Entries tagged with 'reviews'
Posted by Damon Gambuto, July 1, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Jewel City Diner
629 Americana Way, Glendale CA 91210 (map); 818-637-8998; americanaatbrand.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A postmodern burger failure
Want Fries with That? No. Did I mention NO?
Prices: Jewel City Burger, $6.96
Notes: Wednesdays kids eat free. Maybe they won't notice how bad the food is.
The fact that full scale mixed-use mall complexes have begun to blossom here in Los Angeles is, like our penchant for storytelling, not such a big deal in and of itself. What makes the construction of these instant-communities of note is that our malls (and their culture) have a way of sneaking into the lives of people all over the country. Like the Hollywood narratives that have for years vied for attention in America’s living rooms, Los Angeles’ newest iteration of the shopping complex is angling to become your living room.
Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso has re-imagined the mall as a mix of residential and retail space that is a funhouse attraction of the American Main Street seen through a Las Vegas lens. High-end shopping destinations and chain eateries surround facsimiles of the town square, anchored by gratuitous "dancing waters" attractions. Atop the retail outlets sit posh residences which allow shoppers to literally live at the mall. After a series of hugely successful developments across Southern California, Caruso set his sights on the sleepy bedroom community of Glendale and its waning credit limits.
The Americana at Brand is perhaps the premier example of Caruso’s vision (thus far). Hundreds of millions of Caruso's own dollars were transfused into equally valuable land that the City of Glendale gifted him in hopes that he might stamp out another success from his tested mold. And what has Caruso gifted the Serious Eater in return? A meticulously kept, terrazzo-paved hamburger stand. Jewel City Diner is a paean to America’s classic eatery and also, incidentally, a homage to one of Glendale's beloved restaurants from the bygone days. All this in mind, I set aside my mall aversion to try the Jewel City Burger.
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Posted by Nick Solares, June 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM
"The craggy, salty crust is as thick as that on a prime steak and the impossibly juicy innards gush torrents all over the squishy bun."
HB Burger
127 West 43rd St New York 10036; map); 212-575-5848; hbburger.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: Perfectly cooked juicy burger served on a potato roll. What's not to love?
Want Fries with That? Potentially scrumptious home made tater tots failed to deliver—stale and tepid
Price: Cheeseburger, $8
Thanks to Louis-Camille Maillard, we know why hamburgers are a compelling dish. Back in the 1910s, the French chemist and physician started researching amino acids and the way they react to sugars. The result of his research—called the Maillard reaction—was the discovery that when amino acids and sugars are made to react together (usually by heat) they release aromas and flavors as well as produce a browning effect similar to the non-enzymatic one that occurs during caramelization. This reaction does not so much intensify the taste of food as much as create whole new flavors and aromas. The reaction has been indispensable in our understanding of taste—indeed, it forms the foundation for the entire flavoring industry.
There has been some speculation that the browning of meat from searing—especially on lean white meats that contain very few of the reducing sugars required for the reaction—might not be the Maillard reaction at all, but rather a result of the "breakdown of tetrapyrrole rings of the muscle protein" (whatever that means). In defense of the notion that the Maillard reaction does occur during the cooking of high fat foods, such as the hamburger, I present the HB Burger—a hamburger so juicy, fatty, and toothsome, with possibly the best sear I have ever had on a patty that it could be used in place of a lengthy white paper dissertation to prove the point.
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Posted by Grace Kang, June 25, 2009 at 4:30 PM
The La Cense Beef Burger Truck started serving up their grass-fed beef burgers today in Midtown, so Robyn and I ventured into the land of business suits to grab a bite at the latest food truck to hit the streets. Getting there just a little before noon and the lunch rush hour, there were only five people on line. By the time we left, around 12:30 p.m., the line was about forty deep and growing longer by the second. As Robyn was taking photos of the truck, she was approached by a P.R. woman who jumped the line and ordered burgers for us. Unfortunately, the burgers still took about ten minutes to get so cutting the line didn't really save us much time.
Chalk it up to the inefficient system inside the truck. There are two guys inside—one cooking the burgers, one handling the money and putting together the orders. With frequent glove changes and rookie mistakes like not having the already prepared food items wrapped in foil beforehand, service was understandably slow. Food truck aficionado Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch has some suggestions on how they could improve their service.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, June 24, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Nick & Stef's Steakhouse
330 South Hope Street, Los Angeles CA 90071 (map); 323-465-8500; patinagroup.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A professionally executed burger that shines when eaten it its simplest form
Want Fries with That? Yes; the shoestring fries are professionally rendered and the sweet potato version get a nice blistering
Prices: (Lunchtime) Steakhouse burger, $14 (served with regular fries or sweet potato)
Notes: Consider trying this high quality burger without many of the condiments for an excellent and simple meat, cheese, bun experience
A portion of the downtown Los Angeles restaurant culture seems specifically designed to cater to the needs, tastes, and billfolds of the professional community who fill the handful of skyscrapers of this decidedly low-rise landscape. It’s easy to forget that Los Angeles has industry beyond "The Industry" (a.k.a. Hollywood), but the truth of the matter is these folks (lawyers, bankers, real estate developers) make up the lion’s share of the fine diners in this city and they don't have agents telling them to watch their waistlines. This means there are number of high-end restaurants that are classic, decadent affairs that live amongst the steel and concrete towers.
One of the best of this breed, Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse sits in a small plaza between hi-rises that carry the names Wells Fargo and Bank of America across their facades. Of course, it was the excess of corporations such as these that have made bargain lunches the norm for the rest of us, but the professionals who fill these buildings still have business lunches to which they must attend (I just wish the weren't doing it with our money). I decided to take a weekday lunch excursion to see how this other half eats their burgers.
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Posted by Nick Solares, June 23, 2009 at 11:00 AM
The Smith
55 Third Avenue, New York NY 10003 (b/n 10th & 11th; map); 212-420-9800; ctrnyc.com/THESMITH
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Sledgehammer execution compromises a hamburger that might be compromised anyway
Want Fries with That? Included in price with but a case of quantity over quality
Price: Bacon cheddar burger with the "works" and fries, $13
While I am generally a purist when it comes to hamburgers, preferring a simple preparation involving no more than salt, beef, cheese, and bread, I can appreciate the equally classic construction of a burger cast in the mode widely identified as Southern Californian—add lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and special sauce to the above listed sandwich. At least when it is executed well. Applied sparingly and in proper proportion the additions can elevate beef and bun that are perhaps not of the highest quality to something greater than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, when applied with reckless abandon the result can be less than satisfying. Unfortunately that is what I experienced at The Smith when I recently sampled their burger.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, June 17, 2009 at 2:15 PM
BoHo
6372 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood CA 90028 (map); 323-465-8500; bohorestaurant.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A hybrid of styles makes for a confusing and ultimately unsatisfying burger
Want Fries with That? Yes, please. Chef Andre Guerrero has mastered the Belgian-style fry
Prices: Cheeseburger, $14 (served with fries)
Notes: Happy hour doesn't take the bite out of the burger price, but pizzas and beer are half off from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Not sure why, but there's no burger to be had during brunch/lunch on the weekends
As an adult I've found the expectation attendant to the opening of a second (or third, or fourth) restaurant from a chef I’ve come to admire is something akin to the early stages of a relationship. The awkward, get-to-know-each-other phase has passed. So too the numinous rush of headiness before a first kiss. We know each other and we get along. As far as my hopeful nature is concerned, the relationship could go on forever. But this is often, if not usually, a fiction—a story told to oneself about a possible future of a life yet lived... a meal yet eaten. It's absolutely riveting.
Of course, when it comes to my liking chefs, nothing initiates a crush as fast as a great burger. Andre Guerrero put together the truly excellent burger at his "slow fast food" eatery The Oinkster in Eagle Rock. It's a burger that has, for years, been on my short list of Los Angeles' very best.
When a chef who's made one of my favorite burgers in the city decides to set up a new (and swankier) restaurant that is a ten minute drive from me, the giddiness hits school-girl proportions. BoHo is the latest restaurant to open under the guidance of chef Andre Guerrero. When I hear he'd be serving a new, higher-end version of his hamburger-shaped love letter, I could barely wait to rush in. It seemed this eating relationship would be getting serious.
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Posted by Hamburger America, June 12, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
For years, the incredible ground beef that Tessaro’s used for their burgers came from a butcher shop directly across the street called House of Meats. When the shop closed one day, Kelly Harrington, part owner of this Pittsburgh burger destination, did what seemed the most sensible— he hired the butcher.
Unique to the burger world, the hamburgers at Tessaro’s are grilled over a fire made from West Pennsylvania hardwoods, not charcoal or a blue propane flame that seems standard for indoor flame grilling. Tessaro’s uses a mixture of yellow maple, red oak, and walnut, all indigenous to the area. "We stay away from Hickory because it’s too strong," Kelly pointed out, "and no fruit trees because they are loaded with pesticides." Hardwoods produce a flame that is far hotter than gas or charcoal. Grill man of 20 years Courtney McFarlane told me, "The fire can get up to 600 degrees in there."
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, June 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM
La Grande Orange
2000 Main Street, Santa Monica CA 90405 (map); 310-396-9145; lagrandeorangesm.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A beautifully crafted burger from a very professional operation
Want Fries with That? Yes, please. The skinny-cut spuds can get weighed down by the added seasoning, but shine when hit with some salt straight out of the fryer
Prices: Cheeseburger, $11.95
Notes: While the easygoing, cafe feel of lunch is beach-ready, the sit-down restaurant service at dinner makes for an easier go of it
The first time I found myself eating at one of the now growing list of LGO Hospitality restaurants I was visiting my lovely and amazing older sister in Phoenix. The most storied meal I've had in sis’s adopted hometown came to be so because, well, I decided to tell the story. It was a very personal tale of a very ordinary hamburger lunch eaten on an extraordinary weekend. While my family's narrative is an essential part of me, that experience didn’t tell the whole story when it comes to my Phoenix food experiences.
One hot (surprise) Sunday morning we headed to La Grande Orange Grocery. We fought through the Sunday brunch crowds to eat what would be one of the more memorable new pizzas I’ve had in the past few years. It was a surprise to find such a satisfying pizza in what looked to be a gourmet shop that had sprouted restaurant wings. It was an even bigger surprise to find that the my pizza brunch compared favorably with the truly excellent pizza dinner I’d had the night before at the heralded Pizzeria Bianco.
Now La Grande Orange is making waves with its beach-close location in Santa Monica. When I heard it was the same folks who'd made me my memorable Sunday morning pizza I was excited to find out how they’d handle my burger.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
This week Serious Eats New York editor Erin Zimmer reviews Watty & Meg in Brooklyn and tries their grass-fed cheeseburger. I ate dinner with her that night to join in on the burgery goodness...and take photos. Autopsy shot after the jump.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 4, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Photograph of burger from The Golden State by Tony C.
Last month in honor of National Hamburger Month, Tony C. of sinosoul.com ate five burgers around Los Angeles—Ammo, Beacon, Cafe Was, Boho, and The Golden State—giving each one props for a different reason. Although he didn't have a favorite of the bunch, he stressed that he liked them all better than the well regarded Umami. Read his post for a humorous review of each burger with photos.
Related
California Dreaming at The Golden State in Los Angeles
Discovering the Fifth Taste at Umami Burger in Los Angeles
Posted by Damon Gambuto, June 3, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Mini Bites
4481 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90029 (map); 323-666-4242
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: Smaller is cuter, but not tastier
Want Fries with That? No! These frozen fast food style spuds are straight from the grocery freezer and they taste it
Prices: Mini cheeseburgers, $4.50
Notes: If you are throwing a kid's birthday party, you might be a hit if you show up with a bag full of Mini's
There is some external burger force guiding our reviews this week. Somehow, without out plan or pretext, Nick and I found ourselves eating small burgers at roughly the same time while being 3,000 miles apart from one another. I read his review while taking a break from writing mine and was delighted by the coincidence.
Perhaps it’s not so strange. In some respects, the small burger is why we are all here. That is to say, they're AHT founder Adam Kuban's second favorite food (pizza being the first) and the inspiration for him to start this blog. Of course, we all know semantics of the slider are fraught with slippage despite Mr. Kuban’s valiant efforts to apply a little rationality to the conversation.
Unfortunately, he’s fighting an uphill battle as the fascination with the little has blossomed into a proliferation of the small burger (or small sandwich) labeled as slider. I found the most recent offense just this morning in the form of Philly Cheesesteak Sliders. While we can’t control all of the semiotic sloppiness that has spread across our slider landscape, we can continue to sound the alarm. There is some evidence it’s working.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 1, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Northwest Florida Burger Tour is a burger review blog run by a group of eight anonymous burger lovers (only identified by their occupations) on a mission to find the best burgers in northwest Florida. They've already hit up six places since the end of April. [via Pensacola News Journal]
Posted by Damon Gambuto, May 27, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Bob Morris' Paradise Cove Beach Cafe
28128 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90265 (map); 310-457-2503; paradisecovemalibu.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: If only the burger were as delightful as this oceanfront location
Want Fries with That? I'd pass on these extra-crispy, fast food-style spuds
Prices: Beach Burger with Cheese, $14.90
Notes: There's a live jazz trio on Tuesday nights, but my tip is to head there in the mid-morning hours to avoid the crushing crowds to listen to a syncopated ocean
I just returned from a holiday weekend in Cleveland. My holiday was spent…in Cleveland.
Okay, normally this is the time when the coastal blogger either fortifies his snark credentials by eviscerating an easy target with worn clichés about a metropolis in peril or, alternatively, curries favor with an Middle American audience by communicating surprised delight at a resurgent city. It's the "mistake on the lake" in the first case; it's America's best new food scene in the second.
I'm not going to assume either posture. For me, it was a trip designed to celebrate my beautiful sister and her graduation from college. (Hooray, Isabella!) It's numinous to watch another person's body and mind mark the passage of time. It also happens to be deeply enervating when it demands a red eye flight and only 30 hours of land time at your destination.
The visit was short, but with its physical demands, somehow my longing for my home grew, well, long. Cleveland is certainly no mistake, but it and my sister's post-graduate life are things to which I am meant to be a visitor. After a Monday afternoon of sweet communion to raise our glasses to the graduate, I found myself strangely happy to be slipping into my tiny airplane seat. What waited for me was my home and the life to which I am resident: my bed, the sea, and a burger.
Tuesday would be an exercise in the familiar: a lonesome and savored lunch in my hometown. I decided I needed to seek out a spot that would properly mark my return—a spot that embodies the sense of place for which my city by the sea makes me long. I pointed the car toward Malibu and Bob Morris’ Paradise Cove Beach Café in the hopes of finding my happier Eden; me and a burger becoming imparadised in one another's arms.
