Burger Mania

I am a burger fanatic. FA-NA-TIC. When I was in high school (or maybe it was college, so long ago I don't even remember) I boycotted meat. Just red meat. Not for health reasons, not because I wanted to be a vegetarian for political reasons, just because I didn't want to carry the filet tenderloin in from the car for my mom. I'm not even sure how long it lasted, maybe a year? Not sure. But the thing that broke this camel's back was my longing for the hamburger. Steak's great and all, but it was the burger that drew me back into the world of red meat. I had a deep longing for the delicious red meat patty.

When we moved to NY I knew that one of the foodie things I would miss most about Michigan was Red Coat burgers (the other was La Shish hummus). Burger heaven. Unbelievable. My mouth is watering at 10 AM just thinking about it. I love burgers, did I mention that?

So last week I was watching a little tv and saw that GQ had created a "20 Burgers to Try Before You Die" list. To my amazement, Red Coat was not on the list (and a place in Ypsilanti, MI was, where I've been and can say the burgers are not nearly as good as Red Coat). But, more importantly, there were a couple of places in NYC which I knew I must try. As Saturday afternoon changed into Saturday evening and it was becoming painfully clear that there would be no cooking in my kitchen we started pondering the take-out/cheap eats options and decided to go for one of the burger places on the top 20 list.

We selected the burger joint at Le Parker Meridien, mostly because of its proximity to us and the price - $6 for a cheeseburger and $4 for a Sam Adams on tap. The menu consists of only a few things - hamburger, cheeseburger, fries, pickle, brownie, soda pop, milk shakes and Sam Adams. We knew that the location of the burger joint in the Parker Meridien wouldn't be obvious once we walked into the lobby, but thanks to Zagat's description we were able to find it. Walking into the lobby you see this curtained off area and peering around we spotted a small neon sign that was a picture of a burger with an arrow. Following the sign around the side of the curtained off area, we found the entrance (it was easy because there was a line waiting to enter).

Walking in, it definitely could be considered a dive, especially because it is surrounded by the marble lobby in the hotel. There are about 10 tables in the place; you wait in a line to order and then they call your name when your food is up and you just grab a table when one opens up. It was about 6 or 6:15 when we went and it was packed. We did get a couple of seats at a large sort of communal table, but as soon as we started eating a bunch of tables opened up.

The fries were fantastic (especially with the Sam Adams), and I think I would have liked the burger a lot better if it weren't for two things:
1. my burger was overcooked
2. there was horseradish in the mustard which I didn't know until I was well into the burger

I HATE HATE horseradish, and the mustard was in a regular yellow squeeze bottle (implication = it is plain old yellow mustard). When I was eating the burger, I was busy pulling off onions trying to figure out what was burning my mouth. But other than that, not a bad burger. However, not EVEN CLOSE to Red Coat burgers. Not worthy of a top 20 rating in my mind. I will, however, give it a second chance and try it without mustard.

A slightly disappointing burger experience. Too much hype. So Sunday dinner planning came around and I decided that we needed to have burgers, yes, again. Two days in a row. Have I mentioned that I love burgers? I really do.

So I went for the simple burger. Just salt and pepper as seasonings. I also always grind my own meat when I cook burgers, which I recommend for everyone. Especially because I tend to like my burgers on the more rare side of medium rare, and its a bit safer if you grind your own meat. I have a grinding attachment for my Kitchen Aid, but you can also do it in a food processor. And if you don't have a Cuisinart either, I would recommend buying your meat at the grocery store in the steak form and ask them to grind it for you (and then use it right away). I use a combination of sirloin and chuck (50/50). The results from the simple seasoning were pretty darn good. I also put blue cheese and grilled onions on top, which to me, is a necessary requirement for a perfect burger.

The only thing that was missing was the Red Coat special sauce for the burger. I have been trying and trying and trying to make that damn sauce. Its so good. It's some oniony-mayoy sauce and I just don't know what else. Paprika? I don't know. But I would probably pay some pretty good money to get the recipe. All I know is it's not your typical special sauce.

And speaking of special sauce and burgers, I can't write about burgers without mentioning In 'n Out, the hamburger chain in California, Arizona, and Nevada (perhaps a couple other states out west too). The use fresh ingredients, for example when you order fries, they take a potato, put it through the potato slicer and fry it up, right in front of you. And they have good good burgers. We're going to Arizona this weekend and by the way, if any of our "car-mates" are reading this, there WILL be a trip to In 'n Out. Guaranteed. I've already figured out where they are in Arizona (fine, if you don't want to go, we'll go drop you off at the airport and then go afterwards).

Anyways, I think burgers are the perfect meal for any night of the week, however you like them. Just a bit of salt and pepper, freshly ground beef and a delicious grilled bun. Hmm...maybe we'll have burgers tonight too.