Category: burger

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burger

Fritzl’s Cheeseburger is the Best Burger

So a lot of people have been saying Fritzl’s is one of the best new burgers. And I thought I had the best burger already at The Grand Bar and Grill. So we went to Fritzl’s and yeah, it is the best burger. I think the meat is just salty enough. There’s some kind of relish and brown oozing sauce. All together, it makes the best burger. Only thing though, it might be a little too rich. Like I felt like I ate a stick of butter afterwards.

I gotta say $9 for the burger. $1 extra for cheese. Add $3 for a side. Definitely worth it, compared to other places if you want the best burger.

The Creamed Collards were just okay. Too grainy and powerdery cheesy for my tastes.

Fritzl’s Lunch Box – 173 Irving Ave (btwn Stanhope St & Stockholm St in Bushwick) Brooklyn, NY 11237

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burger

Biblio’s Burger

Had the burger at Biblio near the Bedford stop. I added a fried egg on it for $2 extra. Nice tasty burger. Although, I’m still trying to figure out how I paid $40 after tax and tip for a burger and two beers.

Biblio – 149 N 6th St (btwn Berry & Bedford) Brooklyn, NY 11211

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burger lunch

Peter Luger’s Lunch Burger

I’ve always heard how good Peter Luger’s burger was. Only thing though is that it’s only served during lunch, which is hard to get to if you work in the city. Also knowing how rare it is that I’d be going to Peter Luger, why not just get the steak? Well, Todd and I took a chance during a snow day and it really did suck trying to get there. Although the bus stop was right across the street from me and the ride ends right near the restaurant, I stepped in a big slush puddle and got totally splashed by car. I guess that’s why we have snow days. Anyway, it made it easy to get a table that day. I think you usually need a reservation.

We both got the Burger $11.95 with cheese ($1.50 extra). Fries and bacon are extra. It was a decent burger, but I was pretty much disappointed …I think from the high expectations I had for it. The Cheeseburger from The Grand I had twice recently is so much better. Anyway, it’s not really that bad. But if you get a chance to go to Peter Luger, yeah, share a big steak. It’s a lot more expensive, but worth it.

I just now noticed that the restaurant is called Peter Luger. I feel like everyone calls it Peter Lugers or Peter Luger’s. Even Johnny Carson called it Peter Lugers.

Peter Luger – 178 Broadway (btw Driggs and Roebling) Brooklyn, NY 11211

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burger

The Breslin’s Lamb Burger

I finally tried The Breslin’s infamous Lamb Burger. It’s pretty good. I’m not sure if it’s worth $21. Maybe $18.

The fries were nice.

The Breslin – 20 W 29th St (between Broadway & 5th Ave) New York, NY 10001

Categories
burger fast food

Tio Wally Eats America: McD’s

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in Le Roy, Illinois.

Greetings from Le Roy, Illinois
N 40° 20.5266’ W 088° 45.6857’ Elev. 774 feet

It’s been an interesting week-plus since the SS Me So Hungry was finally paroled from purgatory.

We’ve been shut down by 60-plus mph winds in Nebraska and snow twice. The first was in Mishawaka, Indiana. Then again at the scenic Delaware Welcome Center Travel Plaza in Newark, Delaware. Eighteen hours and 11 inches of snow later, we learned that the Delaware Newark is pronounced “New Ark” to make damn sure it’s not confused with that quaint Joisey hamlet up the road.

The unusual thing that’s happened, though, is that we’ve eaten at McDonald’s what seems like every day since we left Salt Lake City. This is quite weird because I’m not particularly a fan of Micky Ds.

I’ve written about McDonald’s before, often derogatorily. But I’m not going to do it this time. After all, I liked the Sausage Burrito. I also like the occasional Sausage McMuffin when they’re only a buck.

It all started in Laramie, Wyoming when, having gone in for a $1 Side Salad and coffee — McD’s has pretty good coffee, especially when it’s “any size for $1” — I noticed a poster in the window announcing “Buy One Get One Free” breakfast sandwiches; according to the poster, the “Buy One Get One” special goes through February 6.

