So today I go to lunch at Brewbaker's Brewery in downtown Visalia,Ca. I pull up a stool at the bar order my beer (Dopplebock) and asked what was the special called "Australian Open" and as the bartender began to describe what was in on the burger and as soon as he got to the fact that there was on egg on the burger I say "That will do...Lets go with that".
Recently I filled out an application for one of my favorite restaurants in Santa Ana,Ca and one of the questions on the application was asking about my favorite burger and why. So this got me thinking...What makes a good burger?
Double-Double Animal Style
First and for most how do you have your burger cooked? I like my burger medium rare to medium because there is nothing worse then an overcooked burger. If you are out and you order anything over medium you are looking at an overcooked burger, especially if it sits under heat for a few minutes.
I put the question out there "What make a good burger?". David Villalpando for Fist City MX says a good burger is "sirloin, chorizo, bleu cheese, jalapeno and onion rolls oh yeah and bacon!!"
One of my favorite things to do when in LA is hit up the Grill Em All Truck because the truth is they have some of the best burgers around. Not only do you get burgers based on your favorite metal bands but just good damn food. Oh yeah by the way have opened a brick and mortar in Alhambra! Can not wait to visit there real restaurant.
Waste Em All
Well in the end is there a such things as the perfect burger, I don't know because like anything that is good it is subjective. A good burger is only as good as its ingredients. If you use crappy meat, crappy cheese or mediocre then guess what you are going to get a crappy burger.
If you are at home making burgers use the time to experiment, do not just slap meat into a patty and if you are out grow a pair of balls and try something new when it comes to your burger. Trust me it is the best way to go.
So 2012 is winding down and I got to thinking about where I have had the chance to eat, read and watched. So I decided that I would try my best to touch on some interesting things to the last year...Enjoy
Last Christmas I received a copy of Brian and Michael Voltaggio book called Volt.INK and in the spring of 2012 the wife and I went down to Los Angeles to get away for a few days. It was on this trip that we not only had the chance to have lunch at INK.Sack but Mr. Voltaggio took a few minutes out of his schedule to sign my book.
If you get the chance to have lunch at INK.Sack you have to order a bag of Crab Chips with whatever sandwich you get...Trust me this is one of the best things you will ever snack on!
COCHON 555 is 5 chefs, 5 winemakes and 5 heritage breed pigs. This is a multiple city competition. In four years the COCHON Tour has served over 35,000 guests,
harvested more than 1 Billion Media impressions for “heritage breed pigs
& family farms” and featured over 1500 food pioneers supporting a
better food system. When the tour landed in Boston the winner of the Cochon competition was Jamie Bissonnette owner of TORO and COPPA.
July 1st and the state of Claifornia officially banned the sale of Fois Gras courtesy of animal rights organizations like PETA. If you do not know what Fois Gras (fatty duck liver). Foie gras is made from livers that have been plumped up to several times
their normal size through force feeding, a process called gavage. There are California restaurants that finding loopholes to be able to serve it by bringing it in from out of state. What sucks is that restaurants could face up to a $1,000 fine per day.
David Chang (Momofuku) gets his own show on PBS this year called "The Mind Of A Chef". I love this show because is the pages of the magazine "Lucky Peach" were to come to life this is what you would get. Daisy (my youngest daughter) and I will sit and watch this show as often as possible.
For all those who are fans of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" he calls it quits with the Travel Channel but do not fret he has joined CNN for a new show and do not forget the cooking reality show he is doing on ABC.
Here is a couple of stories from the 2012 Eater archives: Gordon Ramsayapplied for the UK trademark for "The Spotted Pig," which is, uh, not his restaurant. It's April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's restaurant in New York. Rumor has it Ramsey will be returning the trademark to it's rightful home. Zagatprinted its 2012 guides to Bay Area restaurants with the name of the city misspelled "San Francsico." A restaurant in Moscow held a caviar eating competition
in which twelve "lucky" souls had to eat a half kilogram of black
caviar worth $70,000 as fast as humanly possible. The prize for winning?
More caviar. And last but not least from the EATER universe Ghostwritingate: New York Times writer Julia Moskin claimed a whole bunch of celebrity chefs used ghostwriters; a whole bunch of cookbook authors (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Bobby Flay, and Rachael Ray) had a problem with it.
Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I got a free pair of kitchen shoes and Chris Cosentino;s book "Beginnings" because not only do I watch to much Top Chef but follow cool people on twitter!!
Well that is it for now....I hope everyone there has a great new years and remember no one eaters better then a fat boy!!
Alright, so here is the deal I love Twitter and Instagram and so I have decided to share with you guys my list of favorite chefs I am following on Instagram. This list is in no particular order.
Chopsticks for nose picking..DOPE
1)Jamie Bissonnette (jamiebiss): I found out about Jamie becuase of a book called Primal Cuts (a must own). Jamie is the chef/owner of Coppa Boston and is an old hardcore kid, so this automatically made me a fan.
Cosentino and Denis Leary
2)Chris Cosentino (offalchris): I consider Chris Cosentino one of the most important "nose-to-tail" chefs in California. If you have not check out his book "Beginnings" you should especially if you are into cooking seasonally
.
3)Michael Voltaggio (mvoltaggio): Owner of LA's INK and INK.SACK and oh yeah he won Top Chef season 6. There is just something cool about the guy. If you can slurge for INK do it. If you can not then you need to go to INK.SACK and have the Crab Cake Chips!
4)Nate Appleman (nappleman): Best New Chef of 2009, James Beard winner and walked away from Pulino's in New York to go work for Chipotle. Yeah you heard me right, Chipotle (which I love by the way)! He left for his son. Anyone willing to give it all up for family is tops in my book.
