It's time for another round of The Burger Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post.
"For many people, a burger is a blank canvas—something to be used as a means of self-expression. I like to express myself with pickles."
[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
Burgers are a fact of American life. Hopefully that will never change. That said, the concept of a burger is far from static. While at the beginning of the decade, the "ultimate" burger may have been a $29 job from a fancy-pants chef, the last couple of years have seen a welcome return to the basics, and a concentration on what makes a burger great, instead of gourmet.
In an effort to catalog the shifting tastes of casual burger eaters and aficionados across the globe, we've decided to start a new New Year's tradition at AHT: The First Annual B.O.O.T.Y. (Burger (Outstanding) of the Year) Award.
The author apologizes for the forced acronym, but B.O.T.Y. just wasn't nearly as fun.
If you've been following AHT for the past year, you've probably voted in at least one of Robyn's great weekly polls. Sprinkled throughout these polls were a dozen questions aimed at helping us design the perfect burger, as voted on by you, our readers. Using the results of these polls, I have constructed what should be the ultimate burger of 2009. In questions where more than the top answer could be applied (toppings, for example), I used the top two responses to form the burger.
Openings: Portland: Check out the menu for the newly opened Foster Burger. Includes beef, lamb, 'shroom, and fish. [PDX Food Press]
Montreal > Pub Next Door & Copoli 2 & Copoli 1: The focus of this week's episode of Montreal Burger Report.
NYC > Donovan's Pub: "This burger is the kind of no frills, old-school, pub-style burger made from quality meat that makes the style famous." [Burger Conquest]
NYC > Bonnie's Grill: The burger patty is coated in a chili spice rub before being grilled. [Burger Club NY]
Philadelphia > Coming Soon: New burgers coming to Q BBQ. [City Paper]
California > Best Burgers in the Valley: A few suggestions. [LAist]
Burger King's Shower Babe Is Gone: That was quick. [So Good]
Posted by Damon Gambuto, December 30, 2009 at 1:15 PM
[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]
Tony's Cable Car Restaurant
2500 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco CA 94115 (map); 323-254-9138; tonyscablecar.com Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: It's a simple, straightforward, and satisfying burger at a great price. Want Fries with That? A solid example of fast food, krinkle cuts that are surprisingly good (though not great). Prices: 1/4 pound beef burger, $4.65 (add cheese for $.50) Notes: Tony is almost always behind the counter; be sure to say hello and have a chat with one of the friendliest proprietors you could hope to meet.
Joe's Cable Car Restaurant
4320 Mission Street, San Francisco CA 94112 (map); 323-254-9138; joescablecarrestaurant.com Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: Despite a lot of hype about fresh ground beef, the burger lacks flavor and isn't worth a special trip or the price. Want Fries with That? No thanks. Surprisingly limp and soggy. Prices: The Cable Fresh Ground Beef Steak, $9.95 (add cheese for 99¢) Notes: Over-hyped and over-priced means I'm hard-pressed to find a silver lining. If you like kitsch Americana this place might make it on your San Francisco itinerary.
A recent trip to San Francisco gave me a number of opportunities to sample some new burgers. I started off my journey with a lunch at Hubert Keller's Burger Bar and found myself a bigger fan of the chef (and his celebrity persona) than any of his burger creations. To some extent, this wasn't so surprising. Although my top five list has a few high-end burger entries, I tend to prefer burger excursions that aim low. That is to say, I have a preference for burger spots that are best described with word "haunt," not "haute."
Searching for places that fit the bill in a city like San Francisco is easy; finding one with a great burger is a bit harder. While searching for my Sunday (brunch) burger I found two places that piqued my interest. As it turned out, both call themselves cable cars restaurants. The first I identified in the usual manner: I followed the hype.Joe's Cable Car has turned its old-school credibility into a currency and is thus an easy find with a quick Google search. It's the kind of place you'd find Guy Fieri driving up, taking a sample, and pretending to like whatever food they throw in front of him (in this case, literally).
The second restaurant I happened upon while driving to Joe's. Tony's Cable Car isn't without kitsch, but clearly owes its success to a loyal local following rather than its TV appeal. Though housed in a gleaming facade, this place is an authentic and simple burger stop—of course, I stopped (and ate). Then it was on to Joe's for round two.
My simple brunch turned into a bit of a burger battle.
Since Serious Eats contributor Kathy YL Chan just spent the holidays at home in Hawaii, I got her to share an update on the avocado burger from Kua 'Aina (locations on Oahu in Honolulu and Haleiwa) that I first blogged about last year.
Although it's the most popular burger spot in the state, Kathy says it's not too noteworthy: "I like how they smush something like half an avocado on top, but aside from that, it's always overcooked." Seems like there are some juices coming out of it, but yup, it's looking quite gray in her photo (in addition to being massive). I'd still want to try it if I ever get to visit Hawaii, though.
Grind up eight BK Quad Stackers, mold the resulting meat and filler into a ham shape, drape on some ham from Double Croissan'wiches, brush with glaze made from apple juice, honey mustard, and apple pie filling, and voilà: Honey Apple Glazed Christmas Holiday Ham(-burger) from Fancy Fast Food.
I caught this too late for Christmas, but it's not like you would've made it anyway. I hope.
Wichita > Burger Crawl: In the birthplace of White Castle, George Motz visits three burger joints: Nu-Way Cafe, Jack's North Hi, and Bionic Burger. [Hamburger America]
Miami > Latin Burger and Taco Truck: Their Latin Macho Burger comes with two thin patties made of chuck, sirloin, and chorizo topped with oaxaca cheese, caramelized onions, jalapenos, and red pepper mayo: "It was devastatingly good." [The Burger Beast]
New Haven > Louis' Lunch: They've been serving burgers the same way for over a century: freshly ground beef cooked in cast iron vertical broilers on white toast. [AHT review; Burger Conquest]