I kind of like the Egg McMuffin. How wrong can you go with an egg, a slice of Canadian bacon, and a slice of cheese between a toasted English muffin? Not very, I’d think (unless your name is Jason Lam, when you and your McMuffin fail the audition and they send you packin’). I never have them because, like most of McDonalds’ food, it’s overpriced. But when they’re two-for-one it’s a little more reasonable. So I ordered one (and got two!) the next morning and enjoyed them immensely.

The next day I stopped at Love’s in North Platte, Nebraska, which has a McDonald’s inside. I just wanted to get something in my stomach so I ordered a $1 McDouble. I often ask if they charge extra for Big Mac sauce when I get a McDouble. A few places don’t — the McDonald’s at Love’s in North Platte doesn’t — but many of them charge as much as 50¢. It’s as if the Big Mac sauce is gold-infused and blessed by Martha Stewart or something.

That night I slept at the McDonald’s in Williamsburg, Iowa. It’s a great place to park because not a lot of people know about it, it’s out of the wind and its located right next to the Tanger Outlets where I can pick up the Tanger WiFi from the yacht.

The next morning I went in to get a couple more Egg McMuffins and a $1 coffee. When I went in I asked the guy if they were doing the “Buy One Get One” deal there. He told me that they were only offering it on Egg McMuffins and the truly abominable Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddles. (McGriddles: Yccch! If you haven’t tried one yet: Don’t!) At the other places the offer was for any breakfast sandwich that wasn’t on the Dollar Menu. Whatever. They wanted nearly two bucks for coffee, so I passed on it and skedaddled across the street with my Egg McMuffins, getting coffee (84¢) and a sandwich from Casey’s General Store.

I’m telling you, those Egg McMuffins are pretty good. I’ll never get a handle on McDonalds’ coffee pricing though. I’ve purchased the $2 cups of coffee that cost a buck most everywhere else and I can tell you unequivocally: It’s the same coffee! It’s not that I’m cheap, it’s just the principle.

Next I ended up at McDonald’s in Vineland, New Jersey. I’d gone in for a couple of Side Salads and asked the guy — he turned out to be a manager — if they were offering the breakfast sandwich deal. He didn’t know what I was talking about but said he thought they’d passed out a coupon book recently that may’ve had them in it. He offered to go see if they had any left and, lo and behold, he found one. Nice guy, blue shirt with embroidered Golden Arches, smartly tied tie.

The coupon book included a couple of Buy One Get One Free coupons for Big Macs and Egg McMuffins as well as a host of things you could get free with the purchase of something else. I didn’t know McDonald’s did coupons. Maybe it’s an East Coast thing; on the front of the booklet is “follow us on twitter @McDPhilly”. (By the way, all McDonald’s restaurants will accept any competitor’s coupons, substituting a comparable product. McDonald’s desperately needs your money.)

It turned out there was something else I didn’t know about McDonald’s: The corporate behemoth has the ability to seemingly turn on a dime and create promotions at the drop of a hat, or, more accurately, a cold snap. That would be pretty impressive for a company 1/10th its size.

Along with the introduction of the term Polar Vortex to our lexicon has come a new McDonald’s promotion in Illinois (and possibly elsewhere). The deal is that you can get a second Egg McMuffin or Big Mac for the price of the temperature recorded at noon the day before.

So I went into the McDonald’s in Le Roy and a second Big Mac cost 19¢. Being a certifiable Jerk from Hell™ I took issue with this price. I thought 19¢ was a little steep. It didn’t factor in the wind chill. I know for fact that, had they done so, the second Big Mac would’ve been free.

Having been through Illinois too many times, I know that the wind is always blowing. Of course, if you ask any Illinoisan they will tell you the wind never blows, it’s just that Indiana sucks. While it’s true that Indiana does indeed suck big time, and every weathervane in Illinois is forever pointing a damning “finger’ in the direction of the Hoover, er, Hoosier State, I don’t think it’s possible, thermodynamically speaking. Then again, I’ve been to Indiana enough times that it’s hard to discount the possibility entirely.

The girl at the counter didn’t know if they factored in wind chill. She did helpfully point out that if I thought the price was too high I could come back tomorrow. “It was 9¢ yesterday,” she said. “It’s going to be even less tomorrow for sure.”