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Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
- Kendrick Disch on The Vortex: The Vortex in Atlanta, Georgia, serves the Elvis Burger: a half pound patty topped with fried bananas, bacon, and lots of creamy peanut butter.
- San Antonio Burger Blog on Luther's: Their burger unfortunately looks much better than it tastes: "it was one of the blandest burgers I have ever had." But at least the decor is happy and the shakes are good.
- Cook's Tour from the Houston Chronicle on Shake Shack: Houstonites would not be impressed by this New York City favorite. [AHT review]
- Midtown Lunch on Burger Shot Beer: $1 burgers, $2 shots, and $3 beers may sound like a good deal, but since everything comes in small portions, you're likely to spend as much as you would at a pricier place.
- Hartford Advocate on Burger Meister This recently opened burger joint offers six kinds of "proper" burgers aside from ones made with chicken, turkey, tuna, and lobster. [AHT discussion]
- Eating Our Words on Bubba's Texas Burger Shack: Should you visit this burger shack underneath a highway interchange? Hell yes!
- Cafe Society on Park Burger: This newly opened burger joint in Denver looks promising and has great milkshakes.
- Star Tribune on Smashburger: The name of this burger chain comes from the practice of pressing down on the burgers while they're on the grill, resulting in patties that are charred on the outside, juicy on the inside.
- Always Hungry on Charlie's Hamburgers: This burger joint in Folsom, Pennsylvania has been serving burgers since 1935
- Dallas Observer on Burguesa Burger: This place specializes in Mexican burgers, such as one whose toppings include ham, tomato, a tostada, refried beans and a jalapeño. They also serve fortune cookies that taste like "toilet paper and cat butt."
Posted by Leslie Kelly, May 22, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I’m a huge fan of the food at Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. It’s got to be the only stadium in the country where you can score Thai curry, clam chowder, and an order of edamame along with the typical popcorn, peanuts and Cracker Jack. I’ll go to an M’s game at the Safe just so I can order an Ichiroll, the spicy tuna creation named for the single-named star of the team (Ichiro) or to dive into seared salmon drizzled in a sun-dried tomato beurre blanc at the Hit It Here Café. But with the recent arrival of Seattle’s premier mobile kitchen, I’m well fed before I even pass through the turnstile.
Skillet Street Food is now parked on the home plate side of Safeco Field a couple of hours before home games, serving an abbreviated version of its ‘round town menu. This kitschy kitchen located in an Airstream Trailer offers a winning lineup of sandwiches: pulled pork, fried chicken and a creation not-so-humbly called "The Burger."
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, May 20, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Hole in the Wall Burger Joint
11058 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90025 (map); 310-312-7013; holeinthewallburgerjoint.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: This self-styled "working man's gourmet burger" is undermined by its haute influences
Want Fries with That? No thanks. Not as tasty as they are attractive
Prices: Beef Burger, $7.95
Notes: Daily specials, or "Grumpy Bill's Stimulus," are true deals.
Sometimes I want my burger luncheon to be a midday hideout—a place to temporarily evade my life’s welter with the stabilizing pleasure of a foursquare meal served on a round bun. A place that is hard to find for everyone who doesn't know just where to find it. A burger joint that is little more than a hole in the wall. Imagine the height of my burger hopes when I traveled to the impressively nondescript environs of West Los Angeles in search of Hole in the Wall Burger Joint.
This self-styled "working man’s gourmet burger" sits behind a doughnut shop just off Santa Monica Boulevard, but the (slightly) off-the-boulevard locale is where the similarities to that proverbial private spot ends. This relatively new addition to the Los Angeles burger landscape is a painted, polished, and promoted burger theme restaurant. In most respects, this kind of place is the antithesis of its namesake. The stand-up sign that points the way to the entrance means this is no hideout, but its simple message is its own defense: "Burgers."
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Posted by Robyn Lee, May 20, 2009 at 10:30 AM
This week Ed Levine reviews Bar Artisanal in Tribeca and tries their lamb burger. A lamb burger may not fit the definition of what we usually review at AHT, but when we told the chef that we had ordered the regular burger, he insisted that we had to try the lamb burger instead. Ed explains that the burger is made with "ground American lamb shoulder mixed with Salumeria Biellese's merguez" and has a "molten goat cheese center." Autopsy shot after the shot.
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Posted by GoodEaterKenji, May 18, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Editor's note: Earlier this month Kenji Alt met with fellow AHT member millions for a burger duel at R.F. O’Sullivan’s in Boston. Here are the results.
R.F. O'Sullivan's
282 Beacon Street, Somerville, MA 02143 (map); 617-492-7773; rf-osullivan.com
Having been challenged (some might even say slandered) into a burger throwdown for my poor review of R.F. O’Sullivan’s, one of Boston’s most beloved burger joints, I readily accepted, eager to defend my burger-tasting title, and also hoping that perhaps against all odds, the last couple times I've been to R.F.’s have been extraordinarily rare flukes.
I entered the bar at around 1 p.m. where I met millions, who had just arrived on an overnight from Los Angeles (the land of good burger). I had to admit, there is a good vibe about R.F. O'Sully's: It's the kind of place that makes you feel nostalgic from the moment you walk in—even if it’s your first time there. If we are to follow the Motz theory that a good burger is more than just a sandwich, but rather a sum of the experiences around eating it, then perhaps R.F.'s has a few redeeming characteristics.
I, however, am not one for sentiment, and I judge a burger first and foremost on flavor. If it tastes great, then other factors can only further improve it, but a bad burger is a lost cause, no matter where you eat it.
I bear photographic evidence of the experience.
Exhibit (a): Intense Flame Grilling
If one thing can be said for Sully's, it’s that their grillmen have no fear of the flame. The massive balls of beef are literally engulfed in flames the entire time they are cooking (a good 20 minutes for medium rare). I believe that this is the reason the insist on using "lean ground sirloin." Even the smallest amount of fat in these things would cause them to burn beyond repair. Unfortunately, as any burgerman worth his salt knows, "lean" and "sirloin" are two things that should never appear anywhere near a quality hamburger. Perhaps they work some sort of alchemical magic. I'll judge when I taste.
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Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
Posted by Hamburger America, May 15, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
A visit to Blimpy Burger can be a daunting but rewarding experience. Part theatre, the cooks behind the counter engage in a sort of Soup Nazi berating of customers that do not follow the cafeteria-style rules of ordering. "Just answer the questions I’m asking you," grill cook Brian told a group of newcomers the first time I visited. In reality, the rules are there to help you, not scare you. They are there to allow the cooks to get your food to you fast, which is a good thing because you'll need this burger in your mouth as soon as possible.
Blimpy Burger is on the edge of the University of Michigan campus, surrounded by student rental houses with mud lawns. For students, the positioning of this decades old greasy spoon could not be better. The interior of Blimpy Burger is wholly utilitarian and the opposite of a comfy dive. A low, drop ceiling and greenish fluorescent lighting give the place a construction trailer feel. A collection of vintage cast-iron swivel stools bolted to the floor service most of the tables.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, May 14, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Le Tub in Hollywood, Florida, has been recommended multiple times on AHT and elsewhere for their cheeseburger, but it never left much of an impression on me until I read John Linn's feature on the burger in New Times Broward-Palm Beach. In his post, Linn describes the burger's composition (100 percent sirloin), fattiness ("You take a bite, and gobs of rendered fat drip down your chin and on to your plate"), and flavor (not quite beefy enough), and how the burger is cooked.
But it's the food porn that seals the deal, of course. Jesus, that's a lot of meat. 13 ounces, apparently, most of it pink and glistening. Although I generally don't like burgers that go over half a pound and/or require an unhinged jaw to actually fit in one's mouth, I'd considering trying this burger in the tiny chance I ever find myself in South Florida. [via Michael Makis]
Posted by Damon Gambuto, May 13, 2009 at 3:45 PM
"It’s a full, rich mouthful that hits me with a rush of pleasure akin to hearing the curtain whisk close behind me as I walk into a plane’s first class cabin."
25 Degrees
7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90028 (map); 25degreesrestaurant.com; 323-785-7244
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A slick, Hollywood Boulevard "build-your-own" burger spot serves up some very tasty options
Want Fries with That? These fast food style spuds are foiled by a sprinkle of thyme, but the onion rings are truly special
Prices: Sirloin Cheeseburger, $10.50
Notes: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
So I had the in-laws in town over the weekend. This is much less the lip-pursed, teeth grinding exercise of holding my tongue than it is a four day extravaganza of eating, drinking, and playing. They’re a decidedly generous pair who somehow endure the facsimile of an adult man that is this boy. The fact that they endure me as a partner for their superstar of a daughter is an even greater measure of their generosity. I suspect it’s the burgers.
You see, Mom is a burger lover and one of my regular interlocutors. Dad is a Texas-bred doctor who brings his studied demeanor to most things, but certainly not least of which is his grilling. Of course, a big burger lunch was on the agenda for the weekend’s festivities (as were some fine steaks from Lobel’s that arrived via FedEx—thanks Dr. C!). As you might imagine, while sitting down for our burger we discussed burgers.
I found out that my girlfriend’s father went to medical school with a chap who insisted on burgers. Only burgers. Lunch and dinner. Every day. We laughed as we imagined a life of just burgers. Dad’s button on the story was that this burger man was “hands down the smartest guy in the class.” Now, I suspect this was presented as a counterpoint to his obsessive burger consumption, but there are days when I think the burger doctor might have been on to something.
Monday would be one of those days. It would be a burger-only day for me. Of late I've been running into some rough hamburgers for my reviews and, quite honestly, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of relating the sad, desiccated state of a drive-in’s roadkill patty, or the overwrought affair I had at a barbecue joint. I don’t sharpen my pen in hopes of slicing up a restaurant with a clever turn of phrase. I’m rooting for all of them. Or perhaps better put, I’m rooting for my mouth. I want a delicious and memorable meal, not food for my evil thoughts.
In light of this, my first stop would take me back to a place that I’ve been enjoyed in the past and—more importantly—I planned on enjoying in my near future. 25 Degrees is part of the movement of “premium” burger restaurants that has taken off around the country. It, like the rest of its ilk, promises high-end ingredients, restaurant service, and (hopefully) delicious updates of the classic. I can really enjoy these places. In fact, my dinner would be another adventure in premium burgering, but I’ll tell that story in another post. Today, let’s do (a burger) lunch.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 12, 2009 at 11:45 PM
In Ed Levine's weekly review on Serious Eats New York, he heads to Greek restaurant Kefi on Manhattan's Upper West Side. You might expect a lamb burger or some such there, but it's a beef burger that has some brisket in the mix, "for moistness," one of the folks there said.
As Ed says, "It's tasty enough, with its manouri cheese and sun-dried-tomato topping, but give me Psilakis' killer lamb burger and chickpea fries at Anthos any day."
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 12, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Ladies and germs, welcome to the AHT delivery showdown. This is an elimination bout for the NYC Delivery Belt. In the red corner, weighing in at 7 ounces of flame-broiled goodness, fighting out of Union Square, is Goodburger! And the opponent in the blue corner, weighing in at a reported 8 ounces of flame-broiled beefiness, fighting out of Greenwich Village, give it up for Stand! Scoring will be on the 10-point mustard system, where the winner of the round is awarded 10 points and the loser 9 or fewer. And now, let's get ready to sizzle...
Goodburger
870 Broadway, New York NY (17th/18th; map); 212-529-9100; goodburgerny.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A nicely balanced juicy burger travels well and fulfills the promise of flame-grilling
Want Fries with That? No, soggy and tepid
Price: Cheeseburger, $6.75; fries, $2.50; shakes, $5.50
Notes: Delivery, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., 7 days
Stand
4 E. 12th Street, New York NY (Fifth Ave/University; map); 212-488-5900; standburger.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: High-quality beef somewhat hampered by a cloying ketchup
Want Fries with That? Not for delivery, probably better in restaurant
Price: Cheeseburger $10; fries, $3; shake, $6
Notes: Delivery, 12 to 11:30 p.m., 7 days
Getting a hamburger delivered is not ideal. It is obviously far better eaten moments after it's scooped off the grill or griddle, slapped down on a bun, and deposited in front of you. Wrap it in foil, wax paper or shovel it into a cardboard box, and throw it into a plastic bag before taking it on a bumpy bicycle ride through Manhattan's potholed streets and your chances of achieving burger perfection go down exponentially by the block—the patties cool, cheese congeals, lettuce wilts and buns become soggy.
But of course there are times when you have no choice but to get delivery because you are too hungover, because it's pouring rain outside, because you are waiting for a delivery or because you are just too damn lazy to go out. As it turns out I recently found myself fulfilling all of these conditions and decided to pit Stand and Goodburger, two of my neighborhoods dedicated burger spots, in a head-to-head delivery battle.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, May 6, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Beeps Fast Food
16063 Sherman Way Van Nuys, CA 91406 (map); 818-781-0830
Cooking Method: Charbroiled
Short Order: This throwback, '50's drive-in isn't what it used to be.
Want Fries with That? Fries aren't all bad, but go for the rings instead.
Prices: The Big Beeper $3.79, 1/4 lb. Cheeseburger $3.09
Notes:The 3 p. m. - 7 p.m. two for one burger deal make a sub-par burger easier to swallow.
The drive-in is, in many respects, why we’re having this extended burger conversation. That is to say, American burger culture, writ large, came of age in the postwar boom that scattered people and their cars across the suburban landscape. The increasing sprawl made the automobile a necessary accoutrement of modern life. Cars would get us there, and carhops would get us our burgers.
Living in Southern California means living alongside this history. I’ve visited some of the now-defunct original locations that heralded the burger boom, but my favorites are still functioning. My first review here brought me to Van Nuys for a burger that had changed little in 40 years (with good reason).
Recently, I headed back to sunny Van Nuys, and all of its post-industrial malaise, to try a place that lays claim to 56 years of serving burgers. Beeps Fast Food is not only a name that references that aforementioned drive-in culture, it’s a living part of its history. I drove in to see if was still riding the glory road or if its glory days were in the rear-view mirror.
