The burger above might look fairly ordinary, but the patty is not ground chuck or ground sirloin or any kind of ground beef.
That, my friends, is 100 percent ground bacon, skillet-cooked ("to avoid having it break apart on the grill"), and sandwiched between two slices of pepper Jack cheese.
Openings
Architectural renderings for the new Father's Office location in Culver City, California, have appeared online. Eater L.A. first tipped us to the opening back in February.
Give us your burgers! Arrrrrgh! | Photograph by yuichi.sakuraba on Flickr
Recipes
Our friends in the Great White North (that'd be Canada) offer some burger recipes for grilling season, including an outré Cheese-Stuffed Burger Dog concoction: Split a smokie lengthwise like a book, stuff it with a mozzarella cheese string, fold it back over the cheese, then mold ground beef around it. Crazy? Or crazy like a fox?
Speaking of stuffed burgers, here's Stuffed Burgers 101 from Maine's Bangor Daily News
Gluttony
At Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a new record—four ten-patty burgers in three hours: "The first one just flew by," [James] Rocker said. "It was like not even an effort. The second one was pretty much the same. By the third one, things got kind of blurry. After that I became really cautious, really aware that my bite rate was slowing down."
Friend of AHT Tien Mao loves Krazy Jim's: "It's excellent! If you're ever in Ann Arbor, you should go."
Discoveries
At Kubo Radio in Toronto, an interesting meat combo I've not encountered before:
My friend and I both opted for the Yummy Burger ($15) – a Peking duck and beef chuck burger, topped with a panko onion ring and wasabi slaw on a sesame bun. It was tremendously rich, perfectly prepared and mouth-wateringly delicious. And it really looked good on the plate – great presentation. Actually, everything coming out of the kitchen was looking really appetizing.
Also adding to the experience for Taste T.O. blogger Jessica McLaughlin was that celeb chef Susur Lee was sitting nearby.
The Chain Gang
Under pressure from investors, burger chain
Applebee's wants your blueprint for a "burger masterpiece." You can win $5,000. Good luck. That's like giving Bush-Era FEMA the plans to build the Taj Mahal in New Orleans.
Wendy's (see above) is getting in on the act, too, with its own create-a-burger contest. The results here might be a little better—at least it starts out with fresh-not-frozen beef, even though it's cooked within an inch of its life.
Or, "When Doing What's Right Is Called 'Gourmet' "
So this kinda gets my hackles up. A story in the Dallas Morning News headlined "Burgers go gourmet" takes on the issue of restaurants and burger chains that "take the humble hamburger to the next gastronomic level."
The story describes Mooyah, a recently opened burger joint in Plano, Texas, that clearly has aspirations of becoming a franchise-based empire. What gets me is this passage: "[David Tessier is] enjoying a higher class of burger—made from fresh (not frozen) patties, with premium toppings such as grilled onions—and paying about twice the price."
Ladies and gentlemen, that is not a "gourmet burger." That is, plain and simple, a good hamburger. If you subscribe to the notion that a "gourmet" hamburger exists (and they do—Daniel Boulud's truffle, foie gras, and braised short rib stuffed burger is an example, albeit a ridiculous one), then a burger whose patty is fresh-not-frozen and that's topped with good-quality ingredients is merely the base upon which a "gourmet" burger is built.
The U.S. is a country whose national cuisine might as well be the hamburger. How pathetic is it then that such a specimen made with fresh beef and grilled onions is considered "gourmet"?
The Associated Press's ASAP visits Matt's Bar in Minneapolis for one of the fabled joint's cheese-stuffed burgers:
The Jucy Lucy itself is supremely satisfying -- not the best I've had, but several notches above average. It comes on a soft, undusted roll, and the cheese and attendant oils squirt out much like the juice of a fresh Shanghai soup dumpling; if you bite hearty, and most do, the cheese's trajectory and velocity can easily scald your boothmate's face. My only regret: I had lunch too early to wash it down with a Grain Belt Premium beer. Or five.
What I really want to know about, however (and, no, it's not burger related, but bear with me), is a place this story mentions in passing, Lou's Fish, "which features the very unlikely combination of smokehouse and motel."
OK, folks. We have the winners in last week's Hamburgers & Fries contest. They've just been notified via email, but let's trot them out here, along with their picks.
J. SCOTT, whose favorite local burger joint is either Pie 'n' Burger in Pasadena, California, or Kirk's Steakburger in Campbell, California. Let me just say that J. Scott did not win because s/he gave two picks. Winners were chosen at random from among 61 eligible entries.
DAVID P., who says, "D.C. has its share of good burgers (from the chain Five Guys to the haute Cafe Burger at Cafe Atlantico to the legendary at Ben's Chili Bowl), and I've eaten my share of them all. But my current favorite is Cheff Geoff's D.C. burger. It's a simple affair, just bacon, cheddar, pickles, a chipotle mayo and soft buttery bun, but it is heaven. And it's $5 at happy hour!"
PHOX says, "Tessaro's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yum. As a kid my oral surgeon (who I had to see on a regular basis) was right next to Tessaro's—I looked forward to the oral surgeon. Come on, that's a good burger!"
That must be a great burger, Phox! Did you eat it before or after your appointment?
MIKE HENKEL, who says, "My favorite burger is right around the corner from me. Mike's at the Crossroads in Cotati, California."
Any chance you really like this place, Mike, because it shares your name?
And last but not least ..
SEBASTIEN L., who says, "'Burger Joint' in the The Parker Meridien Hotel in New York City beats J. G. Melon and Shake Shack for two major reasons: consistency and price."
That's a strong argument, Sebastien. The Shack is often spotty, and J. G. Melon is pretty spendy.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Your suggestions were meatastic! You five are superwinners, but we're all winners armed with this new list to go by.
Friend of AHT Joe DiStefano reminisces about his high school job at White Castle over on Slashfoods:
But it wasn't all burnt grills and onion dust. One of the perks was eating sliders during our breaks. To mix things up, I'd invent off-menu items: double cheeseburgers with the middle bun removed, double fish, fish and chicken, triples and so on. After years of topping my burgers with onion rings such improvisation was the next logical step.
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Craig LaBan, food critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer, did a great roundup of the City of Brotherly Love's most lovingly awesome burgers last week.
The burgers are not ranked, but each is an exemplar of its own uniquely named genre, like the sandwich from Rouge, which LaBan dubs "The Show-Off" for its ostentatious proportions: "The enormous 13-ounce patties, topped with Gruyere, hydroponic Boston bibb, and butter-toasted brioche buns, are tailor-made for turning heads at a cafe that's all about being seen."
The list also includes, but is not limited to: Charlie's Hamburgers, Snow White, Barclay Prime, and Good Dog Bar & Restaurant, whose blue-cheese-stuffed burgers inspired LaBan to write a brilliant little song, "Cheeseburger, I Hold," the lyrics of which appear after the jump. (Here's the video for "Cheeseburger, I Hold.")
Related: Philly is well represented on Alan Richman's seminal top-twenty burger list ("The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die"), with Rouge placing No. 4 and the Kobe sliders at Barclay Prime at No. 5.
As all you Meatheads out there know, Memorial Day is pretty much the unofficial official start of summer grilling season. And, May is National Hamburger Month. And, today we just Grilled one of our favorite burgermeisters, John T. Edge.
With all these burger stars aligning, AHT thought it was high time we had a book giveaway contest here. So, if you'd like, you can enter to win one of five (5) copies of Mr. Edge's Hamburgers & Fries: An American Story
What I like about Hamburgers & Fries is that it's really a "little black book" of America's best regional burgers in all their delicious varieties. So, all you have to do to win is name your favorite hometown burger joint. No chains! (Or, should I say, no major chains—we all wanna hear about regional gems that too often go overlooked.)
Leave your answer in the comments, and we'll choose five winners at random. Be sure to leave your email address with your comment so we can get in touch with you. (We hate spam, too, so won't do anything nefarious with it.) The comments will be open till 9 p.m. PDT Friday. Good luck!
Darlin' if U want me 2 (possibly NSFW, depending on how uptight your Wplace is):
Via Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky, who says, "This is the most mind-bendingly erotic thing I've ever seen."
Agreed. That is one sexy mofo of a burger commercial, Mr. C.
For those of you looking to test your knowledge of fast-food burger history, Oxford University Press has a quick 12-question multiple choice test.
I guess I'm not as burger-smart as I'd like to think I am: I got a D :(
Photograph from iStockPhoto.com
Before I founded AHT and really started exploring Burgerworld, I was like most home cooks when it comes to this most delicious and iconic American dish.
Yes, I bought the ground chuck in the grocery store, thinking it was perfectly adequate for grilling or throwing into the cast-iron skillet.
This was wrongheaded, and Mark Bittman, in today's New York Times, wants to set us all straight.
AHT reader Nick alerted me to this video here, saying, "David Hasselhoff celebrates national hamburger month."
Heh, heh. That's pretty funny.
But, as Elvis Presley once sang, "Don't be cruel to a heart that's true." And who but Michael Knight has a truer heart? Therefore, instead of embedding the video right here in this entry, I am making you click the link above to view Mr. Hasselhoff, a man who has battled alcoholism, eating a hamburger as he falls off the wagon. (It's not like you haven't seen it already, though.)
