Someone feed Ferran Adrià an In-N-Out burger, stat!
In an interview in the UK's Independent, El Bulli's Ferran Adrià, known as one of the greatest chefs in the world, professes his apparently longstanding admiration for McDonald's hamburgers. Adrià "said he did not think he could make a better hamburger for the money." That's not really the point. Why do I say that?
McDonald's serves a zillion burgers a year, so of course their buying power allows them to spend minimally on food costs for each burger. If Adrià threw in his hourly rate into his burger costs he would probably have to charge fifty bucks for single cheeseburger.
If Adrià really wants to see who produces really tasty cheap burgers, the next time he is in New York I will personally escort him to White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, or All-American Burger in Massapequa, Long Island. If he finds himself in California I'm sure AHT's new Los Angeles correspondent Damon Gambuto will be happy to accompany him to an In-N-Out for a seriously delicious and inexpensive burger.
Forget White Castle, the next time your buddy comes into the New York area you need to check out this place in southern westchester called AJs Burgers. I just came back from visiting my family who lives in New Rochelle, which is a 20 minute train ride from Grand Central. AJs might have had the best burgers I've ever tasted. They're sliders (a reasonable 1.49) were amazing too. I was only in for 3 days and made sure I stopped by 2 times before I left. It was delicious. For 4.99 you're not going to find a better burger. And in case you're wondering, their burgers have a lot more meat than the one shown in the picture.
Hey Mr. Levine--
McD's sells their basic hamburger for a buck. I guarantee you none of your places can beat that.
(sub rant--can we please get over this whole "i've got this great little hidden spot" fetish[as you've displayed here, Mr. Levine]? there's no need to be elitist about what we will all in about twelve hours, be expelling from our rectum with very little dignity)
Another trend/fetish we really need to lose--reverence for In-N-Out burger. Seriously. The burgers aren't that great, and they're delivered in such a way unable to be eaten neatly or conveniently.
I don't think this is a question of elitism; there really are places that sell great, reasonably priced ($7 or less) burgers. Sure, they do cost more than a buck, but there are times that some people are in the mood for something better than McDonald's basic offer (and, apart from their baseline offer, McDonald's burgers get awfully pricey, given what they aren't).
The argument of food's final destination doesn't hold much water here; it ALL ends up in the same place, regardless of whether it's made at McDonald's or El Bulli.
The basic question is whether you primarily consider food as a necessity or a pleasure. These two groups can't argue successfully, because the fundamental frames of reference are too apart. It's like a balletomane trying to argue the merits of two performances of 'Swan Lake' with someone who thinks ballet is a ridiculous waste of time.
If you are in the 'how many miles do I get to the gallon and where is it cheapest' food camp, McDonald's is fine. If you want something more, you have to look elsewhere.
the point is that not all MCD customers have real choices give their economic situations. it's too easy, not to mention myopic to believe everyone has a choice. FA was talking about a better food education and offering same price alternatives. he was not addressing food blog readers. that should have been obvious.
as for the idea of, "great little hidden spot"... i think that is fine bc i'm sure Ed posted this in good nature. It's more like, "so you have limited burger experiences? lemme take you to a couple you might like."
I tried Ferran Adria's Burger at Fast Good in Madrid. I could say its a good sandwich with burger like qualities and certainly out-of-the-box thinking. However, it is not even close to McDonald's pricing. I think if he admires McDonald's, the least he could do is to give a facelift to the classic Big Mac with a reasonable price. That is a challenge he should undertake.
I'm not going to go all ga ga for McD's, I don't like them, but I'll say this. I know in London McD's has samosas, it's veggie in India, different menus for different places. I even looked inside the one across from the Parthenon, and I think they might've had pasta? I'd be willing to bet that a McDonald's cheeseburger in Spain is far better than an American one, regardless of price.
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10 Comments:
Amen brother!
Linnea Covington at 6:44PM on 11/05/08
This is only further proof that Europeans don't know from burgers.
SqueezeBottle at 8:10PM on 11/05/08
@ED the world needs to know ... when are you going to take the Chef to White Castle? ;-)
LunaPierCook at 8:27PM on 11/05/08
Forget White Castle, the next time your buddy comes into the New York area you need to check out this place in southern westchester called AJs Burgers. I just came back from visiting my family who lives in New Rochelle, which is a 20 minute train ride from Grand Central. AJs might have had the best burgers I've ever tasted. They're sliders (a reasonable 1.49) were amazing too. I was only in for 3 days and made sure I stopped by 2 times before I left. It was delicious. For 4.99 you're not going to find a better burger. And in case you're wondering, their burgers have a lot more meat than the one shown in the picture.
Sharon45 at 9:20PM on 11/05/08
Hey Mr. Levine--
McD's sells their basic hamburger for a buck. I guarantee you none of your places can beat that.
(sub rant--can we please get over this whole "i've got this great little hidden spot" fetish[as you've displayed here, Mr. Levine]? there's no need to be elitist about what we will all in about twelve hours, be expelling from our rectum with very little dignity)
Another trend/fetish we really need to lose--reverence for In-N-Out burger. Seriously. The burgers aren't that great, and they're delivered in such a way unable to be eaten neatly or conveniently.
rasellers0 at 1:59AM on 11/06/08
I don't think this is a question of elitism; there really are places that sell great, reasonably priced ($7 or less) burgers. Sure, they do cost more than a buck, but there are times that some people are in the mood for something better than McDonald's basic offer (and, apart from their baseline offer, McDonald's burgers get awfully pricey, given what they aren't).
The argument of food's final destination doesn't hold much water here; it ALL ends up in the same place, regardless of whether it's made at McDonald's or El Bulli.
The basic question is whether you primarily consider food as a necessity or a pleasure. These two groups can't argue successfully, because the fundamental frames of reference are too apart. It's like a balletomane trying to argue the merits of two performances of 'Swan Lake' with someone who thinks ballet is a ridiculous waste of time.
If you are in the 'how many miles do I get to the gallon and where is it cheapest' food camp, McDonald's is fine. If you want something more, you have to look elsewhere.
mongoose at 3:00AM on 11/06/08
thanks, mongoose--you said that a lot better than i could have.
carriebwc at 9:07AM on 11/06/08
the point is that not all MCD customers have real choices give their economic situations. it's too easy, not to mention myopic to believe everyone has a choice. FA was talking about a better food education and offering same price alternatives. he was not addressing food blog readers. that should have been obvious.
as for the idea of, "great little hidden spot"... i think that is fine bc i'm sure Ed posted this in good nature. It's more like, "so you have limited burger experiences? lemme take you to a couple you might like."
foodinmouth at 11:11AM on 11/06/08
I tried Ferran Adria's Burger at Fast Good in Madrid. I could say its a good sandwich with burger like qualities and certainly out-of-the-box thinking. However, it is not even close to McDonald's pricing. I think if he admires McDonald's, the least he could do is to give a facelift to the classic Big Mac with a reasonable price. That is a challenge he should undertake.
Q80 BurgerBelly at 1:44PM on 11/06/08
I'm not going to go all ga ga for McD's, I don't like them, but I'll say this. I know in London McD's has samosas, it's veggie in India, different menus for different places. I even looked inside the one across from the Parthenon, and I think they might've had pasta? I'd be willing to bet that a McDonald's cheeseburger in Spain is far better than an American one, regardless of price.
DeepFriedWonder at 4:01PM on 11/06/08