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Eisenberg's Sandwich
174 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010 (22nd/23rd streets; map); 212-675-5096; eisenbergsnyc.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: This circa 1929 lunch counter offers a decent burger in a pinch, but it's probably not worth traveling too far out of the way for
Want Fries with That? No, they are generic steak fries; the generic onion rings are only marginally better but still not worth your time
Price: Cheeseburger, $7; cheeseburger deluxe, $8.50
"At Eisenberg's eating a cheeseburger," read my Facebook friend's status update. "How is it?" I posted on his comment, to which he replied, "Not bad." I might have left it at that had I not recently watched Anthony Bourdain on TV enjoy a tuna sandwich and lime Ricky at the circa-1929 sandwich shop located in the Flatiron District; he promised me a nostalgic sojourn replete with "1970s prices." He was right about the nostalgia, but I doubt the cheeseburger cost $7 here in the 1970s, if they even sold them.
Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop is one of the last of the great lunch counters that once dotted the city. It is a literal hole in the wall, occupying a thin sliver of real estate on Fifth Avenue and serving a throwback menu that includes egg creams and pastrami sandwiches.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, May 1, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
- Ballard News-Tribune on GreenGo Food: Don't ask for tomatoes on your organic cheeseburger at this local and sustainable food-minded eatery unless they're in season.
- Taste T.O. on Toronto's Old and New Burger Joints: With so many new and old burger joints to choose from, here are some suggestions to narrow them down.
- The Great Burger Conquest on The Ultimate Burger: Not bad, but not the ultimate burger either.
- Grub Grade on Krystal: Go for a Cheese Krystal for the best Krystal variation.
- Hoosier Burger Boy on the Nugget Diner: This burger in Reno, Nevada, is called the Awful-Awful for being "awful big and awful good."
- Portland Hamburgers on Racetrac: It's a double cheeseburger for only 99¢...from a gas station chain. Only takes 30 seconds in the microwave to cook, and then add whatever toppings you want from the condiment bar
- Dallas Observer on Back Yard Burgers: "Overall, the Back Yard Burger certainly beats a square Wendy's burger, but so does a slap to the nutsack." On top of that, they don't serve beer.
- Victoria Burger Blog on Maude Hunter's Pub: The patty is nicely flame-grilled, but has too many extra added flavors that overwhelm the meat.
- The Pitch on the Burger Joint: This Kansas City burger joint makes good burgers out of fresh meat along with tacos and chili.
- Clean Plate Charlie on Char Hut: This burger from Davie, Florida, fulfills most of the qualities of a good burger except there isn't much juice.
- Always Hungry on Kurve: This contemporary Thai restaurant in New York City serves a juicy wagyu beef burger topped with cheese, shiitake mushrooms, and basil.
Posted by Robyn Lee, May 1, 2009 at 9:45 AM
I visited Iceland from April 18 to 24. Although this sparsely populated country may not be known for its cuisine, there was plenty of interesting food to report on. I've been sharing it via these Snapshots from Iceland.
Burgers aren't what you think of eating when you go to Iceland, but when you're a part of AHT, burgers are always on the brain. During my recent vacation to Iceland, I made it a point to visit Hamborgarabúllan, an easy choice because it was pretty much the only place that came up when I searched for where to get a burger in Iceland. (There are other restaurants in Reykyavik that serve burgers, but they're not as burger-centric.) My choice was reinforced by reading this interview with proprietor Tommi Tómasson, who started making burgers in Iceland in the 1980s and, with four locations of Hamborgarabúllan under his belt, shows no sign of stopping.
Opened since April 2004, the original location of Hamborgarabúllan on Geirsgata is a small burger joint with a comfortable, homey feel—from the handwritten sign outside to the interior adorned with Christmas lights and a mish mash of signs handwritten notes of burger love. You could forget that you're in Iceland until you look out the window and see a quiet harbor with mountains in the distance.
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Posted by Leslie Kelly, April 30, 2009 at 4:00 PM
When it comes to burgers, size matters. But bigger isn't always better, especially at Taste, the urban-chic restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum.
A pair of minis is a portrait in sustainability. The special grind of organic beef comes from Skagit River Ranch and the Samish Bay farmstead gouda is produced 40-some miles north of the city at Rootabaga Country Farms. The wee buns come from nearby Columbia City Bakery. The only far-flung ingredient on the plate is the Dijon that is folded into the house aioli.
Taste is rightfully proud to point out on its menu the percentage of products sourced in Washington and Oregon. (It varies from season-to-season, currently standing at 46 percent at lunch, 53 percent at dinner.)
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, April 29, 2009 at 2:15 PM
"Considering how overwrought this restaurant’s design is, perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised that its burger is a highly constructed affair."
Baby Blues BBQ
7953 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90046 (map); 818-284-4215; babyblueswh.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: This robust barbecue joint simulation misses the mark with its overwrought burger
Want Fries with That? No, thanks. Skinny cut, mixed with sweet potato, and bathed in seasoning, they aren't worth the toll. An easy pass
Prices: The Lasker Burger, $11.50
Notes: A super friendly atmosphere certainly argues for the trip
Here in Los Angeles, we’ve some of the finest examples of just about every cuisine imaginable with some unimaginable exceptions. First, and most tragically, we lack a robust (or even defensible) pizza culture. I’ve lived here for over a decade and just mentioning it makes me sad, so let’s move on. The gastronomic gap that is germane to today’s (burger) discussion is serious barbecue. While there are many contenders, I’ve yet to find that one that brings me back for the brisket. That said, a number of them do a serviceable job with their cue, and—as one might predict—serve a pretty good burger.
It seems fair to expect a tasty burger from a serious barbecue restaurant. The obsessive and meticulous preparation, the felicitous hewing to tradition, and, of course, the love and respect paid to the meat should mean a good burger is a good bet. I understand that, for the dedicated BBQ-ers, hamburgers shouldn’t share the same sentence as, say, brisket, let alone the same menu, so perhaps I should amend my original statement: If a serious barbecue spot throws a burger on their menu, it’s fair for me to throw some expectations back at it.
Baby Blues BBQ recently opened a third location in West Hollywood and its reputation and my expectation led me there for lunch. The budding restaurant chain itself is little more than a toddler, and with this most recent outpost of Baby Blues being basically a newborn at five weeks, it’s fair to expect a few wobbles. That said, when you put a legendary picture of the legendary Johnny Cash on your wall and serve a burger with its own name, you better be ready to grow up fast.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, April 22, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Rush Street
9546 Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90232 (map); 818-284-4215; rushstreetculvercity.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: This Hollywood-sized gastropub production delivers a delicious burger
Want Fries with That? This solid iteration of shoestrings doesn't do anything to change my mind about the varietal
Prices: Dry-aged burger, $11
Perhaps nothing is as much a sign of high-end restaurant culture going mainstream as the popularization of the gastropub. In the U.S., our bars are where we meet, drink, and —of course—eat. What we opt for in bar food is what we came for in the first place, comfort. Whether it's our burger and fries or a plate of mac and cheese, we are looking for that taste of home while we drink the night away in our home away from it.
The gastropub promises the pleasures of the casual native to a night out at your local without the meal becoming a casualty of it. Here in Los Angeles—where dressy means giving your flip flops the night off and an original idea is one that you stole without getting caught—it's no surprise that this high concept dining experience has spread like superhero movies. It seems as though you can find one popping up on every other corner and can no longer get a pork chop without some sort of glaze on it. One is a burger legend, most have have had big-time debuts, and few have lived up to their promise.
On the Southern edge of L.A. you'll find Culver City's newest gastopub, Rush Street. It lays claim to a Chicago germline, but when I heard that it had Hollywood origins, I rolled my eyes and lowered my expectations.
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Posted by Nick Solares, April 21, 2009 at 10:15 AM
"Unfortunately there is one major flaw in the design of the hamburger at Great Jones..."
Great Jones Cafe
54 Great Jones Street, New York NY 10013; (b/n Bowery and Lafayette; map); 212-674-9304; greatjones.com
Cooking Method: Broiled
Short Order: Outstanding beef, perfectly seasoned and cooked, hampered by sugary bun. Go for the mini burgers: same beef, better bread
Want Fries with That? Absolutely. Both the regular and the spicy sweet potato varieties are great
Price:Cheeseburger, $10.95; fries, $1.75; sweet potato fries, $2.75
The Great Jones Cafe opened just off the Bowery way back in 1983. The neighborhood was quite different back then—the cafes, restaurants, and boutiques that line the Bowery were but a developer's wet dream and the area was widely considered a rather seedy part of town with its flophouses, dive bars, and the legendary CBGB's. With the latter now shuttered Great Jones Cafe represents one of the few remaining links to a very different era, one that existed under dire economic circumstances but at the same time produced vibrant art, music, and fashion scenes. Thankfully, Great Jones remains unchanged, despite the gentrification that has gone on around it. It remains what it always was—a great neighborhood joint serving honest American food.
The decor is unpretentiously kitschy yet spartan, the jukebox still plays vinyl records (remember those?), and you have got to love a place that paints its hamburger menu on the walls.
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Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
- New York Times on Local Burger and Fries: This burger joint in Northampton, Massachusetts, aims to get most of its ingredients from local farms.
- Right Way to Eat on Mom's Burgers: This over 30-year old burger joint in Compton, California, makes messy, juicy, recession-friendly burgers.
- Here, Eat This! on Yo Mama's: The peanut butter and bacon-topped burger is a winner at this bar in New Orleans.
- Fast Food Maven on Carl's Jr. Kentucky Bourbon Burger: "Bourbon. Glaze. Meat. Repeat." The meat wasn't dry, but the sauce's flavor overpowered everything else.
- The Great Burger Conquest on All American Hamburger: This place is known for having one of the best burgers in Long Island, but the knish might be better than the burger. [AHT review]
- Hoosier Burger Boy on the Best Burgers in South Florida: Head to Kingdom, Le Tub, and Keg South if you're in South Florida.
- Victoria Burger Blog on Saanich Roadhouse Bar and Grill: "This place is perhaps the biggest restaurant disappointment the Victoria area has ever seen." Failburger.
- Houstonist on Sparkle's Hamburger Spot: This nondescript blue clapboard trailer serves great burgers for only $3 each.
Posted by Hamburger America, April 17, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
Thurman Cafe has all of the trappings of a typical time-tested favorite local hang—walls covered with the obligatory license plates, beer ads, and old photos. But look a little closer and discover the amazing ceiling covered in vintage Budweiser wall paper and the thousands of signed dollar bills dangling over the bar area like party decorations. Chances are, while you are waiting for your Thurman Burger to arrive, one will pass by on its way to another customer. Your first glance at the famed burger will result in an audible gulp that signals either fear or hunger. This is because the Thurman Burger is enormous.
On a busy Saturday at Thurman, the kitchen will prepare and serve up to 500 of the famed burgers. “We go through over 1500 pounds of beef a week,” Mike Suclescy told me. Good meat too. Mike only buys top-quality 85/15 ground chuck and told me, “We ran out once and went over to the Kroger Supermarket for ground beef. The taste just wasn’t the same.”
Continue reading »
Posted by Damon Gambuto, April 15, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Spark Woodfire Grill
11801 Ventura Blvd, Studio City CA 91604 (map); 818-284-4215; sparkwoodfiregrill.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: An updated Florentine grill that is all sizzle, no steak (burger)
Want Fries with That? No. Wow, no! Surprisingly weak rendering considering the high-end atmosphere
Prices: The Kobe Burger, $10
Notes: Lunch, daily, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; dinner, Sun. to Thur., 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.; dinner, Fri. to Sat., 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
They've instituted a 10 Items for Under $10 menu
Sometimes I want to pay too much for my burger. That is to say, sometimes I feel like sitting down in a nice environment with good service and the extra touches that a higher end restaurant uses to distinguish itself and inflate its prices. I’m in search of tablecloth, weighty flatware, and a flurry of "sirs" directed at me. Often these places lack the creativity or passion of their mid-range counterparts, but they also tend to offer a little more consistency. And when they fall short, they throw (my) money at the problem.
This can be as much exercise in my playing with the toys of adulthood as it is about my looking for a great meal. Truth be told, I assume goodness, not greatness, from these establishments when it comes to burger preparation. In many ways, that’s also what I am paying for. I pay a little extra and I am, at the very least, assured a good meal. Along with this assurance comes the strange, almost dissociative experience of eating my childhood’s meal in the full expression of adulthood. I have my own money, I make my own choices, and I'll have the burger.
The other day the force of this high-end desire came upon me suddenly. I could feel my wallet getting lighter as the front door closed behind me. I decided to exercise my adult agency by exorcising these pangs of burger extravagance at Spark Woodfire Grill in Studio City.
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Posted by Nick Solares, April 15, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Clockwise from top: Flip, City Burger, Black Iron
The New York Times' Oliver Schwaner-Albright weighs in on three burgers for under $25 in New York City, two that use beef from Pat La Frieda—Flip and City Burger—and one—Black Iron Burger—that used to but has now switched to "a less vaunted supplier." His findings are closely aligned with ours here at AHT.
He found City Burger at its best to be "bloody, juicy and rich. It was a porterhouse in a bun," he says, but notes that on a subsequent visit it was over cooked, mirroring the inconsistency that I noted in my City Burger review. He liked Black Iron Burger far more than I did but still found it "maddeningly inconsistent" and notes the burgers can be underseasoned. As for Flip, Schwaner-Albright finds it pricey, as did our own Robyn Lee, but is more concerned with the tyranny of choices. My advice? Keep it simple—the point of the article was at least partially that the "meat is the star." Why am I not surprised that "Japanese-beef blend on a cherry pepper and asiago bun with pesto and mozzarella" failed to impress?
One particular point of interest raised in the piece is an important distinction between the Black Label served at Minetta Tavern and what is now called the City Black Blend served at City burger. I placed a late night call to Pat La Frieda Jr. who confirmed that the Minetta Tavern blend uses rib-eye as the dry aged component as opposed to the New York strip used in the City Black.
Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
- Los Angeles Metroblogs on Pie n Burger: Juicy, messy burgers and homemade pie; what more could you want? [AHT review]
- Sydney Morning Herald on the Top Five Gourmet Burgers: Five recommended burgers in Sydney with gourmet toppings, meats, and buns.
- Grub Grade on Hardee's Western Thickburger: It's not overly greasy, but the barbecue sauce is excessive, the bacon and cheese don't add much flavor, and the onion is overwhelming.
- Burger Beast on BK Whopper Bar: The Bourbon Whopper is a good burger combination, but try the "Build Your Own Whopper" option to get exactly what you want.
- Baltimore City Paper on Frank & Nic's West End Grille: The beef "lacked any richness or real meaty flavor," but at least the fries are good.
- Nashville Scene Bites on F. Scott's: Their grilled six-ounce burger is served on an English muffin and topped with gouda, aioli, rugula, and grilled Roma tomato halves.
