Burger Thoughts - Week of April 15th

I got a great livingsocial deal last week.  So I went to Tony's Market and had them grind me up some fresh beef.  I requested 80% chuck (he used a fatty prime cut), and 20% brisket.  I had to buy 3 pounds since it was a custom order, but no matter.  It was a big, elongated ball of glorious, bright red, mercilessly shredded bovine flesh.  An artist's canvas if I ever saw one.

I had enough money to buy some thick-cut Boar's Head American cheese...a few fresh tomatoes and onions...a head of lettuce...and a Toblerone just to push me over the dollar limit of my coupon.  I don't know much about Toblerones.

Jeff (my burger comrade and confidant) picked us up some burger buns from a local bakery, and my buddy Brent (a self-made chef and flavor guru) concocted a batch of his burger sauce (mustard, mayo, ketchup, paprika, spicy sweet pickles, and caramelized onions -- the proportions are jealously guarded in a recipe vault).

All told, we created some tasty towers of pure American ingenuity.

Pat LaFrieda beef

Pat LaFrieda beef is well known on the east coast, primarily New York City.  Personally, I've never eaten it, but it gets great reviews and is used in well-respected burgers.

Here's the thing.  You can now get Pat LaFrieda beef through US Foods, a nationwide food service that probably delivers food to a ton of restaurants you've been to.  Check out this LINK.

A buddy of mine just tasted it here in Denver.  We were both skeptical since it comes pre-formed and pre-ground.  But, here are my buddy Jeff's thoughts on it:

Okay - 8 oz, pre formed, Pat LaFrieda patty.  He doesn't tell you the fat content (but it was for sure 80/20 or more fat) He doesn't tell you the exact blend... but they said some chuck, some short rib, and then other cuts.

Salted and rubbed with a little oil and then thrown on the grill.  Nice crust b/c of the oil... grilled to a perfect medium rare.

REALLY good flavor, and just the right amount of juiciness. 

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We had these buns that were part hamburger bun part croissant.  It was a little sweet, a little flakey, but the bottom was soft and held up to the moisture.  

On the burger was a melted slice of blue jack, part blue cheese (flavor) and part jack cheese (melt).  chopped raw white onion, thin sliced dill pickles, shredded green leaf lettuce (really nice touch) NO SAUCE...

Overall top 3 burger I have had in 2012

I am not prejudiced...

...against other meat/bun combos.  dinner last night:

Beer Kitchen - Westport, Kansas City

This guest review comes to us from a man who has taught me a lot about meats.  My own dear Pa.  He reviews a spot in Kansas City that I am pumped to try next time I've got a spare meal and I find myself in Missouri...:


One week ago I ate at Beer Kitchen in Westport, MO ... the true artist/hippie part of town. I've been going to Beer Kitchen ever since it opened, but never got their burger. Last week forever changed my inner calibration of how I judge burgers. When the upper limit of the scale gets its roof torn off like a double-wide in a tornado, you know you have to recalibrate. What are the ramifications? Some burgers that languished on the bottom end of the scale fall into oblivion ... but small loss.

Anywho, back to the burger. The burger meat they use comes from a local butcher named McGonigal's; famous for their high quality steaks, smoked meats, etc. But this blend of 3 cuts is different and special. I can't remember all three, but short-ribs is in the mix.

Although The Baron is a stickler for American cheese, I chose a mild Tillamook cheddar (Oregon) for this baby ... and was that a winning combination! Because beauty is in the mouth of the beholder, I also chose raw onion instead of the menu item 'carmelized red onion jam'.

The one down side was the limp, thin piece of fancy lettuce they topped it with. When it's fancy and thin, the heat from the meat wilts it into nothingness.

Besides those items, nothing ... I put nothing else on my burger; no pickles, no mustard, no mayo, no ketchup, no nothing. Why? Here's my whole philosophy: Beer Kitchen makes their own ketchups (3?) from scratch! Instead of saucing up the bun with ketchup and allowing it to soak it up before I get to the last bites, I prefer to put a pool of ketchup on my plate and dip each bite ... preserving the bun AND making certain just the right amount is on each bite.

You know a burger is good with the first bite. You know a burger is great when the last bite makes you moan as loudly as the first. And that's what this burger had going for it. It's as if they put an additive in the meat that never allowed me to become desensitized to the flavor ... bite #1? Incredible ... bite #last? Incredible.

Hands down, the best burger I've had in KC. Prior to Beer Kitchen, Westside Local (near downtown KC) had top spot. I'll go back and review that one in the coming month. 

Guest Reviews and Sundry Items

The last few weeks I have taken to cooking a lot of burgers at home, which has unfortunately cut down on the new reviews. (Budget concerns -- With Mrs. Baron and the two young barons-in-training, the "new burger" budget line occasionally takes a hit to buy actual groceries.)