As a fan of Hasselhoff (Knight Rider was brilliant), I would like to believe that this statement was made with all sincerity:
Because of my honest and positive relationship with my daughters, who were concerned for my well-being, there was a tape made that night to show me what I was like. I have seen the tape. I have learned from it and I am back on my game.
I would also like to know where that hamburger came from.
spidey burger2!, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Paul Eunyon
Says AHT reader Dave, in the comments of the previous post: "I actually had one of these last week during a vacation in Paris. It's pretty good for a fast food novelty item. It is definitely fromage-d out. For some reason the Coca-Cola in France is tastier as well."
DSC07714.JPG, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of noodlepie
Mon dieu! Friend of AHT Graham Holliday sends us a tip on this Spider Man special going on in France's Quick burger chain. "You getting Spider Man burgers in NYC?" he asks.
No, Graham. Burger King, which is blessed with the Spider Man tie-in this go-'round, is only giving us lame scratch-off cards and craptastic kids' meals prizes. We do not get burgers outfitted with "100% fromage filant."
C'est la vie.
Follow along, step-by-step, in mind-numbing detail. If that's your bag. After the jump.
The takeaway: Since I've not had a true Jucy Lucy from Matt's Bar, I can't say for sure, but making this burger at home is almost more trouble than it's worth. I mean, does it matter if the cheese is on the inside as opposed to above and below the patty? (I think a slice on the top and bottom is awesome.) Furthermore, I always end up overcooking this thing in the interest of getting a good molten core. This is the second time I've made a round of Juicy Looseys, and I always end up cooking them beyond medium-rare. The Flickr pix of the Matt's Bar Jucy Lucys look much better than mine, so perhaps this is a burger best left to the pros.
Also: I've found that my initial adaptation of John T. Edge's recipe worked better for me. In his book, the recipe uses an intact slice of American cheese. In my version, which is based on George "Hamburger America" Motz's observations during a visit to Matt's Bar, I fold the cheese in half twice to make a compact little stack that's easier to sandwich between the dual patties.
OK. As promised, the results.
The Jucy Lucy, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Max Sparber
So I've been making such a big deal about this Jucy Lucy burger at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis lately, eh?
I can't help it. The thing just sounds so good—a molten core of oozing cheese sandwiched between two patties. Well, since I'm not going to be on a plane bound for the Twin Cities anytime soon, I figure I'll try to make one. For the occasion, I've adapted a recipe from John T. Edge's book Hamburger & Fries. Lemme share it with you.
All day, for the next 31 days.
Could there be a better month?
I didn't think so.
Yippee ki-ay, burgerlovers! It's time for another burger-link roundup! Enjoy, pardners!
Give me your burgers! Arrrrrgh! 
Remember Total Recall? And how the Governator's character is looking for some Martian mutant resistance leader named Kuato? And how, at the end, it's revealed that Kuato is really some weirdass person-in-a-person?
Well, the former Burger Chef chain is kinda like that. In 1982, Burger Chef was bought out by the corporate parent of Hardee's and most Burger Chefs morphed in to Hardee's. But now, the stunted little Burger Chef that has long been a hidden part of Hardee's corporeal mass is getting its (limited) time in the sun. Hardee's locations in certain Midwestern cities are bringing back Burger Chef's signature burger, the Big Shef. If you live in the Indiana cities of Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, or South Bend or in Dayton, Ohio, you'll be able to eat your way down memory lane.
The Big Shef, served in the '70s and '80s, was a quarter-pound burger with two charbroiled patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce, and special Big Chef sauce. Doesn't seem so special these days, but I suppose it might be like Proust's madelines to Midwest burger lovers of a certain age.
I can has cheezborger? Michael Jordan's Steak House now serving burgers for dogs. Call it a "kitty bag" and I suppose you could take one home for Fluffy, too.
Is original bad-boy chef Marco Pierre White coming to America? If so, will he go downmarket? Grub Street's Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky grills the onetime mentor to Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain. Says White: "America doesn’t need any more great chefs. It’s about me taking my knowledge from the three-star world and taking it down to the level of a three-star burger or a three-star steak. I’d want to take a concept you could roll out across the country. One that’s easy for the family.
At Philadelphia's inaugural Scrapplefest, a burger made from the regionally beloved food earned its creator the "Scrapple King" crown. What's scrapple, you ask? Here's your answer.
Do you dig fast-food burgers? Then you're ugly and dumb. But, hey, there's some good news: "A paper published in the May issue of Appetite, a scientific journal, concludes that unhealthy eaters are viewed as 'less physically attractive, less warm, less intelligent, and less studious' than their carrotmunching peers. On the upside, fast-food lovers are perceived as easygoing and more sociable."
An In-N-Out opened in Tucson, Arizona, last week. It's the easternmost outpost of the well-regarded chain yet. Not eastern enough for many folks' taste, however. Note to In-N-Out: Go national! Says ScrippsNews.com: "By noon, more than 100 people were waiting outside and the drive-thru line was at least 100 vehicles deep. The wait to simply place an order took as long as an hour." Pent-up In-N-Out cravings in parts farther east would make the Tucson lines look tame.
The Wendy's chain might be up for sale. Shares rose on the news. Not that fun, but I thought you might like to know.
The New York Times visited Louis' Lunch last week and reveals that the patties are "more than 90 percent lean." Say wha? And those things are still juicy? And raved about? Hmm ...
Give me your burgers! Arrrrrgh! Tommi Tómasson is the burger baron of Iceland and has "made and lost two fortunes flipping burgers in Reykjavík." He currently owns Hamborgara Tómasar in the country's capital. "We have had many celebrities come, even our President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and his wife Dorrit have come," Tómasar said. "Also Björk [right]. But mostly Tommi’s Burger Joint is a classless place where everyone can come and feel that he or she belongs."
Pacific Northwest's Burgerville chain wins Food Network's "Better Burger" award: "The network selected Burgerville because of its use of high-quality, local, seasonable ingredients and its commitment to sustainability as demonstrated by its use of wind power as an energy source for all its restaurants."
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right: "McDonald’s best-kept secret may be that it offers free Wi-Fi with every meal.... Gamers using Nintendo DS systems currently account for 25% of the Wi-Fi traffic in its restaurants."
"White Castle is inferior." So says Beverly Scott, who is among 20 people inducted into the Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame this year. I think her story, recounted here, is weak, but Krystal probably liked her stance on Whitey's. An even better story is the hall of famer who routinely flies 150 miles ten times a year to pick up a couple dozen Krystals.
Former Baltimore Raven Orlando Brown tackles the burger biz: "Mr. Brown plans to open 10 Fatburger hamburger stores in the D.C. area over the next six years, with the first planned for Route 1 in College Park, late this summer."
UPDATE: We have a winnah! George says,"JT got it—nice job! It's a Thurman Burger from the Thurman Cafe in Columbus, Ohio. Half-pound burger of fresh beef, lettuce, tomato, mayo, grilled onion, and underneath that veil of ham and cheese are jalepeños and mushrooms. It actually tastes great."
JT: You can send me your address and T-shirt size, and I'll pass it along to George for prize fulfillment: adam@ahamburgertoday.com.
Photograph by George Motz
I just got this email from AHT brother in burgerdom George "Hamburger America" Motz:
I loved Josh's attempt to stump us with his "Mystery Burger." Well, I've got one of my own, if you're interested in posting it. I'm finally releasing one photo from my upcoming book. I'm letting this one go just because I can't believe what this thing looks like. It's easily more than 7 inches tall, super-tasty, and contains more than a pound of meat. I'll give away a Hamburger America T-shirt [right] to the first person who can name the burger...
So, a new contest is afoot. Leave your guesses in the comments of this post, and George will check in periodically to see if someone has won. To sweeten the pot, I'll throw in a copy of Mr. Motz's burger biopic, Hamburger America.
UPDATE: It's the Thurman Cafe, in Columbus, Ohio.
THE THURMAN CAFE
Address: 183 Thurman Avenue, Columbus OH 43206
Phone: 614-443-1570
I don't know what's scarier, that this guy has been saving McDonald's burgers for 18 years in his basement, unrefrigerated, or that the burgers still "look exactly the same." [via Jason Perlow]
This creation from Boston's Lower Depths Tap Room sounds ingenious:
The prospect of discovering the ultimate bacon cheeseburger is what first piqued my interest: beyond being topped with maple-smoked bacon, the steakhouse’s eight ounces of Angus chuck are actually mixed with bacon grease prior to cooking. The first thing you’ll notice, though, is the strong flavor of fresh garlic that’s also used to season the beef. Next come the combined tastes of mango salsa and habanero aïoli, which balance the garlic and charred beef with a striking mix of sweetness and heat. (Memo to UBurger: the Lower Depths really cooks burgers to order, and my medium-rare request produced a crisp exterior and a juicy, admirably pink heart.)
You had me at infused bacon grease. But what's with the garlic and the mango salsa aïoli? Gilding the lily, says me.