- Time Out New York on Petey's Burger: At "NYC's best burger value," try the double cheeseburgers.
- Hoosier Burger Boy on Palo Alto Creamery: For one of the best burgers in the San Francisco Bay area, try their California Burger topped with avocado, Hobb's Bacon, Jack cheese, and grilled onions.
- Eat Me Drink Me on Brooklyn Public House: This burger is too large to eat comfortably and the patty lacks flavor.
- The Gourmet Foodie Blog on Twisted Root Burger Co in Dallas: The buffalo burger is so good that "this will be the burger I order when I’m on death row enjoying my last meal."
- Eating Our Words on Tostada Regia in Houston:A half-pound patty topped with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and sour cream on a talera bun comes out to a massive one and a half-pound burger from a taco stand.
- Portland Hamburgers on Billy Goat Inn in Chicago: The burger is plain and fills your belly; the experience of eating at the restaurant is the memorable part.
Posted by Robyn Lee, April 9, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Without any photos, Alice Laussade of the Dallas Observer has convinced me that the burger from Angry Dog—her "cheapo fattery of choice" for the week—will change my life. She says:
One bite into my burger and all the sad times I've ever had in my life disappeared. Like that time I had to eat a salad, and that other time I had to pay for everyone because apparently when you tell people you're "taking them to lunch" that means more than just driving them to the lunch spot. Instantly, Polyphonic Spree and only happy thoughts of unicorns and 50 percent off sales swam in my stomach with my beer/burger medley. It was a-world-without-Howie-Mandel good.
Polyphonic Spree? Unicorns? No Howie Mandel? Count me in. Laussade implies that it more life changing if eaten during the midst of a hangover, but I'd like to believe it's also tasty when sober.
Angry Dog
2726 Commerce Street, Dallas TX 75226 (map)
214-741-4406
angrydog.com
Posted by Damon Gambuto, April 8, 2009 at 3:45 PM
"Gyenari should rethink this American-style 'gourmet' burger and look toward the Korean side of the fusion equation."
Gyenari
9450 Washington Boulevard, Culver City CA 90232 (map); 323-782-8331; gyenari.com
Cooking Method: Charbroiled
Short Order: A tragically hip lounge and Korean barbecue restaurant misses the mark with a burger in the midst of an identity crisis
Want Fries with That? No, no, and no. I had the regular fries, rings, and sweet potato variety—and none made an impression
Prices: The Burger, $10
I look for burgers everywhere. I seek them out in the greasiest of spoons, and I look for them hiding on the menus of fine-dining restaurants. I give them all a fair shake (even if they won’t serve me one with my burger). I take pleasure in the looking, not just the finding. It’s a burger hunt, if you will.
I’d wager you’ve done some hunting of your own. You’ve long since stopped worrying about who is looking down an upturned nose at your lack of adventure or your disregard for good health. You know ordering a burger doesn’t have to mean either. On any given day, I’ll try anything (usually more than once) and my cholesterol is just fine, so today I'll be having the burger.
One of my favorite places to discover a great burger is a restaurant that serves a cuisine not usually associated with this American original. I’ve sucked down a filthy and delicious* one at a teriyaki joint in Hollywood, and I’ve loved the cheeseburger hiding between the carnitas and pibil at my local (and truly excellent) taco stand.
When I heard that a Serious Eats reader had found a rose among what one could fairly describe as the thorny situation of a Korean-California fusion lounge, my burger senses started tingling. Maybe that’s just the place to find a great burger hiding in plain sight. Gyenari is a not quite spanking new member of the restaurant revival in Culver City’s downtown, and it’s home to equal parts Korean tradition, California freshness, and designer restaurant. Is there a burger star here waiting to be discovered? Who knows?
Well, as of the other day, I do.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nick Solares, April 7, 2009 at 10:00 AM
5ive Steak
Terminal 5, JFK Airport, Jamaica NY 11430 (map); otgmanagement.com
Cooking Method: Griddled and broiled
Short Order: Classic 10-ounce steakhouse burger in an unexpected place
Want Fries with That? Yes, regular fries are good but so are the thick truffled variety. Home made potato chips are also available
Price: Cheeseburger with choice of fries, $17
Notes: Open from 11 a.m until the last flight leaves the terminal. Accessible to ticketed passengers only
Last week I complained about the lack of decent food—particularly hamburgers—in airports, specifically in Burbank. In fact, I had to venture outside of that airport to satisfy my craving for a breakfast burger, ending up at Bob's Big Boy. I liked the sandwich just fine at Bob's, but found it a bit too bready.
About six hours later I arrived at JFK Airport in New York and decided to try to redress the imbalance. I headed straight for 5ive Steak located in the swank new Terminal 5. While I would normally head home from the airport—I mean, who eats in an airport when they have a choice?—I was curious about 5ive Steak since flying into Terminal 5 on its first day and perusing the menu. Since 5ive Steak is situated behind the security checkpoint the only way to dine there is to fly Jet Blue, something I had cause to do last week.
5ives Steak is located in the main food court of the thoroughly modern Terminal 5. The menu is a contemporary steakhouse affair—think Dylan Prime or Primehouse New York rather than Peter Luger—with prime steaks served along dishes a bit more evolved than creamed spinach and hash browns, such as a large seafood selection and lots of dishes with truffle oil. The burger at 5ive Steak shares more than a passing resemblance to the one served at Primehouse. That is a good thing. I may not be the biggest fan of over-sized burgers, but the one at 5ive Steak makes a compelling case for them. Clocking in at a meaty beaty big and bouncy 10 ounces of custom beef from Pat La Frieda, this is one big hamburger. Forget about getting one to go and attempting to board a plane with it unless you want to take it on as luggage.
Continue reading »
Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger reviews you may have missed.
Posted by Hamburger America, April 3, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
Miller's is on a commercial stretch, 6 lanes wide, in Dearborn, Michigan. Across the street from a large Ford dealership, the windowless bar is painted with a fresh coat of red paint and emblazoned with enormous white letters spelling out the name of this nearly 70-year-old institution. Despite the cool functionality of the exterior, the interior, with its original 1940s Brunswick bar of undulating high-gloss wood and booths made of supple deep-red leather feels more like a long-lost private men's club than the bunker that the outside evokes.
There is no menu at Miller’s but the options are simple—burgers, fries, onion rings are available, as are tuna, ham, and corned beef sandwiches and, of course, drinks from the bar. The clientele are mostly local devotees and regulars from the nearby world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company. They come for the burgers and have been since 1941 when Mark’s uncle George Miller opened the bar.
Continue reading »
Posted by Damon Gambuto, April 1, 2009 at 4:00 PM
The Golden State
426 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90036 (map); 323-782-8331; thegoldenstatecafe.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A couple of childhood friends opened up a neighborhood spot that serves up a very good burger
Want Fries with That? A weak point that is easily handled by the option of substituting numerous tasty alternatives
Prices: The Burger, $10
Notes: Sun. to Thu., 12 p.m - 12 a.m.; Fri. to Sat., 12 p.m. - 1 a.m.
Important note: Great and fairly priced beer and wine choices mean that this casual eatery is destined to be a hipster watering hole.
What kind of restaurant would you open? If you're reading this review, I’d wager you've asked yourself a version of that question. Have you imagined opening a casual, yet elegant room with a perfectly executed menu? Perhaps it's a corner bar where your friends can come for a beer, a visit, and some great food. Maybe it's even a reworking of some family recipes that you've long treasured and dreamed of making available for public consumption.
I have a more intimate relationship to that particular query than most. I grew up measuring my own aesthetic for a restaurant against the one that was the dream of my father. Pop owns a restaurant in New York City called Caffe Cielo. While I am duty-bound to say that it’s very good, as the old man will quickly remind me when I offer up some constructive criticism, it’s certainly not mine, nor is it my vision, However, it is a part of me; I’ve done every job (other than chef) that one can have in a medium-sized restaurant. That means I grew up imagining what my restaurant would one day look like.
When I heard a couple of childhood friends opened up The Golden State on Fairfax Boulevard with the notion that they’d build their version of restaurant perfection I was more than a little intrigued. I wanted to hear what their dreams were and see how the reality measured up. Looking at the menu for the first time left me with a warm and hopeful feeling. The first option offered me? Simply, “The Burger.”
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Posted by Robyn Lee, April 1, 2009 at 2:00 PM
In his latest New York City restaurant review, Ed Levine reviews the double patty burger and sliders from Halfsteak:
Anything between two pieces of bread should be avoided here: the sliders ($6.50) were dry and mealy, as was the burger ($11.50). Neither patty had the slightest bit of internal moisture.
More photos after the jump.
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Posted by Nick Solares, April 1, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"The Big Mac reflects the hopes and aspirations of America, and to the world it is an attainable and recognizable symbol of the American dream."
McDonald's
Locations everywhere; mcdonalds.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: Much maligned but still iconic chain offering the most recognizable hamburger in the world
Want Fries with That? Yes, golden, crisp, and now trans-fat-free, they are superb
Price: Big Mac combo comes with fries and soda for $5.99 as reviewed, though prices vary depending on area
Prior to yesterday the last time I had eaten a Big Mac was on September 29, 2004, the day after Super Size Me came out on DVD. I received the disc from Netflix the day after the film's release and promptly rang up my local McDonald's for delivery. Prior to that point it had been several years since I had eaten at “Mickey D's," but I liked the irony of watching Super Size Me while eating a Big Mac and large fries. I was disappointed that by the time of the DVD’s release McDonald’s had stopped super-sizing orders; they denied that it had anything to do with the film.
When my intercom buzzed a short time later my doorman announced "McDonald's," which was odd because he normally just says “delivery." Was he judging me? There did seem to be a slight hint of condemnation in his voice, maybe even scorn; and this from a chap who routinely eats Domino's pizza, Subway sandwiches, and neon-orange sweet and sour pork from the local Chinese restaurant.
McDonald’s doesn't get much respect, not even from my doorman. And I admit that I have let my foodie snobbism come between me and a sandwich that has played a significant role in my life—and, indeed, in the way that the world looks at the hamburger.
I still remember my first Big Mac. It was just after my 10th birthday at the McDonald's on Kensington High Street in London, and we had to drive halfway through city to get there. We had visited the location several times before I was allowed to graduate from the simple cheeseburger to the Big Mac, but when I finally did I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It was as if I had almost reached manhood, a burger-mitzvah if you will.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nick Solares, March 31, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Bob's Big Boy is historically significant and in its day was truly revolutionary, inspiring a slew of imitators, most notably McDonald's iconic Big Mac."
Bob's Big Boy
4211 Riverside Drive, Burbank California 91505; map); 818-843-9334; bigboy.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A classic, historically significant burger that in the current state of things is probably a bit too bready and a bit too un-meaty
Want Fries with That? Yes, they are very good, crispy, golden skin on ones
Price: Combo (includes hamburger, fries and salad) $7.79; milkshakes, $3.89
I hate flying, but strangely I don't hate airports. I like the unifying, egalitarian reductionism of the security line. It is here that one's character reveals itself. It doesn't matter if you are a first class traveler with expensive luggage or a ratty teenager with a back pack—you are all funneled through the same security line, made to take off your shoes just like everyone else and walk through the metal detector. The way you cope with it says a lot about you. I love the contrasting reactions, from incredulous and entitled to humble and good natured.
But something else I like about airports is just how bad the food is in general. It's not that I like bad food—it's that I relish the challenge of finding something delicious amongst all the dreck that is usually sold in these contemporary caravanserai. The thrill of finding a diamond in the rough, so to speak. Of course, this doesn't always happen—there are some airports that just do not have anything decent to offer.
Such is the case at the humorously named Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank. I say "humorously named" not because Bob Hope was a comedian, but because it is still called an international airport. I grant you that there may be flights heading to Mexico and Canada (although I doubt it), but to call the terminal building with a little patch of runway that is shorter than the jets that land there an international airport seems to be the aviation equivalent of Sarah Palin's foreign relations experience: She can see Russia from her house the way Burbank airport can see international flights flying overhead on their way to LAX.
Being as small and parochial as it is, Burbank has rather limited dining options even during peak hours. For instance, there is a small outpost of the Cheeburger Cheeburger chain that I have never tried because it always seems to be serving breakfast when I get there. Fortunately, the oldest surviving Bob's Big Boy is located a short distance from the airport. Before I downed two Lorazepam and gulped down half a glass of wine, I managed to stop by the original to try the double decker burger and revel in a bit of history.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 27, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Too much burger, too little time. Here are some recent burger-related links you may have missed.
- Chatham Journal Weekly on Johnson’s: Johnson’s in Siler City is famous for their cheeseburgers topped with blocks of Velveeta.
- El Pasto Times on Papaburgers: Papaburgers offers plenty of spicy toppings for their freshly ground burgers, including roasted and fresh jalapeños, and chili.
- Hartford Advocate on Corey's Catsup & Mustard: Burgers includes a 7-Napkin burger made with peppercorn-seared double patties, BBQ brisket, and bacon, and a Good Morning burger topped with a fried egg, avocado, and cheese.
- Sacramento Bee on Burger Hut: This Chico, California-based chain charbroils fresh patties and lets customers build their own burgers.
- The Dallas Morning News on Twisted Root Burger Co.: This chef-driven burger joint makes half-pound, hand-rolled patties out of Black Angus beef or ground buffalo.
- Eating Our Words (Houston Press) on BB's Cajun Cafe: The burger is "too lean, pressed too thin, and overcooked"—just get a poor boy.
- The Gourmet Foodie Blog on Chip's Old Fashioned Hamburgers: The good balance of toppings make up for the thin, somewhat dry patty. Avoid the fries.
- NJ.com on Gourmet Burger Joints: Bobby's Burger Palace, Elevation Burger, and Red Robin are expanding across the Garden State.
- VailDaily.com on Best Burgers: Four recommended burger joints for when you're in Vail, Colorado.
- Cafe Society (Denver Westword) on Park Burger: Opening date for this burger joint from Denver chef Jean Philippe Failyau is about a month away.
Posted by James Boo, March 27, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Editor's note: Today's review comes from James Boo of New York-based blog The Eaten Path. During his recent visit to Austin for SXSW he found reason to eat at the recently opened Terra Burger for the purposes of sharing his impression on AHT. Besides that he likes burgers.
My favorite line of The Omnivore's Dilemma is delivered just after Michael Pollan slaughters his first chicken: "The first rule of chicken killing is that if you ever feel anything on your lip, you don't want to lick it off." It's the punch line to a scene that, to me, best captures Polyface Farm's transparent, direct approach to raising livestock in stark contrast to the comparatively desolate feed lots and slaughterhouses of factory farming.