I bought the second Big Mac at the grossly inflated price of 19¢. Still, I felt like I was being ripped off. Hell, Big Macs are Two for $4 every day at McDonald’s in Kingman. And that’s in Arizona where it’s warmer!

I find it very baffling that the difference between a McDouble and a Big Mac are rather minor yet they taste completely different. I can get a McDouble with no ketchup or mustard and add Big Mac sauce but it just doesn’t taste like a Big Mac. Yet the only difference is that there is no lettuce and an extra piece of bread stuck in the middle on the McDouble. The only other difference, then, is the bun: the Big Mac is on a sesame seed bun while the McDouble isn’t. Can a quarter-teaspoon of sesame seeds make that much difference? I don’t know.

I do know this though: I’ve been eating way too much McDonald’s. So much, in fact, that I’ve begun calling myself Morgan. Not as in Captain Morgan but, rather, as in Morgan Spurlock. For those who haven’t seen it, Spurlock made the truly nausea-inducing documentary Super Size Me wherein he only ate McDonald’s food for 30 days. I won’t spoil it for you but the result of the diet was less than “pretty.”

And so we roll.

McDonald’s, 300 Sunset Dr., Le Roy, Illinois and over 1 trillion served other locations

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.

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burger fast food

Tio Wally Eats America: In-N-Out Burger

I’m happy to have Tio Wally (long-time Me So Hungry reader) aboard to send in his eating adventures from across America. Here he is in West Valley City, Utah.

Greetings from West Valley City, Utah
N 40° 41.4874’ W 111° 57.4429’ Elev. 4262 feet

In the 1970s and ‘80s the Southern California-based hamburger chain In-N-Out Burger gave away approximately 2.6 gazillion bumper stickers. But the freebie bumper art giveaway came to a screeching halt when, to the shock and horror of In-N-Out Burger’s fundamentalist Christian owners, the burger chain finally figured out why every rapscallion with a razor took such great delight in modifying them, albeit ever so slightly.

The bumper stickers featured the chain’s iconic yellow arrow logo on one side with its “Quality You Can Taste” slogan superimposed over it. Next to it was “IN•N•OUT” stacked above “BURGER”. Rascally SoCal kids wasted no time cutting off the first “B” and last “R” in “BURGER,” altering the message to read: “In•N•Out URGE”.

Presumedly the company — and at least one breathtakingly clueless columnist for a Pasadena-area newspaper — originally interpreted the modest alteration to be quite innocuous, that it meant little more than an “urge to have an In-N-Out Burger.” When the company discovered that the universally accepted meaning was slightly different, however, the hijinks was viewed as nothing short of blasphemy and the bumper sticker giveaway ended in short order. Not a big surprise given the religiosity of In-N-Out’s owners; to this day they discreetly embed references to Bible verses on its packaging.

I seldom eat at In-N-Out Burger. Every time I do I remember why I don’t: They’re not really that special. Don’t get me wrong. They’re good, high-quality burgers but not that good. Indeed, I still think the best burger I’ve ever had on the road came from Mr. Fuel. It was a double cheeseburger, offered as one of its monthly $2.99 (sandwich, chips and 32. oz drink) specials. Then again, maybe I was just extremely hungry. Nevertheless it was memorable burger, which is saying a lot considering I’m not really a burger guy.

In-N-Out Burger has had the same menu since it was founded in Baldwin Park, California in 1948. They offer burgers, French fries, and beverages (sodas, shakes, lemonade, iced tea, milk, and coffee). That’s it. Period. My brother claims that the extremely limited menu is what helps them keep the quality so high. Of course, they also use fresh, quality ingredients and attract quality staff by paying well-over minimum wage.

The chain enjoys an almost cult-like following of rabid, vocal devotees who claim it makes the “Best Burger” and has the “Best Fries”, etc. One recent survey of “Best Burgers in America” listed In-N-Out at #2; Five Guys Burgers and Fries came in at #1. One place where In-N-Out is indisputably #1 is that it was the first drive-thru to use a two-way speaker system. “Welcome to In-N-Out Burger. May I take your order?”