The Lower Depths Tap Room's Steakhouse Burger [Boston Phoenix]
The Gateway Grizzlies, the Frontier League baseball team based in Sauget, Illinois, are at it again.
Last year the stadium served "The Grizzly Burger," a bacon cheeseburger served on a toasted Krispy Kreme doughnut.
This year, they're raising the bar with deep-fried White Castle sliders. Called "Baseball’s Best Sliders," they'll come two for $4. A side of cheese sauce is $1 extra.
Says Darren Rovell, the man who broke the Grizzly Burger story last year, "It’s pretty awesome when it has been sitting in the studio for an hour. I can only imagine how great it is hot out of the fryer sitting at the ballpark. I couldn’t eat too much being that I’m down a gallbladder, but it basically tastes like an onion ring burger."
On deck: Baseball road trip!
Further Reading
I'm not sure where to place this post, so read more about Megaburgers on AHT or about Tiny Hamburgers!
Also, my friend Marc writes about trying the Grizzly Burger last summer. [AHT Archives]
Deep-Fried Sliders [cnbc.com; via Friend of AHT Balgavy]
UPDATE: SOLVED: Hildebrandt's in Williston Park, New York, out on Long Island.
I received a vaguely menacing voicemail message over the weekend from one Mr. Cutlets, who edits New York magazine's Grub Street under his more prosaic birth name, Josh Ozersky:
I'm here to tell you that I now know where the best hamburger in the greater New York area is. And I'm not going to tell you. It's better than the Shake Shack. It's like the Shake Shack but better. And there's not a hamburger in Manhattan that can compare with it. This will remain a mystery—unless someone can pry it out of me. End of message.
Having steered A Hamburger Today to some phenomenal burgers in the past (Veselka, Chelsea Gallery Restaurant, and the Good Fork, to name a few), I'm sure his claim is not mere hyperbole. I only wish I could finagle the details from him.
Mr. Cutlets: Can you not write about your amazing burger discovery on Grub Street? Is it that you want to keep your discovery to yourself? For the love of burgerdom, please share!
Update: I know your weakness, Cutlets. We'll buy your intel for a White Castle Crave Case—your choice, plain or with cheese.
Update No. 2: Cutlets just gave us a photo. And now there's a contest to win a burger lunch/dinner with Cutlets and me if you can guess the place based on the photo. If you're not on the main page of AHT, click here for the photo/contest.
UPDATE: SOLVED: Hildebrandt's in Williston Park, New York, out on Long Island.
The Wall Street Journal's Raymond Sokolov goes all Alan Richman on us and comes up with a list of the country's best burgers. Tasty indeed.
Says Sokolov:
Patties of ground beef weighing from 1 ounce to 15 pounds, often not seasoned and cooked until gray, then served as a sandwich, usually between two halves of a compressible, flavorless untoasted bun, are this nation's leading contribution to world cuisine. In their fast-food form, burgers provide quantitative evidence for the charge, more widespread than ever, that Americans are a bunch of insensitive louts.
But all across the country there are places, almost all of them locally owned operations, that cook and sell my idea of a first-rate burger. And I've been on a hunt to find the best of them. ...
His list includes but is not limited to the following:
Primanti Bros.
Address: 46 18th Street, Pittsburgh PA 15222
Phone: 412-263-2142
URL: primantibros.com
The Skinny: They put fries on the burger here.
Rosebud Steakhouse
Address: 192 East Walton Street, Chicago IL 60611
Phone: 312-397-1000
URL: http://www.rosebudrestaurants.com/rest4.php
The Skinny: Thick 12-ounce burger served on a grilled-pretzel roll. Sokolov finds the bun an "eccentric distraction."
Louis' Lunch
Address: 261-263 Crown Street, New Haven CT 06510
Phone: 203-562-5507
URL: louislunch.com
The Skinny: Claims to be the birthplace of the burger. The fact that its sandwich is served between two slices of toasted bread provokes endless debate among hamburger semanticists. Don't ask for ketchup here!
Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak Place
Address: 2808 Guadalupe Street, Austin TX 78705
Phone: 512-477-3173
URL: dirtymartins.com
The Skinny: Didn't rate high from Mr. Sokolov (he called it "thin and lackluster"), but friend of AHT and New York magazine online food editor Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky says "The burger, broader and thinner than the Shake Shack's, gives you more salty surface area and just as much juicy beef goodness."
The Shake Shack
Address: Located in New York City's Madison Square Park, 23rd Street and Madison Avenue
Phone: N/A
URL: shakeshacknyc.com
The Skinny: Open from the first day of spring to the last day of fall, the Shake Shack has become a beloved burger institution in New York in the handful of years it's been open. Unpretentious and delicious burgers with a crunchy, salty outer crust and superb blend of meats. (More on the Shack from A Hamburger Today.)
In-N-Out Burger
Address: Various locations throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona
Phone: N/A
URL: in-n-out.com
The Skinny: Arguably the nation's best chain hamburger, albeit a chain whose reach is cruelly limited to three Western states. High-quality meat that's fresh, never-frozen along with hand-cut fries. The chain is deservedly famous for its cleanliness, efficiency, and friendly customer service. Mr. Sokolov, however, does not particularly like In-N-Out: "unspectacular — fairly thin, cautiously seasoned"
Miller's Bar
Address: 23700 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn MI 48124
Phone: 313-565-2577
URL: millersbar.com
The Skinny: Serving one of Sokolov's choice burgers, Miller's sandwiches are hefty, no-nonsense affairs.
Ann's Snack Bar
Address: 1615 Memorial Drive, Atlanta GA 30317
Phone: 404-687-9207
URL: N/A
The Skinny: A tiny diner on a grim stretch of highway, go for the Ghetto Burger, Sokolov says.
There are more tasty burgers in Mr. Sokolov's article: The Best Burger, along with a PDF map of his cross-country adventure.
As is common wisdom, one thing the Catholic church excels at is instilling guilt in those raised in the faith. However lapsed I may be these days, that guilt remains.
So, while I may not attend mass as often as I should, I always try to give up something for Lent. This year, I decided I'd go really hard on myself and give up red meat. That means ... yes ... NO BURGERS!
Anyway, all the blogging I've been doing lately here about the "Grizzlie Burger" (a bacon cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme bun) gave me a hankerin' for one.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I broke down and bought some Gardenburger patties, some Smart Bacon, some real cheddar cheese (I'm avoiding red meat, not dairy, after all).
To really go all out, I figured I'd use the new whole-wheat Krispy Kreme as my bun.
I whipped this thing up in the Serious Eats offices using the toaster oven and the hot plate we inherited from the previous tenants.
How did it taste?
How do you think?
I'm counting down the days till Easter.
Oh, the stars. They too love the burgers. Who'd have thought "the Queen" (Helen Mirren) was up for a bit of the ol' In-N-Out? In what seems to be a Hollywood tradition, a stand providing the famous California treat was set up at the back of the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
Last year, we blogged a photo of Beck eating a burger at the VF party.
All of our celebrity burger coverage [The AHT Archives]
Helen Mirren Is Cool [What Would Tyler Durden Do; via AHT reader Peter S.]
Photo essay from Neon Epiphany.
In a stunning turn of events that may shake the very foundations of burgerological anthropology, A Hamburger Today has been presented with credible new evidence that the first burger to use a Krispy Kreme doughnut as a bun may have evolved almost two years earlier than previously thought.
AHT reader Timm just piped in in the Comments on our post about the Gateway Grizzlie Burger, the Krispy Kreme–bunned bacon cheeseburger served at the stadium of independent league baseball team the Gateway Grizzlies: "Just thought I'd throw out there that it seems the original idea for the Krispy Kreme burger can be found here and is referred to as the Fat Kreme back in 2003. Either way, that's a heart attack on a bun/doughnut!"
The Grizzlie Burger, which appeared in spring 2006, was itself a take-off of the Luther Burger, an invention of Decatur, Georgia, pub Mulligan's that dates to early 2005.
Dubbed the Fat Kreme, this early version of fusion-burger excess places the contents of a Fatburger burger onto the aforementioned sugar-glazed treat on April 6, 2003. What's more, this new evidence moves the locus of the mashup from the South to Seattle, a geographic region known more for its advances in coffee culture than for its contributions to calorie-rich deep-fried dining.
Unconfirmed reports within the blog post in question hint at an even earlier version of the KK-burger mashup, but using In-N-Out burgers instead.
Burger anthropologists in AHT's research department were puzzled as to why, like the Neanderthals, the Fat Kreme was suddenly eclipsed by a similar species. But at least one leading researcher who requested anonymity said he believed it had to do with the fact that Yukino, the blogger who invented the Fat Kreme, placed the doughnut bun facing glazed side out. The more advanced Grizzlie Burger, in contrast, has an evolutionary advantage in the fact that its toasted-doughnut bun faces glazed side inward, giving its eater a nonsticky fingerhold.
Dear AHT,
There is a place on Oahu near the base of Diamondhead that makes one of the best burgers I've ever had. Its called Teddys Bigger Burger and its almost worth a flight to hawaii just to eat there. You should check this place out as it is on par with places like Tommys, The Counter and Fatburger. I suggest the spudburger with garlic fries.