It's also the first thing I thought of when I heard a friend praising Austin's new Terra Burger as one of the best burgers he'd ever tasted. Terra Burger touts itself as "Fast Food for the 21st Century." It's a 100% organic burger stand that opened about a month ago on Guadalupe, the main drag running alongside the University of Texas campus. In homage to the mentality, if not the practice, of slow food, the restaurant displays the sources of each of its ingredients as marks of their authenticity. I'm not sure exactly how to navigate this claim, but in the end Terra Burger does make a tasty fast food hamburger.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 26, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Photograph from Larkburger.com
Tyler Nemkov of Denver Westword's food blog, Cafe Society, praises the burgers from Larkburger and gets a closer look at their burger-making technique (with a suggestion on how to make it better):
I asked if the burger was salted before it was cooked, and he replied in the affirmative. That means they are pulling moisture to the surface, concentrating flavor within the meat. But salt from this would have a distinct crustiness, which it didn't. Tomatoes are hoisted up by salt as well (try a tomato on its own and then with salt; you'll be amazed), and its use there is also very noticeable.
That left just the sauce, which turned out to be the culprit. Less salt in the sauce, and Larkburger comes damn close to the perfect burger.
Their namesake Larburger is made of 1/3 pound of black Angus beef topped with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheddar, and a special sauce on a buttered, toasted bun. The Larkburger also comes in a half-size, and Tillamook cheddar can be added for 50¢.
Larkburger
2525 Arapahoe Road, Boulder CO 80302 (map)
303-444-1487
larkburger.com
Original location: 105 Edwards Village Boulevard, Edwards CO 81632 (map)
970-926-9336
Posted by Damon Gambuto, March 25, 2009 at 5:00 PM
"This is the dilemma of any workday lunch spot: how to make tasty, affordable food that fits inside the time constraints of a workday. Sadly, the Lemon Moon Prime Burger isn’t the answer."
Lemon Moon
12200 West Olympic Boulevard #110, Santa Monica CA 90034 (map); 310-442-9191; lemonmoon.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Two gourmet chefs teamed up to make an aspirational lunch spot that fails the burger test
Want Fries with That? A surprisingly ordinary spud from such a highly trained pair of chefs
Prices: Prime burger, $12
Notes: Breakfast, daily 8 a.m. - 10.15 a.m.; Lunch, daily 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Important note: A keen eye will find some dishes that are comparable to their much higher-priced cousins at the owners' haute cuisine establishments, but don't expect any truly cheap eats here
Figuring out what to have for lunch during our work week is a process fraught with tensions of time, economy, and personal satisfaction. It has been, for me, a story in chapters.
The first was marked by an obsessive relationship to frugality. I would spend Sunday evenings cooking up the week’s lunches and portioning them into plastic containers. Each was an exercise in nutritional balance born of the weekly specials from my local Ralph’s supermarket. In the second chapter, I found myself a budding Hollywood executive drunk with passion for my expense account. My midday meal became an exercise in restaurant exploration disguised as a working lunch.
My current relationship to lunch is—despite my freelancer identity—the one most common for an urban worker. Lunch is a ongoing decision; a dynamic phenomenon. On some days it's an excursion into excess; on others it's an exercise in personal responsibility. What it longs for is a happy medium (rare).
Lemon Moon is a restaurant that tries to strike that balance. This daytime-only cafe attempts to bridge the lunch gap. The menu is a mixture of gourmet salads and sandwiches (panini, of course) and a few grill items, but for me, in the end, there can be only one. I tried the burger.
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 25, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"[You] have sort of a unified bite experience from bread to meat."
Photographs by Robyn Lee
The Half King
505 West 23rd Street, New York NY (at Tenth Avenue; map); 212-462-4300; thehalfking.com
The Short Order: A good eight-ounce pub-style burger on a nice, squishy bun. Made of sirloin, so not as juicy as its hefty patty would have you believe. Comes "deluxe"—with lettuce, tomato, onion, and half-sour pickle—and a side of fries
Want Fries with That? They come with the burger; ours weren't great
Price: $12
It all started with an email exchange that began a few months ago:
---------------
AHT,
Had a fantastic burger at the Half King yesterday. You are right in the nabe and should stop in.
—BHG
---------------
BHG,
Will have to re-check it out. I've always enjoyed it (used to go with coworkers in my old job when I worked on 26th and 11th). Just never had sufficient lighting to shoot the damn burger there. Thanks for the nudge!
Chars,
Adam
---------------
Hey,
Still waiting for you to hop down to the Half King for one awesome burger, great fries, and an addictive chipotle dipping sauce.
—BHG
------------------------------------------------------------
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 24, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Support the arts in Tuscon by getting a burger at Burger City, an eatery opened in December by non-profit organization Artfare as part of the Cultural Arts Corridor on 6th Avenue. All of Burger City's profits benefit Artfare. Their menu (page 1, page 2) has 11 different burger combinations, or you can start with a naked burger and add whatever toppings you'd like. Tom Stauffer of Tuscon City gives a favorable review to their burgers and points out their pickle bar and hand-cut sweet potato fries.
Burger City
47 North 6th Avenue, Tucson AZ 85701 (map)
903-0919
artfare.wordpress.com
Mon. to Wed., 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Thurs. to Sat., 11 a.m. - 3 a.m.
Too much burger review-age and too little time means we've got quite a backlog of links to share. Here's a list of some burger reviews from around the country published this month:
- Cook's Tour (Houston Chronicle) on C & D Burger Shoppe: The mustard-laden, old-fashioned burgers cooked until well done are elevated by the restaurant's "timeless, comforting gestalt" and well-stocked jukebox.
- The Seattle Times on Zippy's Giant Burgers: Recommended burger is the No. 11. topped with goathorn peppers, chipotle mayo, and jack and smoked cheese.
- Contra Costa Times on BurgerMeister: This Bay Area burger chain serves hand-formed, flame grilled burgers. Their MeisterBurger is topped with bacon, double cheese, avocado, grilled red onions, and mushrooms.
- Idaho Statesman on Boobies: You won't find any scantily-clad women here; Boobies is the name of a dog. The signature Boobies Burger is a chili burger available as a single, double and triple.
- The Joplin Globe on Gooch Bros. Grill: Burgers come with one to six patties at this burger joint in Missouri. The six-pattied version called the Double Greasy Gene is named after the Gooch brothers' father.
- Miami Herald on 8 Oz. Burger Bar: The "good but not great" burgers are made of the house blend of sirloin, tri-tip, short rib and chuck. They're offering a free 12-ounce beer with any burger until the end of March. [Review on AHT]
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 20, 2009 at 2:00 PM
In her review of Blackwell's Pub in Birmingham Weekly, Molly Folse recommends a few of the unique burgers on their menu—including the PB&J burger made with smooth peanut butter and blackberry jam. Chef Tyler DeStefano says they spent two weeks trying different jams and peanut butters to settle on their current formula:
'Some people like crunchy, but it just doesn’t work with the burger,' DeStefano says. 'The blackberry is sweet enough to complement the peanut butter and beef, but not too sweet. Some customers are scared of it, but once they eat it they love it.
Has anyone else tried or make their own peanut butter and jelly burgers?
Blackwell's Pub
3151 Green Valley Road, Birmingham AL 35243 (map)
205-337-7048
blackwellspub.com
Posted by Colin Parent, March 20, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Rocky’s Crown Pub has long reigned king of San Diego hamburgers. It tops all the local "best-of" lists, and the Chowhounders rave about it. Located on Crown Point, the southern peninsula of San Diego’s sunny Pacific Beach, Rocky’s is a neighborhood place whose patrons tend to be walking-distance locals.
Rocky’s predates the modern ascension of the hamburger in American fine cuisine. It came at a time when San Diego restaurants were either for the wealthy and old, or for those who cared more about portion size than taste. It wasn’t long ago that the most exotic dish in town was the bananas foster at Mr. A’s. But San Diego has grown up; our restaurants are no longer divided between "fancy" and "boring." The neighborhood places have a new seriousness about their craft, and even everyday dishes are finessed with innovative reinterpretations. A burger might arrive on brioche with a béarnaise sauce, a pizza with quail eggs and house cured ham.
Rocky’s stands apart, then as now—it’s just a bar with burgers. Even as restaurants begin to cater to the modern foodie hipster, Rocky’s remains a pub, with sports on the television, and macro brews on tap. They don’t fancy it up—they’re simple, direct, and classic. And they do it right.
The wallet-friendly menu is to the point: They only serve burgers and fries, with burgers maxing out at $6. Your choice is whether you want a half-pounder or only a third, with or without cheese (it’s American—processed and plastic, but with a mellow quiet flavor that only sort of nods at the beef as it goes by). Patrons who aren’t here to eat have to pay for their drinks one at a time. Only burger eaters get to keep open a tab.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, March 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
The Bucket
4541 Eagle Rock Boulevard, Los Angeles CA 90041 (map); 323-257-5654
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A Los Angeles institution that delivers better atmosphere than burger
Want Fries with That? Pass. These frozen spuds aren't resuscitated with any flair
Prices: Bucket Burger, $7.50
Notes: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily
A number of decent beers on tap, a biker following, and decent pricing on pitchers make this a lively spot to drink your dinner.
We make lists. Lists that remind us what's left to be done and lists that represent a life well lived. The first variety lends structure to our days; they remind us that time is something that can be measured with accomplishment. The latter is a reminder that time is limited so we better decide what it is we want to accomplish. While I am a fastidious to-do lister, I’m not one for those bucket lists (and the movies they inspire). They seem overdetermined and too forward thinking. It’s like my keeping one wouldn't be in keeping with my commitment to live in the present. Every experience would be attenuated by its predetermined value.
That said, as a matter of personal organization and professional pride (or is it the other way around?), I do keep a list of places I want to eat. Coincidence (and writerly contrivance) has placed The Bucket on my burger list. It lays claim to a storied history and a victory in a Los Angeles Times "Best Burger" poll so I knew I had to give it at least one try. As it turned out, I gave it two.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 18, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Marcia Gagliardi of Tablehopper went on an epic quest to find the best cloth napkin burger in San Francisco—that is, the best burger from a restaurant that uses cloth napkins. After trying 15 places in a little over a month ("It’s a miracle I don’t have gout"), she picked Bix as having the best burger:
At Bix, they sear it on one side, flip it, and then Plancha Press it and, here’s the crucial part: they time it! Let’s hear it for consistency. It was such a gorgeous medium rare that I wanted to hug the chef. The grind is supple and the patty is so juicy, with a satisfying beefy flavor that makes you look forward to the next bite until that thing is completely and utterly demolished. All you have left to show for it is your dirty cloth napkin.
Read about the other 14 burgers at Tablehopper.
Bix
56 Gold Street, San Francisco CA 94133 (map)
415-433-6300
bixrestaurant.com
Posted by Nick Solares, March 17, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Clarified butter is drizzled on top of the patty and copious amounts of salt and pepper are added throughout the cooking process. This is one pampered burger."
In the months before Minetta Tavern re-opened under the auspices of Keith Mcnally and chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr it seemed that there was almost as much focus on the possibility of the restaurant serving the Black Label burger as on its renovation and other menu items. Since its opening last week, the hype has only intensified—virtually every account of the place mentions the Black Label burger.
Not that it was inevitable that the blend would be served at Minetta Tavern. Hanson and Nasr literally tried a dozen different blends from New York's top meat purveyors, including four different ones from La Frieda alone. Nasr recalls one tasting in which a large table at Balthazar—one of the duo's other wildly popular restaurants—was completely covered in bisected burgers. So many, in fact, that the exercise required notes like a wine tasting. But once the results were tabulated it was clear that the Black Label from La Frieda was far ahead of its competitors.
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Posted by Hamburger America, March 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
The Snappy Lunch sells a curiosity called the Breaded Hamburger. Sometimes referred to as the "No-Burger." or the "old fashioned," this throwback to the Depression was invented when meat was scarce. At the Snappy Lunch, the breaded burger still out-sells the regular burger on the menu three to one.
"I don’t even get into it with out-of-towners," said Mary Dowell, wife of long-time owner and local food celebrity Charles Dowell. "I don't even like them!" she told me with a smile. I tried my first Depression-era burger at the Snappy Lunch and really liked it. It kind of resembled a bland crab cake with ground beef inside. "What do ya think?" Mary asked. I told her it tasted like a biscuit and she informed me that I had named the main ingredient.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, March 11, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Umami Burger
850 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90036 (map); 323-931-3000; umamiburger.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A gourmet burger that is both true to the form and deliciously original
Want Fries with That? They are more visually striking than tasty, but are a meticulous rendering of boil, fry, fry technique
Prices: Umami burger, $8
Notes: Mon. to Sat., 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Important note: There is enough ambiance and complexity of taste to make burger night feel like date night. A reasonable $5 corkage fee means dinner out doesn't have to be fiscally irresponsible.
As I’ve encountered on more than one occasion, the training and technical accomplishment of a fine dining chef or the savvy and business acumen of a restaurateur doesn’t mean that she or he will make anything resembling a burger that I’ll crave. Perhaps that’s not so surprising, as the burger is an eating experience tied to our personal histories. During our childhoods, burgers conveniently and comfortably fulfilled the basic necessity of eating, but more than that they were the locus of our youthful awakening to the joys of food. They taught us just how much want we can tease out of our needs. They represent those moments in our childhood that played out as simple desire and grew into adult memories of youthful pleasure and the comfort of food.
So when I heard a Serious Eats reader decided to open a burger restaurant I got excited. Perhaps a passionate eater’s take on the burger is just what it needs. Someone who will obsess over the balance and complexity of this simple sandwich in a manner that manages to stay faithful to the form.
After my first trip to Umami Burger on La Brea Boulevard, I was so pleased with their tasty and complex burger that I determined to get a look at what goes on behind the scenes. Thankfully, Umami’s owner, Adam Fleischman, cheerfully agreed to show me the Umami process.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 11, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Noah. W. Baily of The Dallas Observer makes a nostalgic visit to one of his high school haunts, Burger House. But burgers aren't the focus of his review (although he does call them delicious)—he mostly comments on the off-putting smell:
You see, Burger House uses a "special seasoning salt" that combines salt, pepper and Lord knows what else to create something akin to Mama or Papa Dash—but way, way stinkier. This signature touch results in a tell-tale condition my high school friends called "Burger House Breath," a dead giveaway if you'd just skipped class for a sly off campus lunch. Unfortunately, while the spice is certainly noticeable, it's also the Achilles heel of the place. A single fragrant Burger House burp can cause one to swear off the place for several weeks, no matter how good the meal was going down.
