Burger Worth by Eric Tanaka, Executive Chef
What’s a burger worth? $5, $10, or $26? Well if you’re at the Minetta Tavern, it’s going to cost you $26. The burger is a prime grind and quite juicy.
But what made it delicious was the onion jam that it is smothered in. The sweetness of the onions contrasted well with the salty beefy flavor of the burger. I’ve had many burgers in my lifetime and this was really good, but when you factor everything in, it wasn’t the best, nor was it the most expensive burger that I’ve ever had. The most expensive was the DB burger which started the whole fine dining burger genre. The best I’m still searching for.
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June 10th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Hudson’s is great to me because it is so simple. In and Out is great because they are excellent, and consistent from one store to the next, in my experience. But for me, even though it was way too big, and it’s in Texas, which I don’t get to much these days, Casino el Camino on Red River in Austin is the best burger I have ever had. I would love to try Boloud’s burger with the black truffle. Was it as good as it looked?
June 10th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
A great burger in my mind is one you grind from scratch and grill on your own, over live fire. I like a 2/3 mix of my namesake, chuck, and 1/3 sirloin, which I grind once, mix, and gently form into small patties, liberally seasoned with salt/pepper just before tossing on the grill, and finish to medium rare. Interesting to read about the onion jam, something I always do with my homemade grilled burgers. I slice sweet onions and saute on low heat covered until soft and then uncovered until fully transparent and carmelized. At the end, I add some balsamic and a pinch of brown sugar and a couple grinds of pepper. However, in the end, it’s all about the bun. It’s hard to find a good small bun, but I usually opt for Essential Baking’s small rolls, which I split, slather with a mix of mayo/butter, then grill. Dished up with the onion jam, a little slice of Beecher’s flagship, and you have a fine burger!
June 11th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Boulud’s burger was great at the time because it was different and good.
June 15th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Chuck, My perfect burger is all chuck hand ground and also lightly formed into a 5.5 oz patty. To me you need the right proportion of meat to bun. I also liberally season the meat with salt qnd pepper and grill it grill it over high heat to rare. I toast my bun usually a Dahlia burger bun over the wood and top with lettuce, 1/2 an avocado and the grilled patty. My favorite bun of all-time was at a vegetarian restaurant called the Melting pot in Hollywood. It was a honey sesame all wheat bun that had a great combination of texture and flavor.