—Vanessa J.
Dear Vanessa,
Talk about cheeseburger in paradise. Sounds good. I'll try as soon as you're willing to underwrite the airfare and lodging. ;)
Sin-sear-ly,
The Mgmt.
Eating a Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger for the First Time
Speaking of the exotic Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger served at Google HQ earlier today, it reminded me that I never blogged this series of photos from my buddy Listmaker. It's our friend Balgavy biting into one of the creations served at Gateway Grizzlies baseball games. The series of snaps captures Balgavy right after experiencing this burger for the first time. You can almost taste the burger along with him.
Related
Balgavy makes his own KKBaconCheeseburger [Listmaker]
Source
Too Much Food [Listmaker]
The other week, we mentioned that our friend George Motz would be on ABC news discussing burgers. Here's a clip of his appearance:
A Major Beef! Who Invented the Hamburger? [ABCnews.com]
McNugget-Enhanced Cheeseburger, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Slice
Four or more years ago, before A Hamburger Today was even a glimmer in my eye, I was introduced to the magic of the McNugget-Enhanced McDonald's Cheeseburger.
It was at a McDonald's somewhere along the Connecticut Turnpike, and I was traveling with my girlfriend at the time. I was perplexed when a friend of hers ordered the two cheeseburger meal and a six-piece box of McNuggets. "Glutton," I thought.
But what happened when we sat down at one of the uncomfortable plastic booths was pure alchemy. Peeling the bun top away from the semi-melted cheese, he placed three of the oddly shaped chicken chunks on his sandwich.
Begging one McNugget off him, I tried it on a portion of my cheeseburger and was a bit amazed. Two distinct tastes, yet a whole new experience. The whole as more than the sum of its parts.
I tried it a couple more times, on the couple occasions I found myself at McD's with that dude, but I hadn't had it in ages. So the other night when I found myself with little time to spare for dinner, and spurred by discussion of this mash-up either on the Talk section of Serious Eats or here in the Serious Eats–AHT office, I hit the clown's place around the corner from my apartment and grabbed a single cheeseburger and a Dollar Menu four-piece. I had to document this Frankenburger, after all.
It's still as weirdly good as ever. But I think it's best had in four-year intervals.
CRW_5093, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Gyopi
From a cool Flickr photo set of 1960s Burger King posters comes this baffling promo.
Why would you possibly want to treat a burglar to a burger?
photograph courtesy of Jason Perlow
Word of this burger just came across the wire here at AHT HQ. It's on Jason Perlow's blog, Off the Broiler. A friend of his, caterer Christine Nunn, had a burger at Epcot Center recently—one with plenty of toppings: tomato confit, mushroom duxelles, onion jam, and bernaise sauce. She decided to make the burger her own, with some improvements. For one, she cooks hers to medium-rare instead of the well-done that Epcot reportedly mandates.
According to Mr. Perlow, "she wants to open up more space for a restaurant and serve those every day!"
For the madness in painstaking detail, click on through to Mr. Perlow's site!
Update: Mr. Perlow says, "Can you believe she charged $7.50 for that thing?!? They would charge at least $15 in New York City." Ms. Nunn's operation is located in Emerson, New Jersey.
Rendezvous at Burger Mountain [offthebroiler.com]
Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles ... and a half-inch metal screw?That's what Angela Faubert of Vallejo said she found in her Big Mac on Sunday afternoon, and, she said, she's not lovin' it.
Last week, the "Hamburgirl" and I went to see comedy troupe Toy Gun Assassins perform. The Assassins did a sketch in which the components of a BK burger—meat, bun, bacon, and cheese—were personified as attendees of an R&D meeting whose agenda was to create a new bestselling burger. I thought it would make perfect fodder for AHT but was dismayed that there was no way to blog it—until now. Below is the sketch. Readers with delicate sensibilities are advised: There's some off-color language in there. Lighting and sound are a bit muddled, but bear with it.
They even did a mock CNN-type scare show ...
Though we at A Hamburger Today think that In-N-Out is great but often overrated, we think some students at the University of Arizona need to spend some time at burger college. When discussing the possibility of an In-N-Out replacing an on-campus McDonald's whose contract is up, here's what a couple said:
"I think Sonic should be there, or Burger King," said James Roberts, a molecular and cellular biology sophomore. "Any place that serves better fries." ..."Wendy's is a lot healthier, and you can have a salad instead of fries," said Melissa Revelle, a physics and astronomy junior. "Sonic is also better because it has a better variety and quality."
How can you describe a frozen patty (Sonic) as being of "better quality" than a fresh-not-frozen In-N-Out patty? Ai yah!
Don't hold breath for In-N-Out Burger [Arizona Daily Wildcat]
The National Restaurant Association is burning up over a Nationwide insurance ad whose tagline is "Life comes at you fast," that depicts K-Fed (aka Fed-ex) going from rapping to burger flipping:
The NRA, in a letter to Jerry Jurgensen, the CEO of Nationwide, said the ad "would give the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant."
Super Bowl ad with Federline angers Restaurant Association [money.cnn.com]
What does it say about the '70s and early '80s that so many food mascots were downright thieves?
When Grimace first debuted on television screens in McDonald's commercials in 1971 he did not debut as Ronald McDonald's right hand man. Far from it! In fact, Grimace was originally a four-armed cave dwelling beast who went by the moniker "The evil Grimace" and stole the milkshakes of McDonaldland.
The Evolution of the Grimace: Criminal Mastermind or Loveable Fool? [The Pop Culture Addict; via Anil]
Here's a fun one from the mailbag ...
Dear AHT: Dyer's Hamburgers in Memphis TN featured on Food Network cooks there hamburgers in a skillet with ancient grease. When they moved from their old location, they actually had the Memphis Police Department escort the grease in a padlocked trash can to the new location. Do a search and check it out. One day the manager looked up and saw Tami Fay Baker at the order station... —Mike, Montross, Virginia
Funny you should ask, Mike. AHT parent site Serious Eats featured a video of Dyer's excerpted from our friend George Motz's excellent burger biopic Hamburger America. I'm going to present it here. Enjoy!
FURTHER READING
Dyer's Burgers [Roadfood.com]
Dyer's Hamburgers [HollyEats.com]
This video is excerpted from George Motz's Hamburger America documentary. You can purchase the full DVD here.
Well, more like, "9-Year-Old's Mom Creates Latest Red Robin Burger."
Red Robin held "The Next Gourmet Burger Kids Contest," and whippersnapper Adrianna Montgomery took home the bacon:
Montgomery's Spicy Asian Burger is made with the following ingredients: hamburger, teriyaki sauce, wonton strips, Napa cabbage, sesame seeds, and creamy ginger wasabi sauce. The other three finalists include nine-year-old Zac Tennant from Meridian, Id., who created the Red Robin Reuben Burger; eight-year-old Courtney Rundio from Mesa, Ariz., who created the Cactus Jack Burger; and 10-year-old Caressa Morris from Portland, Ore., who created the Ooey Gooey Nacho Burger.
Spicy Asian Burger? Feh. Gimme the Gooey Nacho version any day. I'm waiting for Red Robin to publish that recipe, if ever.
Nine-Year-Old Creates America's Next Gourmet Burger in Red Robin's 'The Next Gourmet Burger Kids Contest' [PRNewswire.com]
KC Barbecue Marathon, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Slice
Went to one of my favorite burger joints in Kansas City over my Christmas trip back home.
Town Topic makes some seriously good little burgers. Fresh-not-frozen beef, coarse grind, and salted just enough. They start with a fairly small meatball (looked to be about 3 ounces, so I'd recommend getting a double burger) which they place on the grill and smash down with the spatula. After salting the patty, they throw some sliced onions on top, smash those in a bit, and let it sit a while.
After a couple minutes, it's flip and press, to embed the onion in a bit further. Yeah, yeah, I know. Smashing is bad. Supposedly. But it sure yields a nice crisp crust.
The burger is served on a nice squishy bun with plenty of cool, crisp pickles. Pictured is a cheeseburger, with American, of course. (You have no other choice -- as it should be!)
Over on A Hamburger Today parent site Serious Eats, we've got a great video of Glendale, Wisconsin's Solly's Grille from George Motz's burger biopic Hamburger America.
Solly's Grille, located incongruously next to the Milwaukee Heart Hospital, is famous for the Wisconsin regional delight known as the butter burger. A liberal dollop of Dairy State butter is applied to the burger just after patty hits bun. How much butter? Dude. It's insane.
Hamburger America: Solly's Grille [Serious Eats]
After a little more than a year and a half spent focusing primarily on mom-and-pop burger joints on A Hamburger Today, I felt it was high time to explore the world of burgers in the "casual dining" sector. More than a few AHT readers had emailed expressing the opinion that Houlihan's or Red Robin or T.G.I.Friday's had surprisingly good burgers. Countless television commercials touting the fare at these bar-and-grill type restaurants played a part, too, getting me off the couch and into the booths of four of the nation's most recognizable chains in the course of one day.