In an interview on AHT, John T. Edge mentions using the Burger House seasoning in his "End of the World Burger." Where does the funky smell come from? Cumin. You can buy the seasoning salt at burgerhouse.com.
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 9, 2009 at 2:00 PM
jusburgers.com.au
Jay Hanna of PerthNow recommends Jus Burgers in Leederville by describing what they aren't more than what they are:
If you like your burgers wafer-thin, tinged grey and accompanied by limp lettuce, insipid tomato and a rubbery cheese slice, then slapped together by some angst-ridden, heavily pierced juvenile on a depressed assembly line, don’t visit Jus Burgers.
The chargrilled burgers made from Western Australian beef sound good, but I'm actually more intrigued by one of the vegetarian options: a pumpkin burger made of roasted panko-crumbed pumpkin, goat’s cheese, and basil pesto. Their menu also includes burgers made of kangaroo, pork, lamb, chicken, and fish.
Jus Burgers
743 Newcastle Street, Leederville 6007 Australia (map)
(08) 9228 2230
jusburgers.com.au
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 6, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Feisty Foodie
Yvo of Feisty Foodie was initially annoyed when her Ultimate Stuffed Burger ($10.99 with fries or salad, and soda) from Burger Burger in the Financial District appeared to be missing barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese, but as she ate it she realized the cheese and barbecue sauce were stuffed inside the patty, along with bacon. Although she gave the burger a thumbs up, she took issue with the burger's doneness and its impact on the cheesy filling:
The inside was medium rare, but this meant the cheese didn't melt and instead I had little cubes of cheese in my mouth and sandwich that would have been that much better had they been melted, oozing into the patty and each other. So it would probably have been best to skip asking me how I want my burger and in the case of the stuffed one, just serve it properly cooked.
This is related to the reason I don't like stuffed burgers: I prefer my burgers medium rare, but in a stuffed burger that would result in non-gooey cheese filling. However, to get gooey cheese the meat has to be cooked past medium rare. I suppose with a stuffed burger it's better to go with the overcooked meat than cubes of cheese.
Burger Burger
77 Pearl Street, New York NY 10004 (at Coenties Alley; map)
212-269-9100
burgerburgerny.com
Related
Cheese-Stuffed Burgers from the Stumble Inn in New York City
The Stuffed Cheeseburger at the Iron Horse in Westwood, New Jersey, and the Failbun
Good Dog's Cheese-Stuffed Burger in Philadelphia
Posted by Colin Parent, March 5, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Editor's note: Here's another San Diego review from Colin Parent. Check out his first review of The Linkery if you missed it last week.
Burger Lounge is a three-store chain of upscale fast food burgers in San Diego, California. Starting with a branch in posh La Jolla, they followed with storefronts in Kensington—an older but up-and-coming suburb of downtown—and the rarified island neighborhood of Coronado. A Hamburger Today posted about Burger Lounge once before, but a full review is in order.
The patties of their Grilled Lounge Burger ($7.95) are made with organic grass-fed beef. The result is a clean, tight flavor, with almost a hint of sour—one might even call it "grassy." The beef is lean, unlike the usual upscale burger, resulting in is a less indulgent, but more concentrated and tangy beef flavor. The patties are wide, loosely packed, and not very thick.
The menu claims the buns are made with a blend of whole wheat flour, but they feel far too delicate to be made of anything but air and magic. They're lightly toasted, with a thin char around the edges.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, March 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM
The Tasty Island
Pomai of Hawaii-based blog The Tasty Island reviews the recently opened outpost of Californian "build your own burger" chain The Counter in Honolulu's Kahala Mall. The Counter is known for its extensive list of toppings resulting in over 300,000 possible combinations. Pomai points out that this location offers some Hawaii-only choices, like a Loco Moco burger, teriyaki sauce, and kimchi.
Pomai waited one and a half hours (safe to say, he's a patient person) for his 1/3-pound beef patty topped with Gruyere, dill pickles, grilled onions, mixed baby greens, and tomatoes on a honey wheat bun. Even after the wait, he thought the burger was very good, describing the patty as, "Char-grilled and cooked to medium perfection, while being perfectly seasoned. Just a great burger. And juicy!" He also recommends the fries and onion rings. On his next visit though he'd want to make sure the kitchen is appropriately staffed.
Related: Review: The Counter
Posted by Damon Gambuto, March 4, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Damon's Steakhouse
317 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale CA 91203 (map); 818-507-1510; damonsglendale.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: This septuagenarian steakhouse serves up superior beef with just ordinary condiments
Want Fries with That? No way. Limp and flavorless
Prices: Damon's Cheeseburger, $8.50
Notes: Sun. to Thu., 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Fri. - Sat., 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Important note: Order the burger with just the toasted and buttered bun and enjoy the simple elegance of high quality meat that is properly cooked
My name is Damon. That’s how I used to introduce myself. That is, until it was bludgeoned out of me by the relentless teasing by my friends. They thought it was mannered and odd that I just didn’t say, "I'm Damon." Of course, the reasons behind my phrasing, like most things in this self-involved writer's life, constitute a story.
I always took great delight in my first name. I like how it's accessible and easy to pronounce, yet uncommon. I liked correcting people when they'd make jokes about The Omen. "Too many vowels," I’d reply. There's also an origin story about how my parents chose the name. In the Ancient Greek tale about Damon and Pythias and the power of friendship, Damon was the constant one—the one for whom I was named.
Saying "My name is…" was a way to foreground the power and story behind o my name. It was a way for a boy's insecurity to be wrapped in the blanket of a larger narrative. It was a signifier for me and something more; a way of making my name's story a part of my reality.
So how can I possibly be expected to give an unbiased review of a place called Damon’s Steakhouse? About a burger dubbed Damon's Burger, no less. Fear not, all manner of self-esteem issues abound in this burger reviewer that balance out whatever self-regard he has about his name. Let’s try the (Damon’s) burger.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nick Solares, March 3, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"... a preposterous statement in light of the fact that we live in a universe that has Kobe and USDA Prime beef in it."
Organique
110 E 23rd Street, New York NY 10010 (b/n Lexington and Park Ave S; map); 212-674-2229; organiqueonline.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: All-natural organic burger served on a whole wheat bun. It's far better than it should be but is still hard to recommend, given the price
Want Fries with That? They serve "air-baked" potatoes that they call fries. I didn't dare try them
Price: $7.95
I can think of no concept more abhorrent than that of a "healthy" hamburger. To try to make a burger healthier and leaner is to abrogate what a hamburger is—a highly processed and refined food. It is quite the opposite of the agrarian, organic, back-to-the-land idealism of the contemporary local-food movement. The hamburger, which began to manifest itself in the American culinary zeitgeist during the first half of the last century, is by its very nature a reflection of the post-industrial modern age. It is a physical manifestation of one of the great organizing principles of the last century—commoditization.
I am thus highly skeptical that an organic burger using grass-fed beef and a whole wheat bun could even approach what a hamburger should be, let alone actually be edible. I admit I was expecting the burger at Organique to be laughably inferior. I imagined a dry, leathery hockey puck of a patty and a completely inadequate bun. In defiance of expectations, or indeed perhaps because of them, what I ended up eating was perfectly adequate. And I say that not as a back-handed compliment but in admiration of the way Organique has turned something fundamentally anti-nutritious into something you could at least convince yourself is somewhat nourishing.
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Posted by Hamburger America, February 27, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
Big Tom could easily be the most nondescript burger stand in America. If it were not for the large menu on the street side of the building you'd think you had arrived at a construction trailer that had been haphazardly dumped in a parking lot. But the long lines of cars on each side of the structure are a hint that something good is happening inside. Indeed there is. Big Tom daily sells over five-hundred fresh thin-patty wonders to loyal drive-up customers. But that’s not all. Big Tom’s trademarked "Goop" is dispensed here, a salad-type dressing that, in varying forms, is a Pacific Northwest mainstay for burgers.
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Posted by Colin Parent, February 26, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Editor's note: AHT reader Colin Parent started blogging about food while a law student in New York City. He now lives, works, and eats in his native San Diego, a city whose burgers we have unfortunately (and unintentionally) neglected. Noticing our our lack of San Diego coverage, he volunteered to fill in the gaps. Here's his first San Diego review, with more to come.
San Diego is often forgotten, stuck in the shadow of Los Angeles (a somewhat larger city to the north). But San Diego has excellent food, burger-related and otherwise. It's a more relaxed cuisine, with strong border influences and a growing emphasis on local and slow food. The center of San Diego is overwhelmed with restaurants catering to tourists, often with mediocre fare, but those hungry for more need only look at the periphery where the pubs and the neighborhood bistros are. There are hidden gems for serious eating in San Diego—you just have to seek them out.
One such gem is The Linkery, one of the first slow food restaurants in San Diego. Located in North Park, an old suburb of downtown, The Linkery and its neighborhood have both been leading players in the recent welling affection for local food and culture in San Diego. While there have always been excellent burgers in San Diego, the Linkery was among the first serious restaurants to include a kicked-up “fancy burger” to satisfy the burger-eating foodie set.
The Linkery’s burger is served Australian-style with "the lot," meaning it arrives with a whole host of toppings. The burger doesn't just include house-ground pastured Spanish Oak Ranches beef—it’s also topped with a fried egg, one slice of house cured bacon, rich smoky Gouda cheese, and thin slices of pickled beets. The menu tactfully omits the reference to the pickled beets, which are now served on the side, along with more traditional house-made cucumber pickles.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, February 25, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Ruby's Diner
1 Balboa Pier, Newport Beach, CA 92661 (map); 949-675-7829; rubys.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A mid-sized chain that hearkens back to a simpler time that (apparently) had very mediocre burgers
Want Fries with That? Yes. These fast food-style little guys are actually worth the calories (and are advertised as zero transfat!)
Prices: Rubyburger, $8.49; American Kobe Sliders, $8.99
Notes: Sun. to Fri., 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Fri. Sat. and Sun., 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Important note: There is no bathroom in the restaurant so you are in for a long walk down the pier if you don't plan ahead.
When I first moved to Los Angeles over a decade ago, I would draft long emails to my friends in New York City about my experiences in The Southland. In large measure, it was all very knowable, if punctuated with the absurdities attendant to growing up in a new context. In Los Angeles I still found myself fighting through the young man's desire to own the night, but it wasn't three months before I was paddling out into the Pacific underneath a half-lit, dawn sky to catch a wave. I'd narrate my life's transformation as an act of remembrance, or perhaps defiance, as my new city seemed to encourage forgetting one's past in favor of a new self, fashioned from whole cloth, who might have a future here.
The one portion of the vast Southern California landscape that I’ve always struggled to properly narrate is Orange County. It sits directly between Los Angeles and San Diego—that’s about as defined as it gets. It lacks any meaningful center and sometimes I think it may lack meaning altogether. It's grown with the pace and aesthetic bankruptcy that can only mean two things: edge cities and planned communities. It’s a vast interconnected series of strip malls and gated neighborhoods that share a commitment to resisting any narrative other than the ones approved by their developers. This is, after all, the home of Disneyland.
It’s no surprise then that this landscape has given rise to a number of chain restaurants. Recently I pulled back The Orange Curtain and headed down to Newport Beach to suss out one of the burger chains that seems particularly committed to its fiction. Ruby’s Diner was founded over twenty-five years ago by a guy who longed for the simple, beachcombing days of his youth and…blah, blah. You can read the official story, if you are interested. I’ll get to the burger.
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Posted by Nick Solares, February 24, 2009 at 10:30 AM
People are always asking me what the best burger is in New York City. I respond that since I have not eaten every burger in the Big Apple I could not possibly know. When the question is re-phrased to which burger is my favorite burger I still have a hard time answering, but it usually revolves around Shake Shack, JG Melon, or the La Frieda Black Label at City Burger. Conversely, no one ever asks me which the worst or which is the most average burger I have tried in the city. Even though no one asked, I am going to tell you anyway. I will get to the worst in a moment, but let's start in the middle.
Coopertown Diner
Coopertown Diner
339 1st Ave, New York NY 10003 (b/n 19th & 20th St; map); 212-677-7811
Cooking Method: Flame broiled
Short Order: Average diner serving average burger
Want Fries with That? Not unless you are hungry—average frozen fries
Price: Averagely priced: Cheeseburger, $5.20; Deluxe, $7.85
Notes: Did I mention just how average this burger is?
Coopertown Diner is as good example of a Greek diner as you will find. It dates back to 1984, which in automobile terms makes it a classic. Of course, there are plenty of cars that may be a quarter century old, but will never be considered true classics simply because they happen to be uninspired and mundane. That pretty much describes the hamburger at Coopertown Diner. There is nothing really wrong with the burger here—fresh ground chuck (delivered to the diner in patty form) is flame broiled and served on a generic, lightly seeded bun. Get it deluxe and you receive a heaping portion of frozen fries, some pale looking rabbit food, and a couple of onion rings that curiously come served on top of the burger.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 23, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Today, upscale build-your-own burger joint Flip opened its first location in Bloomingdale's flagship store in New York City. Three of us Serious Eaters headed to Midtown East during our lunch break to bring you a quick look at their burgers.
But first, you have to find Flip. Since it was the first day of operation, there were no signs to guide us to its location, which was tucked in a corner near what looked like an errant an escalator in the mid-level of the lower level men's department. Huh? If you get lost, just ask an employee for help. It's not marked by much aside from the "Wait to Be Seated" sign, although by the time you reach that sign you would have already noticed the seats.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Photographs by Matt Mitchell
Matt Mitchell at Dig Lounge sacrifices his stomach by hitting six burger joints around South Los Angeles for a "ghetto burger marathon." After hitting Marathon Burger, Hawkins House of Burgers, B & R’s Old Fashioned Burgers, Fresh and Meaty Burger, Fred’s Downhome Burgers, and Master Burger, the top burger prize goes to King Burger with cheese, chili, and bacon from Hawkins House of Burgers. Read about all the burgers at Dig Lounge.
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 19, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Photograph by Crystal Chatham of Desert Post Weekly
Holly Hamlin of Desert Post Weekly recommends the burgers from Bongo Johnny's in Palm Springs, California, specifically the Guac Burger. The picture of the Big Kahuna burger looks good, although I wonder how the buns made of toasted Hawaiian sweet bread taste.
