In Top Cultured's latest "Will They Build It?" (formerly at Eating the Road), they get Burger King to make a Double Bacon Rodeo State Fair Cheeseburger, two Rodeo Cheeseburgers (topped with cheese, onion rings, and barbecue sauce) with 9 Funnel Cake Sticks. All that for only $4.11! My stomach...how it churns.
1840 W. North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622 (map); 773-342-1840; chaiseloungechicago.com Cooking Method: Gas grill Short Order: Restaurant that specializes in local food and pretty people puts out an outstanding burger. Want Fries With That? Definitely. The hand cut fries are crisp and delicious, but don't miss out on the mac and cheese. Price: $14
If you open a restaurant on the Bucktown/Wicker Park border that has a large roof deck and a variety of creative fruity alcoholic beverages—many of which are available by the pitcher—you are guaranteed to have a steady stream of customers who will turn the place into a hot summer night spot. And so it is that Chaise Lounge is routinely filled with pretty party people having a great time. But here's the dirty little secret about Chaise Lounge: The place serves up some outstanding grub with a heavy emphasis on local sustainable foods.
Chef Cary Taylor's impressive culinary background includes stints working for some of Chicago's best chefs—Graham Elliot Bowles, Pual Kahan, and Christian Eckmann—and a pair of three Michelin star restaurants in Spain (Restaurante Arzak and Restaurante Martin Beresategui). At Chaise Lounge, Taylor focuses on contemporary American cuisine and routinely changes his menu with the seasons. Fortunately for us, burgers are never out of season and they have a permanent spot on Taylor's menu.
Custom House Tavern in Chicago is serving their burger—made of ground steak, pork chop, and short rib, and topped with caramelized onions, house-cured bacon, and a house-made steak sauce—for only $5 during lunch (11:30 a.m to 2 p.m.) during January. The burger was #4 on Chicago Magazine's list of top burgers. More details at their Facebook page.
615 N La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90036 (map); 323-254-9138; cubemarketplace.com Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: A bold, yet refined burger that is among the best in Los Angeles. Want Fries with That? Yes, please. A series of experiments by the chef led to a potato ribbon that delivers a precise crispness. Prices: Burger and fries, $15; truffle burger and fries, $18 Notes: There is a private room that sits between the kitchen and dining area that is perfect for a special occasion that demands special food.
I've resolved to honor this iconic year of 2010 by trying to eat better burgers. In the range of New Year's resolutions, eating more delicious hamburgers does not, at first blush, seem to hew to the tradition of self-sacrifice in service of self-improvement. But for a burger reviewer who has tried upwards of a hundred different patties in the last year, it is, at the very least, a challenge.
With that in mind, I headed to Cube in West Hollywood. I've eaten at Cube a number of times and haven't once had a meal that was less than excellent—more than once, I've tasted a dish that sent me into eye-rolling delight. It boasts one of the most meticulously sourced ingredient libraries (and store shelves) in the city, but more than that, chef Erin Eastland has turned the dynamic menu into one of the better explorations of regional Italian cooking I've come across.
If you are looking for a black truffle sauce from Visso or a superlative olive oil from Abruzzo, you can pull either off shelves that surround the dining room, or you could just order one of Eastland's restrained appetizers. The offerings, both from the menu and the marketplace, have a museum-like curatorship; rather than endless options, you get a selection of the best ones. Of course, I arrived looking for a burger. And, oh, did I find one.
Had the hamburger at the (very upscale) Mayflower Inn this past weekend. I expected an OK, but overpriced, burger. I was wrong—it was burger nirvana. My wife and I, jaded New Yorkers both, had three over a two day period. Perhaps the best burger I have ever had, and their "Tap Room" is a pleasant place to take down the beef and some alcohol.
No, I am not a shill, just a long-time reader who unexpectedly happened
upon an amazing burger.
- Sean W.
The Greyledge Farms Black Angus Burger is available on the Mayflower's lunch menu. It comes with Petit Basque cheese, garlic aioli, and piquillo pepper relish on a house made bun along with hand cut Parmesan and rosemary fries for $19. I asked Sean for some more details on what made the burger so good.
The meat must have been relatively fatty, because the juiciness was pretty intense—although it did not soak your hands. I am usually not heavily into fancy-dancy burgers (I am more of a Five Guys or plain cheeseburger kind of guy), but all of these seemingly chi-chi ingredients melded together into a fantastic taste explosion. It was also perfectly medium-rare. I like that the garlic aioli provided a little tang, but was not spread on with a trowel, and the pepper relish was suitably spicy/smoky. The house-made bun was also top-notch, as it was not overly doughy and did not overwhelm the burger.
Those aren't regular Chinese-style dumplings; they're stuffed with cheeseburger filling! Cathy Erway of Not Eating Out in New York shares her recipe for the filling made of sirloin steak seasoned with black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard, and mixed with caramelized onions and grated cheddar. How were the results? "If you ask me, these dumplings are good enough to trump both their inspirations: the cheeseburger, and the Chinese dumpling," says Cathy. I might try that for my next dumpling-making party.