My mission was to sample cheeseburgers, collect visual intel, and report my findings to you, our burger-loving readers. I sampled standard cheeseburgers at Houlihan's, Applebee's, T.G.I.Friday's, and Red Robin, asking for medium-rare or as close to it as possible. The results can be found at Serious Eats.
[NB: I'm trying out that Flash-based photo-display thingie here, which I found out about on Food Blog S'cool. You can put a similar display on your site by clicking the "info" button in its lower right-hand corner.]
Steak 'n Shake feeds my belly, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Billy V
Dear AHT,
I'm in St. Louis. The heartland as you politely call it. (Seriously.) Come to think of it, that in itself is pretty funny because we're apparently one of the fattest cities in one of the fattest states, so apparently our hearts aren't to great. Not to cruise off topic, I've a bone to pick with AHT.
Sure I could chastise you on the lack of local/regional burger joints left off your lists or reviews. It is us after all, in the heartland, who raise the cattle for many of your eastern and western burger delights. Being understanding of your lack of a coronary heartland reporter, however, what I can fairly chastise you for is your omittance of the finest of the regional chain burger spots in the Midwest, the little slice of crispy heaven in every bite: Steak 'n Shake.
Geez,
Bill B.
Saint Louis
Dear Bill,
You're right. We're a bit thin in the middle when it comes to burger coverage for lack of regional burger correspondents from the Midwest, South, and mountain states. We're working on rectifying that. As far as Steak 'n Shake goes, we've mentioned it in passing on several best-of lists from some of our friends in burgerdom (though, true, not in an actual field report).
Mr. Cutlets rated Steak 'n Shake No. 1 on his national burger list in May.
Burger documentarian George Motz also placed it on his list, which raised the hackles of AHT reader Nick Butler: "Steak 'n Shake?? Are you kidding me?"
Though I grew up in the Midwest (aka the heartland), I've never had the pleasure of trying one—the chain didn't have a location in suburban Kansas City when I lived there. Now, however, I see that there are two locations near Ma and Pa Burger's house. I'll put S'nS on my dining agenda (along with awesome barbecue) for my visit home at Christmas.
Are we cool with each other now?
Thanks for writing in,
The Mgmt.
Heaven help us. Hackensack, New Jersey, slider joint White Manna now has a MySpace page: myspace.com/white_manna.
I had heard that the adaptation of Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation—a must-read for any burger fan—wasn't so good, but A. O. Scott's review says otherwise. A snip:
“Most people don’t like to be told what’s best for them,” says Bruce Willis in a sly, brilliant, single-scene cameo, and the suspicion that the movie is doing just that may provoke some reflexive resistance.Which is too bad, because “Fast Food Nation,” while it does not shy away from making arguments and advancing a clear point of view, is far too rich and complicated to be understood as a simple, high-minded polemic. It is didactic, yes, but it’s also dialectical. While the climactic images of slaughter and butchery — filmed in an actual abattoir — may seem intended to spoil your appetite, Mr. Linklater and Mr. Schlosser have really undertaken a much deeper and more comprehensive critique of contemporary American life.
I was going to skip this flick, but now I'm going to see it. Just not tonight—I already have tix to Happy Feet in IMAX.
The Ties That Bind America’s Food Chain [New York Times]
From People.com:
During her stay, [Britney Spears] paid a visit to longtime family friend Nyla Price, 55, owner of Nyla's Burger Basket in nearby Osyka, Miss. – a Spears family favorite – along with her kids and other friends and family.
NYLA'S BURGER BASKET
Address: 1071 2nd Street, Osyka MS 39657 [map]
Phone: 601-542-5032
Britney Spears Visits Her Louisiana Hometown [people.com, via Jaunted]
chicagostyle, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of andrewc
Yeah. It's nonburger material, I know, but I just could not resist posting this crazy crazy artwork from nerdpita. On his Livejournal he says, "I have no excuse for making this. But I do think it would make a good 'Chicago' tourist T-shirt to be sold at finer drugstores and gas stations."
chicagostyle [nerdpita; via Alaina, via Lia]
Albuquerque BK serves cops pot burgers. "It gives a whole new meaning to the word Whopper,' " the officers' attorney, Sam Bregman, said Monday. "The idea that these hoodlums would put marijuana into a hamburger and therefore attempt to impair law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs is outrageous."
Gopher it! Fred Grandy, former Love Boat star, former Republican representative from Iowa, current WMAL radio host, and converted vegan, will eat a cheeseburger if the Republicans retain control of congress.
Haute Burgers: "Hamburgers have moved 'higher up the food chain,' but UK Vogue advises people to order them from smart restaurants such as Nobu."
Gridskipper on BLT Burger: Burgers good. Rings better.
Here's a nice reader email from São Paulo, Brazil:
It's hard to say, but the best burger I ever ate was not in the U.S.. It was in São Paulo, in a place called St. Louis (burgers and dogs). There is no Shake Shack or Burger Joint or Le tub for them. Just terrific ground sirloin, melted real cheese, toasted bun, cucumber relish, heirloom tomato slices, pickled onions, and a touch of jalapeño. It's worth the airway ticket. The worst part is that they don't have restaurants in U.S. I add a photo of the burger I ate [left]. —L. Cintra (a Boston chef cooking in Brazil)
Old-school Portland joint rides again. Former Paul Revere & the Raiders frontman Mark Lindsay bringing taste of Yaw's burger back to Stumptown.
Make that a double. NYC's Burgers & Cupcakes opening a second location — 23rd and Eighth Ave.
Kate Beckinsale celebrates birthday at In-N-Out.
Snack-Size Deep Fryer. Not exactly burger, but burger-related. Make your own rings or fries. [via Megnut]
Hands off these buns! Sara Lee recalls essential burger component due to mislabeling of ingredients.
Today (November 3) is the last day to order customized ketchup bottles from MyHeinz.com and still get them by Christmas.
The burger lovers on your list don't take theirs with ketchup? Hey, they'll still need the five-seven for fries.
14-ounce glass classic bottle, $6 each. [MyHeinz.com]
Will It Blend purees a Big Mac, fries, and shake together. "In seconds, we have 24 ounces of wonderful meal."
A McValue Smoothie: Garnish with fries. Serve.
Will It Blend? McDonald's Extra Value Meal [willitblend.com; via Off the Broiler]
We hear ...
That UBurger in Boston's Kenmore Square is giving away free burgers and fries tonight as part of its grand opening. Get there between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. From their flak:
UBurger is the first fast food establishment in Boston to provide customers with made to order, freshly prepared fast food.At UBurger all hamburgers are made every day with high quality, freshly ground (on the premises), 100% USDA approved beef. Everything is freshly made to order and all French fries are hand cut.
If you’ve ever been to famous establishments on the West Coast like In N’ Out Burger, Carl’s Jr. and Tommy’s, you are sure to like UBURGER.
Take that for what it's worth. And, certainly, take some free burgers and report back to AHT on quality.
Simply amazing ...
Gotta have your tool, yo!
Wendy's Training Video Rap [youtube.com]
produkter05_300dpi, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of eatmydesign
Interesting essay from a branding-marketing standpoint on the nature of user interface as brand identity. (Think iPod — the clickwheel interface and white headphones are instantly recognizable without the need for the Apple logo on the product's face.) Carry that through to food, as the folks at Information Architects did, and you have the McDonald's cheeseburger:
... The cheeseburger has the easiest food interface one could think of. No forks, no knives, no spoons, no plates, no chopsticks. Like a sandwich, but softer and sweeter and above all: Standardized. No alarms and no surprises when eating a cheeseburger.The standardization makes the cheeseburger’s interface a branded one. Only a McDonald’s cheeseburger looks like a a McDonald’s cheeseburger. I unwrap it and look at the bread and the meat and the ketchup mustard color pattern: McDonald’s cheeseburger it is.
The Interface of a Cheeseburger [Information Architects; via "Hamburger" Matty]
"Hamburger" Matty just found this great burger wallet. "As AHT staffers, we should be required to use these," he said.
Agreed. Though I don't know how fast I'll be parting with, oh, the equivalent of about 6 value meals for a novelty wallet.
BURGER & FRIES WALLET
Designer: Burger and Friends
From: Beautiful/Decay [product link]
Cost: $29.95
[Via Happy Mundane]
Daisy Martinez, host of the public television cooking show Daisy Cooks, recently served as a judge for the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger contest. If you want the lowdown on judging such a contest, click over to her site. A clip:
We each were served half of 10 burgers, and those burgers were separated into 2 classes: Alternative and Beef. The winner of the Alternative category would win $10,000 and the winner of the Beef category would win $50,000. As luck would have it, I was so busy tasting burgers that I didn’t photograph them, but the winner of the alternative burger was Elizabeth Bennett and her Opa! Burger, which featured flavors of the Mediterranean (lamb, feta, oregano, and the secret ingredient: 2 slices of soppresata!), and the winner of the beef burger was Camilla Saulsbury and her Born in Berkeley Burgers (showcasing lemon-grilled fennel and arugula-fig topping, teleme cheese, and crispy bacon). Not too shabby!
