Yeah, I’m gonna disagree on that one. Using quality burger meat (a custom blend from Flannery is still the best I’ve had, almost regardless of the blends I’ve tried, all have been incredible) makes a HUGE difference. 15%? No way. I can order the finest restaurant burger in town and it won’t even be a fraction as good as a perfectly cooked burger of quality meats. Restaurants typically don’t serve burger meat this pricey, as they are in a for-profit business.
I disagree that the baseline is ‘already high’ now that I’ve tried truly high end hamburger meat.
No, but my burgers don’t taste like steak because I grind the meat. I don’t mean to hold up the double-double as the epitome of all burgers, only pointing out that it, like all the others mentioned/pictured here, is really good.
MEAT: That’s probably the biggest difference between 99.9% of restaurant burgers, and the really special ones like Craigie on Main’s (or a Flannery burger at home).
I remember when I first started playing around with Flannery burgers. I would practice my recipe using fresh ground 80:20 from Wegmans and then move on to the expensive stuff. But I had some Wegmans left over, so I did a side-by-side. Wegmans was like eating cardboard compared to Flannery! No flavor at all. But you don’t really notice that if you are not comparing them. A mediocre burger is better than no burger at all! But there’s definitely more than a 15% difference in my book.
Well, one of the ways to make Steak au Poivre is coating the steak with Dijon mustard to help the pepper adhere. Emeril Lagasse does it this way. When I’ve tried it, I find the Dijon too strong, but I’ve been meaning to go back and try it again with a milder mustard like Schwerter Senfmuehl Adrian.
You will also occasional see a mustard-flavored Sauce Bearnaise served with steak.
The Craigie bar burger, one of the original, now cliched “off menu”, so-called “secret burgers” has appeared on many lists of the best burgers in America. All I can say is that it is the best burger I’ve ever had in a restaurant, and saying it is only 15% better than a burger from Charlie’s Kitchen (a popular student dive in Harvard Square) is like saying…well I can’t even think of a suitable analogy.
Kenji Lopez-Alt, when he lived and worked at Clio in Boston, helped drive its online fame (it also didn’t hurt appearing on the cover of Bon Appetit). They only make 18 a day, and only in the bar of this James Beard Award winning restaurant. Get there and get in line when they open at 5:30PM, because I’ve seen them sell out in 9 minutes flat.
Tony Maws admits he wishes he never invented the damn thing, and at $23, he still loses money on it (but it must be a pretty good loss-leader).
When I first had it years ago, it was only $18 and we thought that was preposterous, until we tried it. It also comes with a sizable plate of sensational Texas fries (the best I’ve ever had), a salad (the acid in the dressing really helps cut the richness of the burger), and a couple of pickled things on the side. Only 18 a day, because the restaurant has to make a profit, and apparently the locally raised, grass-fed beef is only available in limited quantities. Given how much work goes into it, $23 is still a deal IMO. I’ve probably had it approaching 50 times!
Come to Boston and I’ll buy you one (if you buy the wine, they have a really good wine list at Craigie)!
The argument of minimal quality difference between best burgers and the better mass market burgers seems very consistent with the arguments from the ‘no wine is worth paying more than $10/btl’ crowd…bottle of Charles Shaw with that burger please?
Sometimes I want a simple wine. A grand cru Burgundy demands one’s attention. I’m not always interested in giving that level of effort. Same goes for food. Sometimes simpler is what I want. If I’m going to invest a lot in my food, I’m probably going to have steak, not burger. Foie gras too… I’m not saying I never want a flannery burger topped with seared foie but it’s probably not necessary to make me happy. To everything, turn, turn, turn…
cheese on Brioche bun with Bacon, sautéed onion, sautéed mushrooms, avocado, and fried egg . From a restaurant. Assume picture will be turned 90 degrees .
Actually I think it squares perfectly with wine. It’s argued ad-nauseam around here: Is a $1000 wine really 10X better than a $100 wine? There are some REALLY good $100 wines out there. The cost comparison misses the point. There’s no way it’s 10X better, but there may be something unique, different, or a bit “better” about that $1000 bottle that makes the connoisseur with the money willing to go for it. Maybe it’s, dare I say, 15% better? This is the case with connoisseurship in any area - paying increasing amounts for diminishing marginal returns.
Personally, I don’t find burgers worthy of connoiseurship - it’s ground meat. It’s the cheap sh1t. They’re still really good, and the expensive ones generally ARE better. But you’re not going to get me to rave about it - at a local place renowned for their burger, you’re going to have to pass up fantastic dishes like salt cod fritters, octopus, capellini with crab, or smoked duck in favor of…a cheeseburger? Hell no.
Other than cheese going directly on top of the meat (and being melted) stack order doesn’t matter to me. There is even a case for putting lettuce (leaf in particular) under the meat to try and maintain some lower bun consistency- though of course this just means the juices run off differently.
The order only matters when there’s a chance something is going to slip out of the sandwich. Avocado needs to be carefully handled for example. Ideally it should be mashed up on spread on the top or bottom. I hate when a slice squirts out.
Famous burger guru Kenji Lopez-Alt is a proponent of putting the “toppings” under the burger and I’ve started doing that since I’m copying his smash burger recipe. Does that make them “bottomings”?
BTW, there was also an interesting debate about a year ago about where the cheese should go, on the top or on the bottom of burger. Dan Pashman (author of “Eat More Better: How to Make Every Bite More Delicious”) has been a passionate defender of the “cheese on the bottom”, arguing that it improves flavor and prevents bottom bun sogginess. Curiously, this is illustrated in the emojis the different operating systems use.
Google is apparently a believer in bottom cheese too (although how they got it to melt downwards onto the bun raises technical questions).
Not surprisingly, Apple’s burger is the most delicious looking, although they split the toppings (lettuce on the bottom). Rumor is they only use Flannery Beef.
Samsung, as ususal, is completely, utterly f*cked up. Apparently they just throw cold cheese between their lettuce and tomato and call it a day. They actually had to recall their burger emoji lol!
Went to opening night at SOUTHERN PROPER in SoWa, Boston back in March and had among other things a CHEESEBURGER…American cheese (2 slices), pickles, cheese sauce, fried potatoes ($15)
A messy, but tasty burger, particularly if you are into cheese, cheese, and more cheese. I can’t remember ever seeing a second slice of cheese melted on the outside TOP of a bun! Is that a thing??? Apparently so, since the chef is from NC and the restaurant is supposed to be an ode to his childhood (Coke soaked in peanuts anyone?). The fried potatoes were good, but needed some hot sauce and the 2 provided house sauces (“red hot” & “pepper vinegar”) lacked punch and were not that interesting. I would order this again if I wanted to melt into my cheese.
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