Burger Meisters
If you've read this week's cover story about the Great Burger Challenge, you know that the editorial staff at 210 12th Ave. S. is still recovering from devouring 16 burgers in search of the city's finest chopped steak sandwich. We found a hands-down winner at PM (2017 Belmont Blvd.), where Arnold Myint packs a burger with onions sauteed in butter, then bastes it on the grill with a mixture of garlic, Thai chili sauce and pineapple juice and loads it onto a multigrain bun from Provence, slathered with wasabi mayo. Having now tasted that burger no fewer than half-a-dozen times in the past few weeks, all in the name of research (i.e. our meals could be expensed), we stand by our choice. The PM burger is a superstar.
Honorable mention goes to The Edgefield, Radius10 and Five Guys, who also took home top honors.
Twelve other burgers made it into the running, including Bobbie's Dairy Dip, 12 South Taproom, Ombi, Rotier's, Brown's Diner, Red Robin, The Palm, Capitol Grille, Cheeseburger Charley's, Whole Foods Market and Fat Mo's. We even tried a Hardee's Thickburger for good measure.
But, alas, even our intrepid colons have limitations, and we could not try every burger in town. For example, neither McCabe Pub nor J. Alexander's was nominated for the initial round of 16.
Over at 360 Bistro, chef John Crow recently introduced a burger (available only on weekends) of Kobe beef stuffed with foie gras, duck confit and black truffles and served on a buttered bun with tarragon aioli, preserved tomatoes, arugula and goat cheese. We haven't tried it yet, but we've seen people eating it, and...well, they looked really happy. (Of course, maybe they didn't yet know the burger cost $30, with a side of truffled parmesan fries.)
We're keeping a running list of burgers, in the event that we ever feel like eating another burger again. It will probably be a while, but when it's time for the Great Burger Challenge: The Sequel, what other contenders should we include?
Comments
Believe it or not, Blackstone's buffalo burger is up there in my book with anyone's regular burger in town, and being buffalo you've got just a fraction of the fat guilt to swallow with it. Personal preference: blackened with bacon and bleu cheese crumbles. Yum. I know, so much for the lessened fat guilt. (and it is NOTHING like the all too beefy-blah tasting overworked buffalo burger served at Turner Ted's Montana Grill.)
as for the competition, you're asking a lot of any burger to be at its best after a ride in a sack or a box, and as judges you're now eating something that is changed from what the general public would get when eating 'in'. Chug some red wine for blood cleansing, and do it again the right way, one at a time, in their own homes. Then get back to us.
Posted 05/06/2008 at 01:28:28 PMSportman's Grill. The bacon cheeseburger is amazing. seriously.
Posted 05/06/2008 at 01:36:22 PMisnt the 360 burger the same as the db burger from Daniel Boulud's bistro
Posted 05/06/2008 at 02:47:06 PMBoulud's burger has short ribs in it.
Posted 05/07/2008 at 09:39:50 AMAnd he uses sirloin, not kobe beef.
And there are no signs of "tarragon aioli, preserved tomatoes, arugula and goat cheese."
I haven't had the 360 burger, but I'll be there this weekend.
Posted 05/07/2008 at 10:54:51 AMChug some red wine for blood cleansing, and do it again the right way, one at a time, in their own homes. Then get back to us.
I don't know. For a burger to survive that handicap, it had to be something pretty special in the first place. The mediocre ones I tasted were mediocre (or worse) when I'd had them at the point of origin.
Nice try there on the knee-capping, Anonymous.
Posted 05/07/2008 at 12:14:54 PMwhat the fuck is with "anonymous" comments?
i mean really, are people that concerned with a FOOD opinion that they can't use their REAL name?
pussies
Posted 05/07/2008 at 06:30:12 PMYeah, they should give their full names, like Mr. Pink, ebw, and Mark did.
Christ, are you a twelve year old? Welcome to the internet. First time here?
Posted 05/07/2008 at 11:24:56 PMnearly 47, thank you very much...
i believe we all know mr. pink, and even if you don't - the commenters with any credibility post with a name by which they are recognized - or will be.
yes, i'm pretty familiar with the internet. but like with anywhere, you just can't seem to keep out the dregs...
i'm of the camp where if you throw out a comment and remain anonymous, you have no cred. you're just a shit slinger with no spine.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 06:41:46 AMIs there any place in town to get a green chile cheeseburger? I think that one could go far in a rematch...
Posted 05/08/2008 at 08:15:33 AMMe = shit slinger with no spine.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 09:44:25 AMnot my gnomey baby...
Posted 05/08/2008 at 06:22:37 PMI went to PM last night to try the burger, and was seriously underwhelmed. The acutal meat was tender and juicy, but the wasabi mayo was lacking flavor, the tomato was pink and grainy, the onions were minimal and undercooked (for being carmalzied) and the bun was stale.
Here's the good news: Everything else was great! Had some sushi and dumplings and a wrap - very delicious. Also, the service was stellar.
I would be willing to give it a try again.
Posted 05/09/2008 at 09:41:19 AMI was worried that demand might affect the quality. A day after the story hit, a friend went to PM late that Friday night, and the place was packed with people ordering hamburgers.
I used to josh Kay that every time she praised a place I liked, it meant I couldn't go for at least a month. I can't count the number of times I'd go someplace and find the staff struggling to meet a deluge of customers, even ducking out to the grocery for supplies. I called it a "Kay-O."
Posted 05/09/2008 at 10:17:36 AMI tried to make a PM burger this weekend. I bought all the ingredients, at least as I imagined them from Arnold's description. The end result was a burger that was very tender and juicy, but I definitely did not get the killer combo of sweet and spicy.
Posted 05/09/2008 at 10:29:52 AMAlas, it IS difficult to get that "big-dicked beef flavor" at home... ;P
Posted 05/09/2008 at 01:32:29 PMNot at my home, pal.
Posted 05/09/2008 at 02:08:17 PMTMI, Mr. Pink, TMI... ;P
Posted 05/09/2008 at 02:20:59 PM