Sutter Home Family Vineyards Build a Better Burger Competition [Boriqua Blog]
Build a Better Burger [sutterhome.com]
Continuing to plow through our inbox, we get to an email message from Cathy Erway of foodblog Not Eating Out in New York:
Dear AHT: Can anyone chime in with me that a "Caprese burger" is not a good idea? It could be, and is, a perfectly edible sandwich. But as a burger innovation, or fusion, this does not seem to be on the mark. Fresh mozzarella and a ground-beef patty are not complementary and almost mirror one another's texture in the worst way. —Cathy
Bargh! When it comes to burgers, I'm an American cheese–pickles-onion-mustard guy. Not too much into crazy toppings. Don't even really like lettuce and tomato because, too often, you get limp lettuce and crappy tasteless tomatoes. So, without having tried one, Cathy, and on first blush, I would agree. While I love a good Caprese salad (my pizza alter ego, after all, is nuts about tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), that combo doesn't seem like something that would necessarily work well with a burger. Now a burger with a Caprese salad on the side, that might work....
Eating Out in L.A. and Oregon [Not Eating Out in New York]
Today we're going through a stack of shamefully unanswered emails. Here's one that poses an interesting question that perhaps AHT readers can shed some light on....
Dear AHT: I have a question for you that maybe you could answer for me and my friend, chef Chris George of Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I'm trying to get him to put a tortilla burger on the lunch specials menu, and he wants to know where the recipe originated. I'm pretty sure it's a New Mexican invention, but I couldn't find anything from googling it or on Wikipedia.A tortilla burger's pretty easy—a burger is grilled, wrapped in a flour tortilla, cheese and green or red chile is put on top, and it goes under the broiler for a half a minute. You eat it with a fork and knife. We had it at the Blue Corn Cafe and Brewery in Santa Fe when I worked there. It's somewhat common on menus in New Mexico. I'd serve a little salad with a fresh corn–bean-cilantro-and-lime topping on the side.
Whaddaya think? Can you help shed some light on the subject? Chris and I want to know. —Dave
Dear Dave: I suspect burger purists are horrified at the idea of this concoction, but it sounds pretty interesting. Almost like a burger-based version of Taco's Bell's excellent Crunchwrap Supreme product. But a thousand times better. I don't know what the origins are, off hand. Can't your friend Chris add it to the menu without the origin story? See how it goes. And when you make them, take a picture and send it our way.
Readers: Do any of you know the origin of this "burger"? Email us or leave your answers in the Comments section. —The Management
Tortilla burger photograph from Arnold's Burgers
IMG_4914-2, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of jasonperlow
Jason Perlow: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=254962686&size=o
Jason Perlow: thought you'd enjoy that
Jason Perlow: had that last night at White Manna
Jason Perlow: I had eaten there for over 10 years and not once was aware you could get lettuce and tomato on a burger.
nycslice: crap!
nycslice: awesome
nycslice: thnx
Jason Perlow: I saw them taking out lettuce and tomatoes and I was like "wait, what do you use those for?"
Jason Perlow: and everyone else in the room was staring at them like "you have lettuce and tomato?"
Jason Perlow: they apparently also make egg creams there
Jason Perlow: and its not on the menu
WHITE MANNA
AHT Review: White Man(n)a, a New Jersey Pilgrimage
Address: 358 River Street, Hackensack NJ 07601 [map]
Phone: 201-342-0914
Hours: Mon.-Sat., 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: Hamburgers, $0.95; cheeseburgers, $1.05
From the mailbag ...
Dear AHT:As a burger aficionado, I managed to find your site. However I was appalled at the restaurants given so much attention.
First and foremost, In-N-out, is a good fast-food burger for California. In Texas it tastes like a jock strap. I've eaten there in San Diego and Vegas and can definitely confirm that they produce the most grossly over-rated product of all time. I love going to Texas, Houston specifically, because of small chain they have there: Beck's Prime.
I guarantee you Beck's makes better burgers than most of the restaurants you have listed, much less the fast food nonsense like In-n-out.
I don't give a damn where you grew up, I don't have a specific hometown myself. In-n-out is a joke. I mention Beck's as a MUCH better fast food place, but when you get into sit-down the contest is over. God, I'd rather eat at Appeleby's or some crap that freaking In-N-Out.
"Hamburger" Matty says "it'll last 3 days -- once everyone in the country starts using it":
Here are the instructions:* Find a reciept with the telephone survey on the back.
* Where it says to write the code and place the two letter code followed by 5 numbers (hint: Numbers do not have to be in any order or value except that there has to be five of them) for which month you are currently in.
* Example: WH 12345 the only thing they will check are the two letters.
* You still have to buy any size fry or drink but you will always get a free sandwich of your choosing.
Free Whoppers whenever you want [My Digg Blog]
BK Coupon Code Generator [digg]
Can a Burger Be Too Big? Our answer: No! [Batesville Herald Tribune]
Pining for the TeenBurger [Northern Life]
Comedian Murray Hill really loves cheeseburgers [Gothamist]
Burger King goes to Hell [stuff.co.nz]
From yesterday's Wall Street Journal:
Beef, grown domestically, costs more than other meats in China, and consumers here consider it a luxury good. McDonald's is playing on its upscale image, as well as on traditional Chinese views that eating beef boosts energy and heightens sex appeal. The word "beef" in Chinese has connotations of manliness, strength and skill.The burger chain's TV commercials are even racier than the print ads. In one spot, a man and a woman eat Quarter Pounders, and close-up shots of the woman's neck and mouth are interspersed with images of fireworks and spraying water. The actors suck their fingers. The voice-over says: "You can feel it. Thicker. You can taste it. Juicier."
Sex, Skin, Fireworks, Licked Fingers -- It's a Quarter Pounder Ad in China [Wall Street Journal; via Gawker]
Wisconsinites know George Webb. For the rest of you, it's a small chain of restaurants in the Dairy State renown for, among other things, its baseball prediction -- if the Brewers win 12 consecutive games, George Webb gives out free hamburgers. It's also known for its practice of hanging two clocks in each store. Today, OnMilwaukee.com answers a reader question about the quirk:
Years ago, local law prohibited business from being open 24 hours per day. George Webb (yes, there really was a George Webb), announced that his restaurants were open "23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds, seven days a week and on Sundays!"In order to avoid closing at all, the restaurants had two clocks installed with the time set one minute apart. Technically, the restaurant was closed one minute per day on one clock, but open on the other.
Digging deeper, the site also posits an explanation from Jim Webb, George's son. Jim Webb said that the original restaurant had a wall full of clocks in the late '40s, when streetcars plied the Milwaukee streets. Customers waiting for trains were anxious about the time, so George Webb hung the gaggle of clocks for their benefit. The rumble of the streetcars supposedly rattled all but two from the wall, and George left it at that, eventually hanging two in each new restaurant as the chain expanded.
Fun stuff I didn't know. It's my ritual to visit a George Webb for a burger and chicken soup (where's the chicken?!?) soon after deplaning in Milwaukee when I travel there to visit family. There's one just across the street from General Mitchell Airport. I'll have to look for the clocks next time I go.
OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: Ask OMC: Why are there two clocks at every George Webb's?
Oprah at her 50th birthday party, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of alan.light
nycslice: something must be on TV
nycslice: about burgers
nycslice: lots of traffic to AHT in the last hour
hamburger matty*: ha ha. why?
hamburger matty: oh, awesome.
nycslice: all searches about "best burger in america"
hamburger matty: that's funny.
nycslice: or "20 burgers to try before you die"
nycslice: i wonder if it's a repeat of the Oprah best burger show
hamburger matty: oh, it might be.
hamburger matty: that would be a good guess.
hamburger matty: http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml
nycslice: oh yeah. it is!
nycslice: Dude. The Counter's business totally spiked b/c of her
hamburger matty: amazing.
nycslice: did you read any of those stories?
nycslice: their business went crazy
nycslice: and they were able to open more locations
hamburger matty: i'm not surprised.
hamburger matty: she is a machine.
nycslice: no kidding
nycslice: it's INSANE
nycslice: she's like the Slashdot or Boing Boing of the real world
hamburger matty: ha ha.
nycslice: definitely
hamburger matty: that should be her tagline.
hamburger matty: "Oprah: the Boing Boing of the Real World"
This is a world away from that crazy late-'90s incident in which the Texas cattle industry sued Oprah for defamation.
The Best Burger in America Discovered!
* Screenname changed
O'Rourke's fire, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of doctorhectic
Oh no. We totally missed this the other week. Sad, sad burger news:
MIDDLETOWN [CONNECTICUT] -- A diner that became a landmark over the decades was severely damaged by fire on Thursday [August 31], and its owner is unsure whether it will reopen.The steamer in question cooked the burgers at O'Rourke's.The fire at O'Rourke's Diner on Main Street may have been caused by a steamer that was left on overnight, fire officials told WFSB-TV. The eatery - a small railroad car diner - was not insured.
Steamed burgers, you say? Yes. Connecticut is rife with little joints that prepare burgers in little steam chambers.
This is not the type of news we like to report on AHT.
Looks like you can contribute to a rebuilding fund here: Friends of O'Rourke's.
Middletown Landmark Severely Damaged by Fire [Hartford Courant; via AHT reader Tom D.]
