The Better Burgers of Five Burger Stands
Years ago, someone suggested the FLB organize a Tour de Burger, and I said it would never happen. Mostly because the idea of eating five burgers in one day sounded like a horrifying notion.
Plus, I figured that a tour of the best local burgers would bring us to restaurants where it might be awkward to order three burgers for six people. Taking up valuable real estate on a Saturday afternoon for these under-the-radar shenanigans just didn’t feel right.
That is, until I realized that the Capital Region is rich with seasonal burger stands. And these establishments really lined up well with what the FLB Tours are all about.
Fundamentally, there are some foods that are a part of this place. And many of them need to be enjoyed in their proper setting. So, I bring a bunch of volunteers from place to place and we try five different versions of very similar foodstuffs back to back, looking for which ones stand out, and why.
On a cold, gray, and windy Saturday, fourteen people successfully completed the Tour de Seasonal Burger Stands. And this is what we learned.
Nobody Puts Popcorn in the Soda
First things first. I’m still standing. The Tour de Burgers didn’t kill me. Not that I was all that nervous, but wait until you see the official pictures.
If you can’t wait, you might want to check out the blogs of a few of the people who made it out on the tour. They don’t have to wade through all the scoresheets, so some of the attendees may be able to get a recap up faster than I can. All told, there were fourteen of them! Which I have to say is a lot more than I was expecting, given the grand task of eating five roadside burgers in one afternoon.
Those blogs would be I Like Food, Under The Copper Tree, Jon in Albany, and Burnt My Fingers. And actually, I saw some pics were already up on Instagram.
In the leadup to the actual tour this past Saturday, there was a lot of discussion about food in general, and how elements of taste applied to classic burger builds. And in some of that follow up discussion, I think I hit on a radical insight. Go with me on this.
May Days
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s Cinco de Mayo. Look, I’ve already picked up my annual bottle of tequila. I’m partial to the Milagro silver. For me, it lives at that perfect intersection of price and quality. It’s delicious. Light, and even a bit floral. I find it to be enchanting either on its own, or mixed with lime and seltzer in a tequila rickey.
Margaritas, much like ketchup, are often too sweet.
But May 5 is full of other things too, and there are just a crap ton of other events in the next few days that you should know about. They may even help you drown your sorrows from the news of the day, be it political, social, or economic. Because if you don’t have sorrows, you haven’t been paying attention.
Yes, life is hard. That’s not new. But the hardships of living, sometimes need to be pushed down in the hole to make room for joy. Because life without joy isn’t living at all. So, maybe I can tempt you into some of these joyous moments.
The Double Cheeseburger
Let it not be said that my opinions cannot be swayed by evidence.
Yes, I know in the past couple of days I may have made some outrageous claims about burgers. But you’ll notice that in every case, there are people out there who are on my side. Now, I’m not saying we’re in the majority. Clearly we’re not.
Who wants to be in the majority? Well, I mean besides politicians.
The majority, or at least the plurality of people, enjoy big chain restaurants. That’s why those soulless eateries dot the culinary landscape of this country like some kind of pox. And if anything, it’s spreading.
I’m happy to be among the minority that knows better. Not to say I don’t enjoy a guilty trip to McDonald’s every now and again. In fact, I just got a note that my friends at the Golden Arches are sending me another package of goodies, including some kind of device that turns french fries into a fork.
God help us all.
So here’s another outrageous burger claim for you to chew on. And I say outrageous because I myself, not too long ago, felt that the very notion of a cheeseburger was fundamentally wrong. However, what I’ve come to realize is that the double cheeseburger is the best kind of burger you can possibly get.
You Got Buns Hun
Jon in Albany raised a good point yesterday. He said, “A big burger works on a good hard roll, the smaller burger is lost in a roll like that.” Let’s put aside the matter of burgers big versus burgers small. I’m of the mind that any place can take a small burger and make it bigger. It’s simply a matter of adding more patties.
Actually, I’m hoping to reiterate my longstanding belief about why a double cheeseburger is better than a single larger cheeseburger before Saturday’s tour. But that won’t matter at all if we’ve neglected to talk about buns.