Posted by Damon Gambuto, February 18, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Laurel Tavern
11938 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City CA 91604 (map); 818-506-0777; laureltavern.net
Cooking Method: griddled
Short Order: Yet another gastropub, yet another high-end burger that is too clever by half
Want Fries with That? No thanks. Both the regular and steak varieties get a heaping of seasoning that overwhelm the spuds
Prices: Old School Burger, $8; Laurel Burger, $9; Hickory Burger, $9
Notes: Mon. to Fri., 4 p.m. - 2 a.m.; Sat. and Sun., 12 p.m. - 2 a.m.
The bar opens at 4 p.m., but don't expect to get an order in, let alone a bite to eat before 5 p.m. or after 11 p.m.
Keep it simple. There are many variations on the idea that simple is a quality to be revered: Occam had a razor, Da Vinci determined it the ultimate in sophistication, and Charles Mingus saw it as the path to creativity. It’s a beguiling concept, but perhaps it’s one that, like most axioms, is only true from a particular vantage. Do I want my wine to be simple or complex? Or my loves? And since I mention love, how about my burgers? Perhaps the answer to all of these is: both.
This conundrum seems to be at the heart of the recent fascination and proliferation of the gastropub. Ask about them in Los Angeles and I can rattle off a half-dozen names before you can say "microbrew." Despite their history being rooted in drink, the measure of these modernized pubs is their burger preparation. In some respects the burger has become a sine qua non of their realization. Without a signature preparation of the classic American sandwich, the gastronomy recedes into the landscape of the English pub.
I decided to make a journey to a recently opened and, by all accounts, successful iteration in The Valley—Studio City, to be more exact. On a strip of Ventura Boulevard just East of Laurel Canyon Boulevard sometimes called “Sushi Row" sits Laurel Tavern. The menu offers three different burger preparations. I tried them all.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 18, 2009 at 10:00 AM
In his latest New York City restaurant review, Ed Levine reviews the burger from Txikito. He says:
The truly delicious if untraditional (it's not served in the Basque region of Spain) Txikito burger ($11) features two thin patties of well-marbled (20 percent fat) freshly ground chuck cooked a la plancha (on a flat-top griddle); melted Idiazábal, a smoked Basque sheep's milk cheese; a special sauce that according to Alex is half mayo and half creme fraiche-based with pickled guindilla peppers, pickled onions, and cornichon, all on Tom Cat Bakery bread. Wholly untraditional but seriously delicious.
Check out the autopsy shot, after the jump.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Photograph by Luanne M. Ferris of Times Union
Ruth Fantasia of Times Union recommends Juicy Burgers & More, a five-month old burger joint in Ballston Spa, New York:
The one-third-pound burgers are made from ground chuck and ground sirloin seasoned with Italian sea salt. They're cooked on a special broiler that's heated to 1,800 degrees. Since all the heat comes from the top, the fat in the burgers drips onto a cool surface, preventing flare-up and charred crusts. The buns are cooked on an 800 degrees searing plate before being filled with a burger (or three), a chicken filet, or a marinated portobello mushroom cap.
They also serve soups, salads, fries (regular and sweet potato), and onion rings. No milkshakes though.
Juicy Burgers & More
15 Trieble Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 (map)
518-884-0033
orderjuicyburgers.com
Posted by Nick Solares, February 17, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"The burger is a big, bawdy-looking affair. You can hoist it with one hand, but good luck in eating it that way; it definitely requires both of your mitts to tame."
Wildwood Barbecue
225 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016 (at 18th Street; map); 212-533-2500; website
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Impressive flame-grilled burger in the vein of Blue Smoke using a custom La Frieda blend
Want Fries with That? Heavens no, get the superb chips instead
Price: $11.50
When it comes to barbecue and hamburgers the methods of preparation could not be more drastically different, nor could the culinary zeitgeist that the cherished foods represent. Barbecue requires the fabled low and slow technique to make cheap, tough cuts of meat palatable. It is a cuisine born of austerity and hardship and is arguably one of the few authentic American styles of cooking. It is reflective of an agrarian, preindustrial age when time was not strictly metered and one could wait until the brisket was good and ready.
Hamburgers are quite the opposite: They require rapid, violent, searing over high heat and are born of the urban, post-industrial age, whose unifying principle is laissez faire capitalism and in which the pace of life is breakneck. Despite their appearances as seemingly disparate threads, barbecue and burgers are actually deeply entwined in the tapestry of American life and, perhaps surprisingly, they are both finding high expression in the center of the most cosmopolitan of cities: New York.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, February 13, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Left, Shake Shack; right, Corner Bistro
New York Times food critic Frank Bruni eats at New York City burger favorites Corner Bistro and the Upper West Side Shake Shack in the same day, with Shake Shack being the home of the better burger. The Corner Bistro's nine-ounce patty had "dull flavor, and was flabby through and through, with no crispness whatsoever on the edges," while the Shake Shack burger's thinner patties "weren’t dried-out or tough in the least, and they were loaded with beefy, fatty flavor."
Related
Shake Shack: A New York Spin on the West Coast–Style Burger
Review: Corner Bistro
Posted by Hamburger America, February 13, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!
The inside of the Shady Glen looks like a cheeseburger. Its yellow striped wallpaper, the warm lighting, and low brown Formica countertops mimic the colors of their famous cheeseburger concoction. Ice cream may be the number-one seller at this Manchester, Connecticut, institution, but the cheeseburger is what has made them famous. In 1949, Bernice Rieg invented the "Bernice Original," which became an immediate success and still accounts for 80 percent of their sandwich sales today. The four-ounce cheeseburger comes with 4 slices of cheese. The cheese is not just stacked atop the burger; it is symmetrically placed, centered on the burger as it cooks on the hot griddle. An understandably large portion of this cheese makes direct contact with the griddle. When the cheese cooks through it is curled skyward by the deft grill man until it resembles a cheese crown. Amazingly, I watched burger after burger leave the grill with the same dramatic cheese. The same burger, over and over, since 1949.
"It's a special cheese, but that's all I can tell you," Michael the manager smiled. Michael started working at the Shady Glen over two decades ago as a dishwasher. “At twenty-two years, I’m still the new kid on the block.”
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, February 11, 2009 at 3:00 PM
The Original Tops
3838 E Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena CA 91107 (theoriginaltops.com
Cooking Method: Charbroiled
Short Order: A classic burger spot is remade as a very good fast food spot
Want Fries with That?Yes, please. These are a truly great representative of the fast food varietal. A small is plenty though. It feeds two people at least.
Prices: Old fashioned hamburger $2.89; cheeseburger, $3.19; 1/2-pound cheeseburger (double patty), $5.09
Notes: Daily, 6:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sign up online for monthly promotions. You can also call ahead to have your food waiting for you
The first time I found myself at The Original Tops, I had lost my way. It was less an existential crisis than a gastronomic one, but it was a crisis nonetheless. We were on our way to have a beef roll and some noodles from a Chinese restaurant in one of the many fantastic spots east of Los Angeles (more on that in a future post) and I missed my exit. Some say I’d become distracted whilst telling some over-detailed story (can you imagine?), but I’m sure it was the hunger that distracted. By the time I realized that I’d missed my exit we were already thirty minutes past my being too hungry to think straight. You know the feeling. The kind of excited hunger that precipitates impetuous, self-destructive behavior, like tearing the roof of your mouth apart on the stale bread at a restaurant or pulling into a drive through on your way to a nice meal.
As I spun off the freeway, I was greeted by a glowing sign that tempted me toward the latter misstep. The Original Tops boasts "Home Spun Food" and a "Since 1952" on its signage. The snake might as well have offered me the apple with a 12-month Canadian cheddar and a pint of Guiness. I immediately made the decision to add a burger appetizer to my Chinese lunch. We’ll call it a choice, but these are the circumstances that make a mockery of free will philosophical arguments. I don’t really remember the act of eating the burger. The experience lives in my memory as pure emotion—that gentle afterglow of a delicious meal.
Experiences like this are crucial to enjoying our lives. They initiate ambition and love affairs. But do they give us an accurate view into the truth of a burger? As it happens, I am not usually too concerned with parsing the relationship between my cognitive states and my hold on reality. I’m comfortable with the fictions my mind generates to manage the world, but that doesn’t mean you have to be. Let’s head back to Tops under different circumstances and see if I can't tease out some burger fact.
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Posted by Nick Solares, February 10, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Try to resist the impulse to press down on the patties with a spatula while they're cooking. This not only presses the juices right out of them, it compresses the meat, and that combination defeats the point of everything you've done up until this point" —Kenny Shopsin
Stage Restaurant
128 Second Avenue, New York 10003; map); 212-473-8614
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A potentially great hamburger ruined by being pressed into the griddle with merciless force
Want Fries with That?Not available. Choice of home fries or boiled or mashed potatoes
Price: Cheeseburger, $4.40; $5.70, deluxe
Stage Restaurant occupies a tiny sliver of real estate next to the seemingly eternal and infernal production of Stomp. When the show lets out the crowd that spills onto Second Avenue virtually obscures the little diner's entrance from view, the only indication that it exists being the weather-worn sign that hangs above the storefront. The sign is very useful because it indicates that the Stage is not only a restaurant but one that serves food, specifically dairy and meat. Despite the fact that it looks about 50 years old, Stage actually dates to 1980. The room is a classic lunch counter with an open kitchen facing the only seats available—a tidy row of stools. The interior is worn to a dull patina, and the menu, despite some expected price hikes, is as classic as the place—Polish comfort foods (pierogis, blintzes, stuffed cabbage) are listed along traditional American diner fare—eggs, sandwiches, and hamburgers.
I immediately sensed the potential for a great hamburger when I walked into Stage and plopped down on one of the stools as close to the griddle as possible. The place just exudes the aura of a wellspring for burger perfection. It is thoroughly nondescript, completely utilitarian in form and function, and, despite the ascension of the surrounding neighborhood to bourgeoisie-dom, it remains thoroughly rooted in the past. It is perhaps the last of the pure breed of Eastern European restaurants that once proliferated in the East Village in the days when the neighborhood was referred to as the Lower East Side. Kiev and Leshko's are distant memories, Odessa has adapted by adding a late-night bar, and Veselka serves an elevated, fancyfied slant on Ukrainian cooking—Slavic food would have a far better reputation if it all tasted like Veselka's recipes.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, February 4, 2009 at 4:15 PM
The Kitchen
4843 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90027 (map); 323-664-FOOD; thekitchen-silverlake.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A neighborhood, comfort food restaurant serves up a near miss great burger
Want Fries with That? Sure. They don't stand out, but are not an unwelcome guest as they are included in the price of the burger
Prices: Grilled Cheeseburger, $10.25
Notes: Mon. to Thurs., 5 p.m. - Midnight; Fri., 5 p.m. - 1 a.m., Sat., 11 a.m. - 1 a.m., Sun., 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
You couldn't ask for a friendlier neighborhood restaurant, but you could ask for a better bun with your burger. Ask for the foccacia roll instead of the wheat bun.
Sometimes I want dinner to be easy. I want the familiarity of cooking for myself without the hassle. I want to get out of my house, but I don’t want to go far. I want somebody else to cook me what I want to eat. Oh, and I don't want to have to know what I want. That is to say, I don't want to ask myself what kind of food I’m feeling. I want a neighborhood spot that will—for a fair price—take away all of the weight of figuring out how to feed myself. A neighborhood spot that is reliable, straight forward, and comfortable.
Doubtless most of you have a place that immediately jumps to mind. I used to, but having recently moved to the East Side of Los Angeles, I’m still getting to know my neighborhood. Luckily, my most recent introduction feels like a neighbor I can rely on. The Kitchen is located on the backside of a building that sits on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fountain Avenue. It would be fair to say that this is the gateway to Silverlake, Los Angeles’ hipster/Bohemian neighborhood. Of course, we are talking a decade after this particular neighborhood "happened," but it’s recently happened to me so my interest is rekindled.
A Neighborhood Spot
I’ve been to The Kitchen before. In fact, I came by very early in its life (about eight years ago) to sample a meatloaf that was much talked about. I remember really enjoying it. I could easily have found myself looking to replay that meal in hopes of finding anew the magic of our first encounter. But I am all grown up and I don't fool myself into thinking relationships are at their best during the blush of the new. I want the familiar, the trustworthy, and the comfortable. I want a burger.
I pull into the parking lot and find it illuminated by a neighboring theme park of a McDonald's. There's a playground that sits like an art installation piece behind twenty-foot walls of glass. Their sign reminds me: "Billions Served." Billions and they still can't get it right. I’ll take my chances on the Kitchen.
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Posted by Nick Solares, February 3, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Houston's
378 Park Ave South, New York NY 10010 (at 27th Street; map); 212-689-1090; hillstone.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order:Hamburger achieves synergy through sheer volume of ingredients, but what lurks beneath falls behind the competition, especially for the price
Want Fries with That? In theory, but often disappointing. Try the coleslaw instead
Price: $14 comes with one side item
Notes: Locations in 12 states
Rumors of Houston's name change have been greatly exaggerated. Or perhaps not. There seems to be a bit of an identity crisis going on at the restaurant that is either called Houston's or that was formerly called Houston's, and now may or may not be called Hillstone. The website for Houston's, the upscale national chain with locations in 12 states, links to a restaurant called Hillstone Manhattan, which has two outposts at the same locations—on Park Avenue South and on 51st and 3rd Avenue—that Houston's occupied. The funny thing is that when I recently showed up at the Park Avenue location the signage still indicated that the restaurant was called Houston's; indeed, the friendly hostess confirmed the name when she welcomed me.
I called the restaurant the next day to seek some answers. After greeting me with a cheerful "Houston's," the affable chap on the other end of the line proceeded to explain that the Hillstone concept was created because they were going to switch to a "seasonal" menu. He could not explain why this required a name change, but I suspect that the name of a Southern metropolis is not quite the image one wants when trying to sell brussels sprouts in the northeast. Despite what the website might indicate, he informed me that the restaurant's name will remain unchanged for the time being.
The name Hillstone sounds like a haute barnyard restaurant, which is quite at odds with what Houston's has traditionally done best: elevated bar food—artichoke and spinach dip, French dip sandwiches, ribs, and hamburgers. Sure, there are steaks and fish on the menu, and even sushi at some of its outposts, but the restaurant is hardly fine dining. Of course, it isn't Applebee's either, and the Park Avenue location is pleasantly austere—dim lighting, dark wood paneling, and a low ceiling conspire to create a "clubby," intimate atmosphere. The staff are obsequiously friendly—you almost feel bad telling them that the fillet of sole sandwich tastes like blue fish or that the fries like corn chips.