But, I'd be remiss if I didn't give you a few bullet points about burger-related items that I've been mulling over lately:

• My buddy Brent has been working on a sauce I'd like to try - chopped caramelized onions and spicier pickles are in the mix.  Sounds intriguing.
• I really want to re-visit Park Burger, Lark Burger, and probably Crave.
• Fresh, crisp iceberg lettuce is underrated
• Fat content in burgers is so crucial.  PLEASE don't make burgers at home with less than 80/20 beef.
• I don't want In-n-Out to come to Denver.  It'd ruin the novelty for me.  Like when Krispy Kreme Doughnuts arrived -- so cool for about a month, and now nobody cares.

In light of the fact that I've not got a new review on deck, PLEASE SUBMIT GUEST REVIEWS IF YOU HAVE THEM!  Even a short review with a quick photo or two will delight this blog's 7 regular readers...

In-n-Out

I was in Burbank the last few days at an awesome conference.  No, it wasn't about burgers, but thankfully there was an In-n-Out about a 5 minute walk from the conference.  My friends and I went every day...so that officially allowed me to eat 3 orders of fries, 1 milkshake, 2 Double Doubles, and 1 Three by Three (triple meat, triple cheese) in a 72 hour timespan.  Washed down with Coca-Cola, naturally.

I got in trouble for trying to take a video of their flat-top griddle (who knew?), but otherwise every experience was absolutely glorious.  Flat griddled fresh beef and gooey, thick American cheese that melts together with the perfectly caramelized onions and sticks to the paper wrapping.  Tomatoes and lettuce that burst inside your mouth with California, sun-kissed freshness.  Sponge dough buns that lovingly encase the aforementioned with nimbus cloud-like softness.  Fries that were, moments before consumption, whole potatoes.

I can't even write a full bore review of this place.  I can't even post any pictures.  It's too good, and I'd defile it by saying more or putting pictures on my lowly blog.

If you been, you'll understand.  If you've never been, you'd never had a fast-food style burger.

Crave - Castle Rock

I've been pumped to try Crave down in Castle Rock for some time now.  I've heard good murmurings amongst my burger-loving friends about both their burgers and their shakes.  So yesterday I finally made the 25 minute drive from my house to see what the fuss was about.

Right off the bat, I liked the atmosphere.  It's modern, and their staff all wear orange Crave t-shirts.  Notably, the place was packed on a Friday for lunch.  You are given two menus...one strictly for milkshakes, the other for burgers, sandwiches, and salads.  Keeping in mind that Crave is somewhat known for how crazy some of their burgers are, my buddy Brent and I decided to branch out a bit from a basic cheeseburger.  (Take a look at the pic of the menu below.  Burgers like the Cubano that comes topped with hot dog/pork/egg/chorizo and the Luther whose bun is actually glazed donuts are standouts.)

We decided on Not Your Mama's (tempura battered swiss, parmesan, truffle mayo, and 'shrooms) and the Popper (beer-battered cream cheese, fresh jalepenos, avocado, chipotle mayo, LTO), both ordered to be cooked "pink" and served with basic fries.  Our waitress, who was knowledgeable and excited, was kind enough to bring us about 7 ramekins of various other sauces (gravy, green chili, habanero mayo, etc, etc) to try as well.

First thing you're going to notice at Crave is the combination of flavors.  The chef here (who also owns the Old Stone Church) has given a LOT of thought about these toppings and sauces, most of which are allegedly made from scratch in-house.  Both of our burgers were bursting with flavor, and both were quite sizable.  The Shamrock patties are 6oz, 80/20 chuck, pattied by hand.  The bun is a very tasty white sponge-dough type made by local Aspen Bakery.  Commendably, the buns were soft and squishy but held up quite well under the substantial topping load.

Here's a few highlights:  beer- or tempura-battered cheese is absolutely genius.  Several of the sauces are very tasty (but possibly border on too salty).  The toppings in general are well-paired, creative, and executed well.  Great bun.  Lots of flavors.

Unfortunately, Crave's patty was a bit overcooked (flat top griddle, covered by a pan, lightly pressed once or twice), and it was comprised of very basic food-service meat.   And that's the philosophical watershed:  Crave is really a toppings restaurant.  (And a good one.)  But ultimately, it's not a burger restaurant. (Beyond burgers, the menu is also vast).  The patties just aren't well thought out enough.  Lots of place get both wrong: sub-par meat and buns, sub-par toppings.  Crave definitely gets the toppings right with some creative and tasty offerings.  

A few final points.  We got a chocolate milkshake that was extremely good.  I've got a feeling the shakes, on the whole, are way above average.  Secondly, Crave has a unique "frequent diner" card that says a lot about their owner.  Instead of getting your card punched each time you dine, you only get a card punch if you try a new burger.  And this is probably the greatest indicator of what Crave is all about: it's owned by a guy who is passionate about opening up new flavor vistas for his diners.  And he does a great job.

If I were to've ordered a basic meat-bun-cheese burger, I might've been disappointed.  But having ordered a few creative, flavorful burgers, I left Crave reasonably satisfied.  I'd definitely go back!