Do you know that there’s a burger place where I enjoy the bun more than the actual burger?
Tossing Tomatoes
Ultimately a hamburger is a sandwich. Heck, one of my all time favorite hamburgers was called the Joe’s Hamburger Sandwich. This monster of a thing was sold at The Original Joe’s in San Francisco before it tragically burned down in a grease fire.
That is how all great burger places should go.
While I could romanticize The Original Joe’s all day, let’s focus on its signature sandwich for a moment, because this was a place that got the hamburger right. The kitchen ground its chuck in house, seasoned it generously with salt, packed it loosely by hand, and seared it over a blazing hot charcoal grill. This perfectly charred and juicy patty was then nestled into a hollowed out length of french bread, and topped with a smattering of fried onions.
Truly hand-cut French fries were strewn on the plate. It was a study of brown on brown on brown. There was no piece of kale on the plate for color or garnish. Not even a sprig of parsley. And it was freaking perfect. No ketchup required.
If you wanted something bright and acidic to perk up your palate in between bites? Well, I’m sure they would have brought you a side order of pickles if you asked.
With this sandwich in mind, let’s talk about another thing burgers don’t require: tomatoes.
Meaty, Sweet & Boozy
What is it that they say? “Love what you do and you’ll never dread Mondays again.” I’m not sure if the quotation is right or who said it. Do memes get attribution these days? These are the challenges of writing in the modern era, I suppose.
Have I mentioned how lucky I am lately? Well it’s true. I am.
Yesterday I got to play with Yankee Distillers, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Chester’s Smokehouse, Candi’s Creative Sweets, and a handful of lucky members from the local Yelp community who scored a spot on the guest list for something I called the Booze, Beer & Bagel Brunch.
This is what happens when someone gives me a little bit of power. If you remember my complaints from the beginning of April, the Passover holiday was preventing me from eating bread and drinking beer or bourbon. So naturally, I created an entire event around those foods.
While that’s certainly a perk of the job, the thing I love about it goes a lot deeper.
Photo Friday: Comfort Foods
It’s Friday, and it’s been another crazy week. There are more fights I want to pick about burger toppings, but right now I’m just tired. I’ve got to make the final preparations for Sunday’s Yelp event, I’m meeting a friend for lunch, and tonight is shabbat so I’ve got to pick up our weekly roast chicken and challah.
Tonight, I’ll also finally be trying the olive oil I picked up last week at The Cheese Traveler. Oh, and sometime before Sunday I have to make it down to The Excelsior Pub and play three games of pinball for the league.
That means right now, instead of posting words, I’m going to share a few pics of foodstuffs I’ve enjoyed since the last Photo Friday post. Some of these are publicly available. Some were limited time offers. And one was something I made at home.
Hopefully they are inspiring as you head into the weekend.
On Pickles and Burgers
Mr. Dave likes pickles on his cheeseburger. And I get it. I do. Remember, I come from the land of Cuban sandwiches and grew up with a few slices of pickle pressed between ham, cheese, and lechon. Plus, I’m on the record of being a fan of the Big Mac precisely because of the interplay between the special sauce, lettuce, onions, and pickles.
But those are special circumstances, and unique variations where the presence of pickle is central to its very identity.
What I like is how Country Drive In presents its burger. This seasonal burger stand puts the pickle slices on top of the burger. And just to make sure those palate cleansing discs don’t blow away in the breeze, they are secured with a skewer that holds the whole sandwich together.
Now why do they do that? I can’t say for sure, but what I can tell you is why I wholeheartedly endorse this approach.
Tour de Seasonal Burger Stands
It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that it was late winter and we were fantasizing about the warmer days of spring. Do you remember when we opened the Tour de Burger Nominations back in March? I didn’t. I had to go back and refresh my memory before sitting down to write this post.
The good news is that spring is here! And as such, today is the day to announce the spring tour for the FLB. I’ve got a few important items clarified, including the name: we’ll be going on the Tour de Seasonal Burger Stands.
Now whip out those calendars and write down this date, in pen.
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