After viewing the clip that follows, I can see why Steve Martin's Pink Panther movie came and went faster than greased lightning. See if you can avoid getting Inspector Clouseau's speech pattern stuck in your head as he tries to master the proper pronunciation of "I want to buy a hamburger."
Coming to the IFC Center in Manhattan: The Burger and the King: The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley. April 29. IFC: "Director James Marsh brings us his 1996 film exploring America from Graceland to Las Vegas through the unique perspective of Elvis' eating habits." Features a Q&A with Marsh. More info: ifccenter.com
And if you don't live in New York, you can just watch the whole damn spectacle on YouTube: Parts 1 (above), 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. [via Grub Streets]
If you have a dirty mind, this one might be NSFW:
Related: Hamburger America visits Dyer's Burgers
Address: 205 Beale Street, Memphis TN 38103
Phone: 901-527-3937
Link: Dyer's Mouth Explosion [YouTube; via So Good]
Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky, editor of New York magazine's Grub Street and author of upcoming book The Hamburger: A History, says you can find the perfect burger at Veselka, in New York City's East Village:
Address: 144 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003
Phone: 212-228-9682
Website: veselka.com
Link: Mr. Cutlets's Perfect Hamburger [Chow]
"Get yourself ready for a trip through McDonaldland," is the opening line of the song in the no-doubt LSD-inspired McDonald's commercial that follows. Trip being the operative word here. As the blog AdFreak put it, "Why are all old McDonald's commercials so creepy?" I couldn't agree more.
OK. How's this for the "unicorn chaser" I've been promising?
Taking the idea at its most literal, I Googled the term "unicorn burger" to see what might pop up. After some digging, I found some fast-food commercial parody videos via Fark.
Link: Unicorn Burger 1 [YouTube]
I was going to hold off on this post, but I might as well get all the downer burger stuff out today:
This is like an anti-commercial for burgers. Something about the way Andy Warhol eats this burger takes all the joy out of the iconic American dish.
I'll look for a "unicorn chaser" to cheer you up, burgerers.
Link: Andy Warhol Eats a Burger [YouTube]
The recent cold spell here in New York City had me wondering what effect below-freezing temperatures would have on the infamously long line at the Shake Shack, which just this year began operating year-round. But if I was going to stand around and wait for a burger in bone-chilling weather—and then eat it outdoors in the park (the Shake Shack offers only outdoor seating)—I needed a strategy. I'll share it with you—along with some winter Shack observations—after the jump.
Usually, when the major chains try to get into the whole viral video thing, the results are lame, lame, lame. But, OMG, this Burger King video is pretty damn good.
In it, they outfit a Burger King with hidden cameras, punk customers by claiming the Whopper has been discontinued, and then record the resulting freakouts. The also prank the customers by placing Wendy's and McDonald's burgers in their sacks instead of Whoppers—recording the results, of course.
One of the best quotes, from an irate drive-thru customer: "I want your manager at the window when I get there!"
More at whopperfreakout.com.
To get you amped for tomorrow's burger event at Water Taxi Beach, I thought I'd dig into the Serious Eats archives and pull the following video to the front page here for insight into what makes a proper Butter Burger, one of the three regional American burgers being served tomorrow. Enjoy!
This clip is an excerpt from burger documentary Hamburger America by filmmaker and burgermeister George Motz. The complete video is available on DVD at Mr. Motz's website, HamburgerAmerica.com
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