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Ripert’s Quest To Build The Perfect Burger

In Food on Jul-28-2008 with
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Stud four-star chef Eric Ripert recently opened a new restaurant in the DC Ritz-Carlton called Westend Bistro. In doing research for how to construct the “perfect” burger he spent some time at chain places like McDonald’s and Burger King and found what he thought was key to their success:

Just looking at the basic burgers at each of these chains—particularly the Big Mac—showed me a couple of very key things: First of all, the burgers are a perfect size. You can grab them in both hands, and they’re never too tall or too wide to hold on to. And the toppings are the perfect size, too—all to scale, including the thickness of the tomatoes, the amount of lettuce, etc. In terms of the actual flavors, they taste okay, but you can count on them to be consistent; you always know what you’re going to get.

The scale of the burger and what is served on it is key. If I am tailgating I don’t mind if I get a great burger where I need a roll of paper towels to eat it as everything moves and slides around.

But if I am having a burger in a suit at the Ritz-Carlton things needs to be in proportion and it needs to be easy to consume. Also, another problem with burgers not in proportion is that things do shift and move around, therefore you don’t get all the desired ingredients with each bite. It takes away from the overall “experience.” Not really acceptable if you are paying twenty bucks for a hamburger.

Ripert’s Quest To Build The Perfect Burger

In Food on Jul-28-2008 with
no comments

Just looking at the basic burgers at each of these chains—particularly the Big Mac—showed me a couple of very key things: First of all, the burgers are a perfect size. You can grab them in both hands, and they’re never too tall or too wide to hold on to. And the toppings are the perfect size, too—all to scale, including the thickness of the tomatoes, the amount of lettuce, etc. In terms of the actual flavors, they taste okay, but you can count on them to be consistent; you always know what you’re going to get.

The scale of the burger and what is served on it is key. If I am tailgating I don’t mind if I get a great burger where I need a roll of paper towels to eat it as everything moves and slides around.

I have to say since I’ve started reading the Dining & Wine section of the NYT regularly I am pretty darn impressed with the type and quality of articles. As a huge sandwich fan I found this article mouth watering to say the least:

One day last year at the Watchung Deli, at the request of a student from a nearby school, Ben Gualano piled mac-and-cheese onto a chicken cutlet sub with barbecue sauce and bacon, squeezed it shut somehow, and the Benny Mac was born … It’s a full-body experience — like a mud bath, but with extra ooze. One taster said afterward, “There was bacon in there?”

I’ll be making one of these this weekend followed by about 15 hours at Gold’s Gym working it off.

An Interview With Anthony Bourdain

In Food, TV on Apr-13-2008 with
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As a serious foodie I’m always on the outlook for new cooking shows, books, recipes, equipment, you name it. I first found Anthony Bourdain years ago and thought he was a total tool, until I read his autobiography, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly. It was quickly clear that underneath his chain smoking, foul mouth TV persona there was an intelligent man that lived to eat and cook (I can respect that).

His two year old show on the Travel Channel, No Reservations has quickly become one of my favorite food shows. The A.V. Club has a nice wide-ranging interview with Anthony. One of my favorite exchanges:

AVC: Have you eaten anything particularly disgusting in the last few episodes you’ve shot for No Reservations? Anything that’s more disgusting than the still-beating heart of a cobra, say?

AB: Well, last season, the Namibian warthog experience was as bad as it’s ever been.

AVC: Was that the anus that you ate?

AB: You know, pick a part. It was all equally full of sand and crap in every mouthful. And it just had this permeating odor of burning reflux.

AVC: You once said that the most disgusting thing you’ve ever eaten was a Chicken McNugget. Do you think the warthog asshole was worse than that?

AB: Given the choice between reliving the warthog experience and eating a McNugget, I’m surely eating the McNugget. But at least I knew what the warthog was. Whereas with the McNugget, I think that’s still an open question. Scientists are still wondering.

Or maybe even better you have this little aside:

AVC: Are you a fan of modern music?

AB: Some. I’m hardly up to date, but there are bands that have been around for the last 10 or 15 years that I really like. Anybody from the last couple of years? No. But I’m a huge Brian Jonestown Massacre fan. I’m glad that the Chili Peppers still have work. Pearl Jam. I love Queens Of The Stone Age, who just did a show with us, Anthony Bourdain’s Holiday Special.

AVC: Was that envisioned as being something like those old Andy Williams holiday specials?

AB: That’s exactly what we were going for. Like with Bing Crosby standing around a cheesy set with fake snow in the background, and suddenly the doorbell rings. “Hey, look. Its my next-door neighbor David Bowie!” And just like that, they’d sing Christmas carols. We wore ugly Christmas sweaters, I cooked a Martha Stewart-style turkey dinner, and [QOTSA] provided a lot of music and performed. When you see those sweaters that they wore—which are truly the most terrifying things I have ever laid eyes on—you know that this is a band with a sense of humor.

More Food Porn

In Food, TV, Video on Apr-7-2008 with
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Food Porn

In Food, TV on Apr-5-2008 with
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The Best Sandwiches in America

In Food on Feb-16-2008 with
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Esquire Magazine has a detailed roundup of some of the best sandwiches in America, including more than a few recipes at the very end of the article. The best I’ve had are a roast beef po’boy at Mother’s in New Orleans and a burger (and of them will do) at Five Guy’s in Alexandria, VA. But the Reuben to the left from Jimmy and Drew’s in Boulder looks awful darn good. Lunch time anybody?

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