed at the simple ranch-style building in the ensuing years. On the other hand, almost everything else in the vicinity has transformed from rural to urban—the massive Westwood Pavilion Mall located across the street towers above the Apple Pan and rows of houses have replaced the rows of orchards.
Stan's Wagon Wheel in Sikeston, Missouri, is offering a 7-pound "Frankenstein" burger for free, plus a $100 prize, if the customer can eat the whole thing in one sitting under an hour. The $20 burger only contains four pounds of meat, but the 14-inch buns, condiments, and fries add up to seven. The restaurant isn't about to go bankrupt from this challenge; only one person has completed it. "I didn't make it impossible for someone, but I think it's going to take an awfully skinny person to do it," said owner Frank Stanley.
Joan Reminick of Newsday reviews Bobby's Burger Palace in Lake Grove, New York, giving it one and a half stars. She recommends the dark chocolate malted shake over the burgers and doesn't think much of the fries.
Editor's note: Kenji Alt is a food writer for Cook's Illustrated magazine who takes a special interest in burgers. He is also a madman. You might remember his post on The Blumenburger, where he followed Heston Blumenthal's burger recipe, which takes 30 hours, 4 minutes and requires 32 ingredients. He's back, this time with an epic feat that took only 8 hours but seems far more grueling in our book. I mean twelve burgers?
Don’t get me wrong. I love living in Boston, and the city’s got a lot to offer, but among those things, there are a few key items that are missing (particularly for a former New Yorker): delis, decent bagels, pizza (I’d settle for even vaguely edible pizza), good hot dogs, and great griddled burgers. Now there are a lot of locals who will disagree with me and point to any number of restaurants that serve acceptable but unremarkable chopped-meat sandwiches. I’ve yet to find one that I don’t take major issue with.
R. F. O’Sullivan is too damn big to eat with your hands. (Why don’t Boston burger joints understand the concept that bigger is not necessarily better?) Once you get past the atmosphere, Bartley’s Burger Cottage patties, while juicy and greasy, are underseasoned, mealy, and frankly, bland. And despite (or because of) UBurger's spurious claim that their burgers are made of fresh ground beef (don’t believe it—they buy preground chuck just like most other places and mix it together with a nominal amount of house-ground stuff), they cook up with that rubbery feel that only an overcompressed, overworked patty gets.
Yes, I have ground beef envy. New Yorkers have been blessed by a burger renaissance, and every couple of weeks, when my slight burger pangs become uncontrollable fits of sandwiched chopped-cow lust, I’m moved to take the 200-mile trip to the city. (Of course, my New Yorker fiancé believes me when I tell her that I’m coming down just to visit her.)
Like an alcoholic who gets wasted the night before jumping on the wagon, I decided to try to cure my burger cupidity by going on a daylong feeding frenzy. A burger bender, if you will: 12 burgers in 8 hours.
Black Iron Burger Shop was created with a noble tool in mind: a heavy piece of ancient black iron that burgers would be griddled upon. But then owner Jason Hennings came up with an even more noble tool: an $8,000 Keating Miraclean griddle, a steel-and-chrome, thermostatically regulated monster that will be a lot easier on the small space than a black iron monolith would have been.
It opens today, according to the magazine.
Black Iron Burger Shop
540 East Fifth Street, New York NY 10009 (b/n avenues A and B; map)
We haven't done a weekend book giveaway in AHT-Serious Eats land in a while. And as I was looking up some historical burger info on Friday, I realized that we have a nice little stack of Josh Ozerksy's recent book, The Hamburger: A History.
Professional food stylist and photographer 