Friends of O'Rourke's [fan site]
Bryan Adams' Concert in Charlottetown, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Ihsan*
Did you know Bryan Adams used to wash dishes at a North Vancouver restaurant noted for its unique burgers? Here's the story ...
Last night, I wrote the following email:
Dear Tomahawk Restaurant,
Several weeks ago, one of A Hamburger Today's readers sent in a photo of her Skookum Chief burger, proclaiming it the best burger in North Vancouver. I posted her photo on my site, and, lo and behold, just this evening I get a comment from another reader—one of your former employees, in fact—who said, "What a surprise to see the Skookum featured on the web! I used to work at Tomahawk in 1980 and I tell you, the burgers are GREAT! The urban legend is that Bryan Adams used to work there as a dishwasher! Ah, the memories!"So, I'm wondering, Tomahawk Restaurant, to the best of your knowledge, did Bryan Adams ever work there?
And today, I received this reply from Tomahawk owner Chuck Chamberlain:
Yes, it is true Bryan Adams worked here at the Tomahawk as a dishwasher. I also had the pleasure of working with him. He informed me that he was only working to save enough money to buy a guitar and some spare strings, as he was going to be a rock and roll star. And the rest is history.
Amazing. Rock on, Tomahawk. Rock on, burgers. Rock on, Bryan Adams.
I think this one has been floating around the web for a while, but I just now saw it. I been under a rock, yo. How to create the "most illest, futuristic sandwich ever," for $1 and half an order of fries. By dallaspenn.com and ohword.com.
Ghetto Big Mac [YouTube; via McChronicles]
From what we at A Hamburger Today have read, the stars are loath to eat in public lest a paparazzo shap a photo of them mid munch. But trying to snarf some McD's in the privacy of your own car looks even crazier. To wit, Ben Affleck, driving while dining.
Ben Affleck as "The Hamburglar" [TMZ.com; via Michele]
It's called the "upsell," the not-so-subtle art of prompting the customer to order additional menu items with such questions as the classic "You want fries with that?" or the less specific "Anything else?" But what happens when the customer keeps ordering? And ordering and ordering and ordering? Call it the "upbuy," counterattack to the upsell ...
From Australian television show The Chaser:
The Chaser McDonald's Upsell [YouTube; via SuperSizedMeals.com]
Here are a couple of crazy burgers from Arnold's Burgers in Amarillo, Texas. From Arnold's website:
No. 102: Large Texas-Shaped Burger ($ 20.77)
Large Texas Shaped Burger feeds about six people. Served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo, mustard, ketchup, steak-cut fries, tator tots, onion rings, curly fries.No. 260: Birthday Bear Burger ($ 20.77)
Teddy-bear-shaped birthday bear. Served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo, mustard, ketchup, steak-cut fries, tator tots, curly fries, onion rings.
Texas: It IS a whole other country. But that's why we love it!
Specialty Burgers [Arnold Burgers; photographs from arnoldsburgers.com]
A little bitta the ol' In-N-Out for you, Paris? ...
Celebrity Paris Hilton was arrested in Hollywood early on Thursday for suspected drunk driving, but she said the incident had been blown out of proportion and that she may have been speeding to get a late-night burger...."I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day," she said. "Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger."
Shouldn't she have been speeding to get a Carl's Jr.? ...
Arrested Paris Hilton says just wanted a burger [Yahoo! News; via Bill and Jason]
I thought I had mentioned Canadian burger blog the Burgers of Winnipeg before, but it looks like I haven't.
Now I have. And it's been added to the links at left.
The site is published by Angelo De Francesco, and its origin story, according to a story in the Winnipeg Free Press, is as follows:
"My original intent was to create some sort of art piece on my wall at home—a series of photographs of a burger gradually disappearing bite by bite—but I couldn't afford the frames."
So Mr. De Francesco put the pix online and started documenting his burger meals. He's usually pretty laconic in his entries but has been getting more verbose in his more recent posts.
The Free Press story also mentions:
The blog, he says, is a precursor to his ultimate goal: a souvenir calendar featuring this city's 12 premier patties.
We'd like to offer some advice to Angelo: Flickr + Qoop = your dream calendar. WHAMMO!
The Burgers of Winnipeg [winnipegburgers.blogspot.com]
The blog, dedicated to all things candy, says:
Haribo Build-A-Burger consists of three different gummi candies packaged together. One flavor is a top foamy bun with gummi lettuce, another a bottom foamy bun with gummi hamburger patty, and the third is a foamy cheese with gummi tomato. Put together, they would resemble a complete cheeseburger. Each flavor is slightly different, though none come close to any flavor I could put a name to.
Candy Review: Haribo Build-A-Burger [candyaddict.com]
photograph from CandyAddict.com
As you know, A Hamburger Today rarely deviates from its burger content. Despite daily temptations to blog about other worthy topics, we remain relentlessly on-message here. So I'm glad to have this excuse to tell you about one of my favorite podcasts.
It's called Escape Pod, and, as you can tell from just a brief glance at its logo, it's a science-fiction podcast. Escape Pod is produced by Steve Eley, who puts together weekly doses of engaging and imaginative short stories, ultrashort stories, and reviews that you can listen to on your computer or MP3 player at your leisure. I discovered it on Boing Boing a few weeks ago and have been rocketing through its archives, nearly exhausting all the available audio to date. Mr. Eley is an astute and professional editor, and the stories he buys for the show—all authors are paid for their contributions—rarely fail to entertain me. And, unlike many podcasts, the audio quality is, with a few exceptions, high. (The episodes' audio quality is subject to, and varies with, the recording equipment used by various guest readers.)
I finally had a chance to listen to Escape Pod Episode 2, a reading of a story called "Feng Burger," by author John Aegard. What follows is an excerpt of the story from the Escape Pod site, but it doesn't begin to hint at the surprise ending. I already know you're a burger fan, but if you're also a science-fiction fan, you would do well to download the story and give it a listen.
The Chinese are particular about their designs, and for good reason. A design with good feng shui—one that satisfies the universe’s sense of metaphor—attracts chi, the energy that raises mountains and pushes rivers and draws good fortune near and keeps tax collectors far away. Whether by accident or design, no one can say, but the Burger Pods have potent feng shui. Where normal men would see nothing but gleaming stainless-steel cabinets and a charbroiling grill, a feng shui practitioner would see arms and hands, cradling the Burger Pod’s occupant and bathing her in chi.
Escape Pod rates this particular story PG—for "sexual innuendo, mild profanity, and food service employees slacking off." (Did I mention Mr. Eley has a good sense of humor, too?)
Feng Burger [escapepod.org]
Subscribe to Escape Pod [escapepod.org]
HP Sauce Factory, Aston, Birmingham, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Kevin R Boyd
And now for news from across the ocean. In the U.K., we hear that:
A Stafford burger bar owner is refusing to serve HP sauce with his chips and burgers in protest over the closure of the Birmingham factory [above].The sauce and other Heinz products are now off the menu at Dave's Diner.
Owners Heinz plans to close the Birmingham plant and move production to the Netherlands, cutting 125 jobs.
Kenny in Homestead-2005, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of NASCAR&IRL ROOKIES 64&26 CHICK!!!!
From a Q&A with the racer on NASCAR.com:
If you could go back in time, what period in history would you like to live in, and why?
Wallace: There's no doubt that I'd like to live back in the Happy Days era -- back in the '50s -- back with Fonzie.I think it was the hot rods and the challenge of 'how fast could you go?' It was the drag racing and stopping to get you some cheeseburgers and somebody coming up on roller skates to take your order.
10 Questions: K. Wallace [NASCAR.com]
From an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times:
The great taste hasn't changed, but the mystique that inspired our carnivorous cross-valley quests sure has. The earlier, spartan drive-throughs, which once kept us at arm's length, a sheet of glass sealing off the inner sanctum where clean-cut workers frenetically packed the grill with meat patties, has given way to brightly lighted indoor seating no different from the national fast-food chains. The fabled secret menu, for years passed around solely by word of mouth, giving those of us in the know an easy way to separate the true In-N-Out fan — and true Southern Californian — from the wannabes … well, the Web ended all that.How can we preserve that vanishing sense of wonder while giving proper respect to the important role In-N-Out has played in postwar SoCal culture? An idea came to me a few months back while driving on the 10 Freeway, when I glimpsed a well-worn yellow-arrow sign, bearing a quaint pre-digital clock....
[In-N-Out No. 1] has been closed and gated off since 2004, replaced by a much snazzier restaurant just on the other side of the freeway at the same Francisquito Avenue exit. Next door stands the two-story "In-N-Out University" managerial training center and company store, selling such items as ski caps and beach towels emblazoned with the chain's name.
Company honchos have told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that they plan to preserve the building, and there was even talk of a museum, but I envision something more — a full-blown In-N-Out shrine.
Enshrine This Burger [Los Angeles Times]
We would have at least recommended Burger King:
Lake Havasu City police are looking for a real-life Hamburglar.A man broke into a McDonald's early Sunday morning through a roof vent.
Surveillance video shows the man turning on the grill, cooking and eating a couple of burgers before fleeing.
