Best burger you've ever had

Yes. Worse than Hooters. A thoroughly unenjoyable trip -- every time.

 

Wow. I kind of like the place. But I did notice that they have very little outside of wings and some devil-may-care desserts. Hot boneless wings, beer and big-screen TVs with 10 opening-day games worked for me, but they do need some variety.

 

It's pretty hard to beat the burgers you make at home, especially if you go to a butcher and get it freshly ground. We threw a party once and a friend, who's a bit of a gourmet, said: "You didn't buy this meat at the supermarket, did you?" He could tell.

And it's pretty hard to resist that home-grilled burger if you use quality cheddar and fried onions.

 

Word on the street is the McRib is excellent.

 

I prefer to mix freshly chopped yellow onion (not Vidalia) in the meat then let them cook inside the burger...

 

I tried that, Slappy, but the onion doesn't really cook much. Or do you grill slowly with indirect heat or something? I like when the onion carmelizes into brown glop.

 

If you introduce moisture into the burger, you can leave it on the grill a little longer without it drying out.
Try adding three tablespoons per pound -- I generally use BBQ sauce and some flavor of mustard (Grey Poupon, yellow or brown work well).
You can cook a little longer and by the time the moisture cooks out, the flavor remains in the burger.
It's going to be tough to get it to carmelize into glop, but would be crisp-cooked... of course, you could probably saute them for a head start, then mix the onions and the whole stuff from the pan into the meat, make patties, then (no pun intended) finish on the grill.

 

That's one restaurant doorway that won't be darkened by my shadow again anytime soon. I might even give the nutscratchers at Bullets another chance before I go back into a BWW.

 

You can try the original at Billygoats in Chicago, just to say you did.

Original Joes on Taylor Street in San Francisco. Temporarily closed because of a fire, but worth a checkout. Freshly ground sirloin on a quarter loaf of sourdough with a couple of slices of Swiss cheese. All you need.

In Southern California, Fatburger, a regional chain, is pretty good. Now franchising, I read somewhere.

But the best is the one you do yourself:

Ground beef, 80% lean, mixed with salt, pepper, dried mustard, garlic powder and paprika. Thick and about 5 inches in diameter, grilled medium rare. Cheese, if you like it, and whatever kind you like (try guyerre sometime). Good, big, fresh bun (from a local bakery, not the supermarket), mustard, mayo, catsup, whatever you like; slice of good kosher dill pickle, slice of red onion, slice of just-picked summer tomato. Serve with corn on the cob, Silver Queen if you can get it.

 

Best burger I've had was at this Lawrence, Kan. joint called Jack Flanagan's. I think it doesn't exist anymore, but every Thursday, burgers were half-priced. My buddy and I would go there every Thursday and get a burger, fries and beer for less than $4.

"This is a tasty burger!"

 

you know, king, for the love of god i couldn't get a decent burger in the midwest. not even at the store. never have been able to figure that out.