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Arkansas Times recommends CJ's Butcher Boy Burgers in Russellville for burgers made out of freshly ground meat, freshly cut fries, and huge, thick milkshakes.
Posted by Hamburger America, January 30, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Dick's Drive-In just turned 55 years old, so visit them if you can to celebrate!
Dick’s is a drive-in. There are 5 locations around town and only one has indoor seating. It’s the sort of drive-in where you park your car and walk up to the window to order and pay. General manager Ken Frazier told me, “Dick's has always been a walk up. Originally there were three separate lines, one for shakes and ice cream, one for burgers and soft drinks, and one for fries.” In the 60's Dick’s streamlined the system selling all products at all windows. At the 45th Street location there’s no seating anywhere and Maria, longtime manager, told me, “In the summertime people bring picnic tables and chairs and set up in the parking lot. It’s really cute.”
The efficiency of Dick’s is mind-boggling. Over twenty-four employees, all wearing crisp paper caps and clean aprons, are set to repetitive tasks such as weighing the fresh ice cream that goes into the shakes or prepping the buns with their secret sauce.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, January 30, 2009 at 10:00 AM
The overwhelming response to my "Would You Send Back an Overcooked Burger?" post caused me, a virgin to sending back overcooked burgers, to keep the option in mind for future burger-eating excursions. During a recent meal at French restaurant Bacchus in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood I immediately noticed the lack of pink in my bisected cheeseburger despite ordering it medium rare. I took a bite; unsurprisingly, it was too dry.
"Well you should send it back," said my friend.
"Uh..." I responded while staring into the heart of the burger, hesitant to eat any more of it.
"I'll do it for you."
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Posted by Lizy Yagoda, January 29, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: Today's burger review comes from AHT reader Lizy Yagoda, a junior at Vassar College who is currently studying abroad in Prague. When she's not hitting the books, she's scoping out the burger scene. Will she find a decent burger? You can follow her Prague adventures at her blog, An American in Praha.
Bohemia Bagel
Masná 2, 11000 Praha 1, Czech Republic (map); 224 812 560; bohemiabagel.cz
Short Order: Passable burger, however dry and bland. Bacon and cheese a must
Want Fries with That? Yes. And please figure out what that spice is for me!
Prices: Hamburger, 135kc (approx. $6.75); cheeseburger, 145kc ($7.25); bacon cheeseburger, 155kc ($7.75)
Notes: Mon. to Fri., 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Sat. to Sun., 8 a.m. -11 p.m.
In honor of Obama’s recent inauguration, I decided to begin my burger tour of Prague. I had surprised my friends and family by deciding to spend the spring of my junior year in Prague—not so much because of the language barrier or the remnants of communism, but because of the assumption of the lack of decent burgers. Although I had prepared myself to spend four months without a decent burger, my recently bolstered patriotism inspired me to find the taste of America.
After one of my Czech classes last week, I set out for Bohemia Bagel with two classmates. Bohemia Bagel was founded in 1996 because, according to the website, “[the founders] had a feeling that more health-conscious offerings would appeal to the Czech people and would be appreciated by the huge influx of tourists arriving in the 'Golden City' after the Velvet Revolution of 1989.” Walking in, I heard the familiar sounds of unaccented English; the shop was filled with Americans. According to my companions, this was the only place in the city where one could get a decent bagel. If Bohemia Bagel could make a good bagel, a feat unachieved in many American restaurants, I imagined they would serve a passable burger. Bohemia Bagel also seems to pride itself on its burgers, with posters claiming they serve the best burger in Prague.
Bohemia Bagel offered three options: a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a bacon cheeseburger. The menu made note of the use of American cheese, which set my burger senses tingling. The burger comes with a side of salad or french fries. In keeping with my renewed faith in America, I chose fries. I was not, however, asked how I would like the burger done. Oh no. While I am rarely asked how I want my burger done at any establishment, it did not bode well.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, January 28, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Rowdy Red Wine & Burger Bar
505 South Flower Street, Los Angeles CA 90071 (map)
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: An underground lunch spot rises above the competition
Want Fries with That? Yes, please. They come along for the ride on the exceedingly well-priced combo, but you'd happily pay extra even if they didn't
Prices: Classic Burger, $5.50; Classic Cheeseburger, $5.95
Notes: Open daily 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
It's a wine and burger bar without the wine when we went to press. They are waiting on their liquor license, but when it comes through look for some very reasonably priced wines and microbrews, as well as expanded hours
Why is the new so interesting? This is the question that fueled the heated Saturday night dinner conversation at our house this past weekend. Specifically we talked about what I termed “The Cult of the New” that plagues the blogosphere. When it comes to writing about food (or music, among other subjects) there exists a competitive culture of "I found it first" that seems to influence the way people go about forming their opinions.
The relentless drive to be the first to have publicly proclaimed something worth the world’s attention has infected the way people assess just what is worth our attention. In the world of aesthetic arbitration saying that a brand new restaurant is “just okay” alloys the pleasure of having found it first. You want to be the person who told everyone about the must-try spot, not the place that they can skip. That is to say, it’s cooler to find something great because feeling cool feels so good.
Herein lies the source of problem. I’ll skip my drunken ramblings on the evolutionary biology of this pleasure of the new (it’s our brains' fault!), but the basic point is simple: People are incentivized to tell you that what they have had—that you have yet to have—is good. This leads to the formation of small groups of committed fans proselytizing on behalf something that might not be as good as they think it is because it just feels good to say that something is good. (For a musical equivalent, Radiohead comes to mind.)
This isn’t the whole story. There is the simple fact that sometimes those things are genuinely good. There is also the more complicating fact that I’m justifying the value of connoisseurship (which is as ridiculous as it is self-serving). We are all able to determine what we like on our own, much to the collective chagrin of the arbiters of taste. I imagine that what I’m trying to tease out is a discussion of the mechanics of how we go about deciding what we like.
As the evening pressed on we all became louder and more entrenched in our various takes on the issue. It may have had something to do with the fourth bottle of Pinot, but I like to think it was just my and my interlocutors better understanding of ourselves. Eventually I determined that I needed put myself to the test: I would review a spanking new burger spot.
Luckily I live in a city that devoted to the new (and the young, and the blonde), so it wasn’t too tough to find a place that fit my needs. Tucked below twin office spires in Downtown Los Angeles is a new restaurant called Rowdy Red Wine and Burger Bar. The name is certainly a mouthful. The burger? Read on.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, January 27, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Photograph from oranges are not the only fruit on Flickr
You may not think of getting a burger from a taco stand, but food blog What You See Is What You Eat recommends the cheeseburger from the James Beard Award-winning Yuca's in Los Feliz, California, because it shares close quarters with a family of meaty taco fillings:
The only thing that differentiates this burger from the one that you’d make on your grill is that your grill doesn’t have decades worth of well seasoned and well worn flavors of asada, carnitas, etc seared into it. Yuca’s cooks the patty on the same surface that they’re making all the other meat fillings, so you get a patty that is the best of all animal kingdoms.
The cheeseburger is topped with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Aside from cheeseburgers and hamburgers, Yuca's menu includes chiliburgers, double patty burgers, and variations of all of the above. [via laist]
Posted by Nick Solares, January 27, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Shopsin's General Store
Stall 16, Essex Street Market, 120 Essex Street, New York NY 10002 (b/n Delancey Street and Rivington Street; map); 212-924-5160; shopsins.com
The Short Order: The sliders remain excellent, but the reworked burger using "Big Marty" buns is also worth getting and a big improvement over the ciabatta that was formerly used
Want Fries with That? Yes, the skin on, hand cut fries are irresistible
Price: Sliders, 3 for $10; hamburger, $10; green chili cheeseburger, $12
Notes: Tues. to Sat., 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
When I reviewed Shopsin's last September I raved about the sliders, but found the ciabatta bunned burger to be less than desirable. It was thus with some trepidation that I ventured back to Shopsin's to try his cheeseburger soup and Conan Burger for my piece on hamburger variations and inspirations. I half expected to have a ciabatta roll thrown at me, but Kenny did not even mention the review until I had finished eating and he had plunked himself in a chair next to me to write out the check.
I don't think Kenny likes giving out the check—he finds it somewhat distasteful. It is the one thing that Shopsin's has in common with every other restaurant in the world: They have to charge for the meal. It's not that Kenny wants to give away the meal for free; it's that as far as he is concerned the significant transaction occurred when you decided to eat at his restaurant and he allowed you to do so. As he says of new customers, they "have to prove it to me that they are okay to feed." Shopsin considers the relationship between new customers and his restaurant essentially adversarial until a particular threshhold is met—once you eventually become an old customer—at which point the relationship becomes "really intimate and family-like." I am almost getting there. At least, I think I am.
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Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh finds the burgers at Mooyah too lean, but says the fries are good. Also, reasons for why the name Mooyah is terrible, from Dallas Observer's Alice Laussade.
Posted by Robyn Lee, January 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Burger stuffed with American cheese and sauteed onions taken by Tina Wong.
Tina Wong of The Wandering Eater features some cheese-laden burger porn in her review of the Stumble Inn, a restaurant that specializes in stuffed burgers, on the Upper East Side in New York City. Her evaluation of their burger is pretty much the same way I feel about stuffed burgers: "The burger is cooked too well for my preference (I like medium rare burgers) but I know their intention is to heat and melt the cheese within the burger." In exchange for a core of molten cheese, you get an overcooked patty. Still sounds pretty tasty though.
Related
Dear AHT: The Stumble Inn in New York City
Cooked: The Juicy Loosey
Good Dog's Cheese-Stuffed Burger in Philadelphia
The Stuffed Cheeseburger at the Iron Horse in Westwood, New Jersey, and the Failbun
Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh tried a burger—hand-formed to order—at the Whole Foods flagship store in Austin, but was met with disappointment in the form of too much bun that was dense and tough. On the upside, the fries were good.
Posted by Robyn Lee, January 22, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Petey's Burger in Astoria, Queens, specializes in California-style burgers, à la In-N-Out (the red and yellow color palette seems to allude to the West Coast burger chain). I visited Petey's last November shortly after it first opened with the intention of returning before posting about it, but I never got around to that second visit. However, since we've recently received a handful of emails from AHT readers alerting us to Petey's existence, I'll share my first impressions, most of which are hopefully no longer valid. (Of course, we appreciate the emails! Sometimes we need that push to get things done.)
I ordered a single (it also comes in double and triple) cheeseburger, ($3.99), which came topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, and "special sauce" on a toasted bun. Autopsy shot after the jump.
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Posted by Damon Gambuto, January 21, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Delux Burger
3146 East Camelback Road, Phoenix AZ 85016 (map); 602-522-2288; deluxburger.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: This gastropub burger spot needs to work a little harder perfecting the union of meat and cheese.
Want Fries with That? Nah. The middling fast food style fries don't deliver on the crisp.
Prices: Standard Burger, $9.50
Notes: Open daily 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
If you must have your fries, consider mixing in the sweet potatoes.
Recently, things seem to have changed. Perhaps you’ve noticed it too. The world feels a little different today than it did yesterday. Sure, our problems persist, but the way we are facing them seems to have shifted. It’s not just hope that our new president points toward, but also a renewed sense of responsibility. President Barack Obama exhorts us to change ourselves—our behavior, our commitment—right along with this sea change in our governance.
What does this have to do with a hamburger? Well, at first blush, it seems fair to say not so much (our new President’s recent lunch order notwithstanding). Then again, as many of you have noticed, my burger reviews are not just about burgers—they are about my experience of the burger. A burger story, if you will. Sometimes it’s a romance; sometimes it’s action packed. This time, it’s personal. In this installment, the particularly personal turn is related to the recent political shift.
It begins here in Los Angeles, but all the burger drama happens in Phoenix at a self-styled gastropub called Delux Burger. I’m not sure why the lack of an "e," but then again, I’m not sure about a lot of things about Delux. Sit back, I’ll tell you the story.
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In her review of Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta, Georgia, Besha Rodell of Creative Loafing recommends non-beef burgers over beef, the "vegetable of the day," and the foie gras milkshake. Related: 'Top Chef' Contestant Richard Blais Opening Flip Burger Boutique Next Week
Posted by Nick Solares, January 20, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Nick, on the other hand, is a de-nuder. He strips his meat and slaps it around before getting to the straightforward business of eating it."
Editor's note: In today's review, resident burger expert Nick Solares collaborates with Serious Eats contributor and burger lover Tam Ngo to bring you twice the opinions in one spot.
Photographs by Nick Solares and Tam Ngo
Wollensky's Grill
201 East 49th Street, New York NY 10022 (at 3rd Avenue; map); 212-753-0444; smithandwollensky.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Big overstuffed, under-seasoned steakhouse burger served on an undersized bun with overdue fries
Want Fries with That? They come with the burger but should have come with a burger served the previous day
Price: $16
Notes: Open every day, 11:30 a.m. - 2 a.m.
It is a tale as old as time itself: The perpetual perceptual divide between woman and man. It may be a cliché, but in affairs of the heart and of the mind the truth often lies somewhere in the middle between what she said and what he said. But what about hamburgers? Could there be some universal truth, some detente between the sexes to be found between the buns?
To find out I enlisted the esteemable Tam Ngo, who had recently rocked the burger world with her review of the Lever House burger. Tam likes grilled burgers dressed with all manner of condiments and loaded with big flavors—quite the opposite to the way I like them, which is griddle-cooked with nothing on them but cheese. What could be more perfect for a "She Said / He Said" piece? This is the story of our lunch at Wollensky's Grill.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, January 19, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Mike Doyle of Gapers Block says the Angus Burger from Marc Burger, opened by chef Marcus Samuelsson in the food court at Macy's in Chicago, is "good enough to roll around naked in," even if he finds the $13 price tag too high. The half-pound grass-fed Angus beef burger comes topped with cheddar and a fried egg and is accompanied by cole slaw, garlic fries, and cayenne-infused ketchup. Doyle says it ties with Muskie's for his favorite burger in Chicago.
Related: Michael Nagrant's Chicago Burger Battle
Posted by Robyn Lee, January 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Burgers from Fatburger and Five Guys.
Kevin Pang of the Chicago Tribune eats at five burger chains in the Chicago area in five hours (accompanied by a bottle of antacid): Sonic Drive-In, Fatburger, Meat Heads, Five Guys, and The Counter. Thankfully, all five pass the "decent-if-not-better" test. Read his review for more details than anyone needs, including the heights, diameters, and circumferences of the burgers he ate.
Related
Five Guys' Fries Make Me Weep with Happiness, Burger Is Not Bad
Review: The Counter
Review: Fatburger