The most popular item at In-N-Out is probably the #1: Double-Double®, Fries and Medium Drink ($6.40 + tax). The cost of this combo always intrigued me. You see, if you ordered all of the items separately it would add up to exactly the same amount. I always order the #1 but substitute a $2.05 shake for the $1.50 soda.

The Double-Double® consists of two meat patties, two slices of American cheese, leaves of iceberg lettuce, and slices of tomato and onion (grilled, if you want), served on a toasted bun dressed with In-N-Out Spread (essentially Thousand Island dressing). It adds up to quite a substantial stack.

The fries are hand-cut, using only fresh Kennebec potatoes. In-N-Out used to make great hay of the fact they used only Kennebec taters. Now they only flog the fact that they use fresh potatoes. I suspect the reason for this subtle change is that it raised too many questions from unnecessarily quizzical customers, you know, Jerks-from-Hell™ like me: “What’s a Kennebec? What makes it different? What kind of potato does McDonalds use? Would these be considered ‘health food’ fries? Can I substitute onion rings?” Such unwanted questions definitely slow down the line. I know this firsthand because I’ve done it, a few times. And In-N-Outs are extremely busy, high-volume places.

But are the fries good? Yeah, they’re okay, especially if you get a couple of packages of In-N-Out Burger Spread to dip them in. But I’m not really a french fry guy.

The shakes on the other hand are, I think, pretty damn special. Although the strawberry ones are delicious, I usually get a chocolate; they also have vanilla. The big boast In-N-Out makes about its shakes is that they use 100% Real Ice Cream. But there’s something different about the chocolate ones. They taste sort of malty. And they’re thick and wicked good. I always blow it when I do the substitution, though. You can get a larger size shake; I suspect they will just charge you the 55¢ difference. But I always forget, resulting in another “D’oh!” moment every time.

I learned something new about In-N-Out Burger while writing this, something that I was aware of but didn’t know all the ins-and-outs of until now. I’ve known for years that In-N-Out has a Not-So-Secret Menu: they’ll chop and/or grill onions; make an Atkins Diet-friendly Protein® Style burger where they wrap the burger in a leaf of lettuce instead of a bun; make a 3×3 or 4×4 (three and four hamburger patties, respectively), etc. My big discovery — made too late, of course — is that In-N-Out makes Animal® Style burgers and fries.

The Animal® Style burger is described on the In-N-Out website as a “burger of your choice with hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, a mustard cooked beef patty; add pickle, extra spread with grilled onions.” Lest you missed it, it’s a MUSTARD COOKED BEEF PATTY! That sounds great!! But why am I just learning about this now? Where have I been?

Perhaps I just don’t speak to enough In-N-Out Dweebs (I think that’s what In-N-Out Burger zealots are known as) who know all the ins-and-outs of In-N-Out. Maybe I just need to get out more. I guess I’ll now have to put Animal® Style Double-Double® on my list of things to remember to order — along with a larger shake — next time I visit an In-N-Out Burger.

And so we roll.

In-N-Out Burger, 3715 South Constitution Blvd., West Valley City, Utah
and 289 other locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Utah.

Tio Wally pilots the 75-foot, 40-ton(max) land yacht SS Me So Hungry. He reports on road food from around the country whenever parking and InterTube connections permit.

Categories
burger

Sweetwater’s Lamb Burger

I remember going to Sweetwater in Williamsburg years ago and thought it was really good. I don’t remember what I ate, but it was really good. I tried the Lamb Burger this time. It was good with the creamy Tzatziki sauce on top. Maybe not as good as the thing I ate last time. I wish I remembered what it was.

Sweetwater – 105 N 6th St (btwn Wythe Ave & Berry St) Brooklyn, NY 11211

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burger

The Grand’s Cheeseburger – One of the best burgers!

This is seriously one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. Perfect amount of saltiness and the cheese was like fondue. Fries were good too.

Cheeseburger $15 -short rib and brisket blend, aged white cheddar, caper mayo, sesame seed roll, handcut fries or field greens.

The Grand Bar and Grill – 647 Grand St (btwn Manhattan Ave & Leonard) Brooklyn, NY 11211