Man breaks into McDonald's to cook, eat burgers [azcentral.com]
Wichita, Kansas, blogger Podunk Boy responds on his blog to our earlier post about burgers in the Air Capital:
For those wondering where to get a burger in Wichita:
Ty's Diner
928 W 2nd St.Takhoma Burger
803 N. West St. or 816 S. BroadwayOasis Lounge
4121 W Maple StHow was I supposed to know that a post in my little blog would somehow trackback to a New York City burger review site. The Internet sure is a wacky place. Wichita, along with being the birthplace of White Castle and the modern hamburger, still knows how to make a good burger, many with chopped dill pickle relish and fried onions. Even the loose-meat burger at NuWay (several locations) are worth the trip, especially the original one on west Douglas.
Sorry about wine-sipping Gotham pigs thing -- I'm a little protective about the "birthplace of the burger" thing. I feel bad about it, but I never go back and self-edit an entry.
Hey: No offense taken. We've been called worse! And thanks for the recommendations.
oh, no, they did it for hamburgers, too: Comment #1 [Podunk Boy]
Holds 24 CDs. Available from Fred Flare.
pretzel burger, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of chrys
Straight outta Stuttgart. Germany, that is.
Seems like the story behind this pretzel burger is that it's the cover shot for an upcoming issue of Accents magazine. The photo is blogged from Flickr, and the caption there says:
The cover story, "Take Away Denglish" is about the growing use of English words in the German language, something the magazine thinks "just doesn't work," hence the "pretzel burger."Thanks to Udo Snack in downtown Stuttgart for letting us mess with their burgers.
Click through and check out Flickr user Chrys's other burger pix, one particularly handsome one shot through the lens of an old Kodak Duaflex.
Just found this post on a board at Radio Gods Forum:
a hamburger today: but somehow they've missed Wichita so far. Elitist wine-sipping Gotham pigs...
Podunkboy [yes, that's the handle he posts under], never fear. My parents are moving to Wichita in a few weeks. I'll be visiting in December. Wichita will no longer be ignored by AHT. In fact, we hear you've got some fantastic burgers there. Can you recommend any?
oh, no, they did it for hamburgers, too. [radiogodsforum.com]
Cheeseburger paradise? You're in it [Wichita Eagle]
We just got an email from Coolfer, whose brother publishes the fast-food/snack-food blog Phoood:
Hey Adam,
Have you ever seen a blog quoted on a fast food cup?
We hadn't before, but now we have. Very cool. Congrats, Phoood!
Photograph from Coolfer via, we assume, Phoood.com
GIO
Address: 1725 Market Street; Halifax, Nova Scotia [map]
Phone: 902-425-1987
Website: giohalifax.com
The Skinny: $15 Kobe-style-beef burgers
As a non-native New Yorker, I still experience sticker shock here and there when I go about my daily business. The price of pizza has never fazed me, but burgers took some getting used to. With fancypants burgers routinely ringing in above $12 (sometimes WAY above), it's downright quaint to see a columnist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, marveling at a $15 Kobe-style-beef burger:
Next time you are in the mood for a hamburger, try Halifax 's real home of the whopper — Gio."Everybody enjoys a hamburger, but I wasn't just going to do a burger," said chef Ray Bear, whose $15 Kobe Long Burger is the highest priced burger Spare no Expense was able to find in the city....
[Bear] serves the six-ounce burger on a multi-grain bun, with double smoked bacon, aged cheddar, pickled red onions, and homemade ketchup made from dried apricots and cranberries. It comes with a side of crisp, sweet potato french fries. The pan-seared and oven-baked meat literally crumbles in your mouth, mixing with the smoky flavour of the bacon, sweet tanginess of the ketchup, and sharpness of the cheese. It tastes brilliant.
As of today (August 21, 2006), $15 Canadian translates to US$13.41. Maybe I should move AHT corporate HQ to Canada. I've always liked the sound of Halifax.
Kobe Long Burger well worth the $15 price tag [The Halifax Daily News]
From KARE 11 TV in Saint Paul, Minnesota:
A manger at the Burger King on Maryland Avenue in St. Paul says [Randy] Bailey pulled into the drive-thru lane and demanded an "F------" cheeseburger and a F------ order of fries."According to criminal records, when employees refused to serve him, Bailey got out of his car and "using his hands, fists and feet as weapons," destroyed the drive-up window, causing more than $1,000 in damage.
Convict allegedly makes a costly burger run [KARE 11 TV]
What's up with our nation's cherished drive-ins? They're dropping like flies. First Rick's Drive-In in Pasadena, California, then rumors of an impending shut-down of the Wheel Inn in Sedalia, Missouri, now this:
Fans are squeezing in their last lunches and suppers at Herlocker's Park Drive-in this week.The restaurant, a University City landmark for 46 years, is closing soon. Herlocker's' landlord has sold the U.S. 29 property for redevelopment.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the place, whose official name is apparently "Park 51" (but "everyone calls it Herlocker's"), will be open through the weekend and possibly into the first part of next week.
Get there while you can:
HERLOCKER'S DRIVE-IN
Address: 9701 North Tryon Street, Charlotte NC 28262 [map]
Phone: 704-547-0036
Landmark burger joint closing soon [Charlotte Observer]
Herlocker's Park Drive-In [AOL CityGuide]
IMG_0098, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of art.reyu
Boing Boing mentioned Flickr user art.reyu's Engrish photo set last week, which prompted me to click through for a look. Lo and behold, I find this gem.
Cravings, the monthly web-based food magazine published by Celia Cheng, just published an interesting feature about foodbloggers for its August issue. And it's not just interesting because AHT and our sister site, Slice, are featured ;)
Ms. Cheng talked to eight other foodbloggers, and it appears she did the same thorough interviews with them as she did with me. I've been looking forward to this feature for the past month, as Ms. Cheng went beyond the typical questions ("How long have you been publishing?" "What's your favorite burger?") in her attempt to suss out the motivations and methods behind the blogs. Other blogs featured are (left to right, top to bottom, as represented by the site icons in the screenshot above): The Strong Buzz, The Food Section, The Hungry Cabbie, The Paupered Chef, Cupcake Bakeshop, [Slice/A Hamburger Today], She Loves NY/Eater, Nordljus, and Cha Xiu Bao.
Special Feature: Let's Talk About Food [Cravings]
Relax. In-N-Out isn't going to change with the death of cofounder Esther Snyder. From the Los Angeles Times:
The new head of In-N-Out Burgers said Monday that the venerable restaurant chain would remain in family hands and stay true to its time-tested strategy — a simple menu and slow but steady growth — after the death of company matriarch Esther L. Snyder...."The general perception in the industry is that it's under-developed — that there could be a lot more of them," said Randall Hiatt, president of Costa Mesa-based consulting firm Fessel International.
The trick, Hiatt said, is to achieve that growth without losing the In-N-Out mystique.
"Because of the way they have restricted growth, it still has that cult kind of buzz," he said. "Like Krispy Kreme had but lost when you started to see them at every gas station."
Loss of In-N-Out Founder Won't Change Menu Plan [Los Angeles Times]
Awesome, awesome billboard, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of brianarn
Some quick googleresearch reveals that Blake's Lotaburger started in 1952 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and now has 75 locations in the Land of Enchantment.
AHT thinks the billboard is brilliant, but we've never had a Lotaburger. So tell us, New Mexicans: Do you stand in awe of Blake's?
The above photo comes to us from AHT reader Marc B., who says, "I ran across your site today and enjoyed it greatly. Also thought you might enjoy taking a look at this burger I put together a while back. I call it the shrimp cocktail burger."
Thanks, Marc! That's INSANE. Talk about surf and turf. How 'bout the recipe?
Sad news in the burger world:
Esther Snyder, who with her late husband Harry co-founded In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park in 1948 and popularized the drive-through window for the fast-food industry, has died. She was 86.
Snyder, who had succeeded her husband and two sons as head of the family business, died Friday, according to an announcement from the company. Neither the cause nor the place of death was announced.
She was an inspiration for all the associates at In-N-Out and for all the people in the community whose lives she touched over the years," Lynsi Martinez, her granddaughter and sole heir, said in a statement.
Esther Snyder, 86; Co-Founded the In-N-Out Burger Chain [Los Angeles Times]
photograph from the Orange County Register
Speaking of chain burgers yesterday (Burger-Mad Bruni's trip to Houston's), let's refocus on what makes burgerdom in America (and the world) truly great: the mom-and-pop shops. The final quote in this excerpt spells success:
Thousands and thousands of orders and 40 years ago this week, Pete Luetkenhaus bought a root beer stand that has since become a landmark at Pearce Boulevard and Highway 61 in Wentzville.Farther west where Pearce Boulevard meets the parkway, the street is flooded with almost any fast food fare your stomach desires. Yet Pete's Drive-In has stayed afloat and intends to keep on going.
"A lot of our customers are repeat. That's how we survived with all the new restaurants in town," said Marsha Perotti, Luetkenhaus' daughter who helps him manage the restaurant. "It takes good customer service and a hometown feel."
Pete's Drive-In feeds off fast lane [STLToday.com]
Burger bus, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Michelle R
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This burger is a cake.
