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Thursday, January 25, 2007

Make Mine a Double-

Yesterday's post apparently left the impression that I was casting asparagus on that all-American food -the hamburger.

Nothing is further from the truth. I love hamburgers. It's McBurgerBlisters psuedo-burgers I dislike.

There's no more perfect food than a well-cooked hamburger. Lately we've been buying Buffalo burgers at Trader Joes and grilling them (outdoors in summer, indoors on the grill attachment on our stove in winter). I was introduced to buffalo burgers on a trip to Zion canyon a few years ago- just before the tunnel through the mountain to the canyon there's a buffalo burger stand. When we first stopped there, probably 2000 or 2001, it was just a shack behind a run-down barn, but man, oh man, were the burgers good, especially washed down with a draft beer or two. And the buffalo they came from were grazing a field over. As we sat there a thunderstorm went through, and afterwards we saw a triple-rainbow.

I was hooked.

When we went back last year the stand had upscaled, the burgers were not quite as good, and the National Park folks had leaned on them to stop serving beer, given the cliff-side hairpin turns with 1000-foot drops drivers were going to have to negotiate on the other side of the tunnel.

Wieners.

But buffalo burgers are still my favorite. There's a bar & grill down the street here in Hatfield called The Smithsonian where they serve the world's best fries, and a really great hamburger. All you really need are good meat, good toppings and a good bun.

But you'll find none of those at McBurgerBlitzer. Last time I ate there I almost spit it out; I'd forgotten how tasteless they really were. Damn, now I'm hungry. What time does The Smithsonian close?

8 comments:

Mike said...

There's a bar in Park City Utah that serves the best Buffalo burgers ever. I can't remember the name of the place, but hell this is still in Utah, so there won't be that many bars to work your way through.

Forrest Proper said...

Mike- Damn. Buffalo burgers are the best, but no burger is complete without a cold beer or two to wash it down.

Phoebe Fay said...

Dayum. I hardly ever eat red meat these days, and yet you've got my mouth watering.

And buffalo, that's good meat. Cows used to be good meat before they started... wait, I don't want to spoil your appetite by talking about nasty stuff.

So, buffalo burgers with a nice cold beer. Mmmmmm.

Catalyst said...

Back in the days when I was drinking, heavily, a buddy and I had a sure cure for a hangover. A cool, dark bar. We'd go to Harvey's or John's Wineburger in Phoenix, belt down an amazing number of cold ones, play B.B. King on the jukebox, eight ball on the pool table and tie into one of the great big greasy cheeseburgers. They were done on a metal sheet grill heated by fire and spritzed with red wine while cooking. Oooooohhhhh, baby! (And I mean that in a good way.)

jgodsey said...

i can't think of anything that would make me loose my lunch more than paris hilton.

i'm not a 'burger' girl, but when i do make em, i use ground chicken spiced up with just cheese. yummy.

Forrest Proper said...

Phoebe- yeah, the cows they use are a big part of the problem- corn fed, not grass fed.

Catalyst- that's a great story, and I'll have to remember the red wine spritz thing, though I don't think I'll do it in front of the local farmers...

Gods- oh, [innocently] is that who that is? Chicken burgers are good too, but for me it's just not the same.

Joey Polanski said...

I got some buffalo meat fer Christmas. I used it t make chili. Dangd stuff disappeard! Its got a unusual (lack of) texture.

Im eagr t try it in a burgr.

Forrest Proper said...

Joey- interesting, I've never tried it in chili. Of course, Mike is the chili expert...