Foobooz Burger Cruise Details + Discount Offer

If you follow the Philly foodie scene you are no doubt well aware of Foobooz.  Site proprietor Art Etchells does an incredible job of tracking all of the openings, closings, hot deals and need to know info in and around the Philly restaurant scene.  He was drafted by the folks at First Person Arts to host a “Burger Cruise” on November 3rd and if you are a burger fan you have the rare opportunity to hit up 4 great spots for burgers, beers and conversation.

The restaurants are Good Dog, Barclay Prime, Pub & Kitchen and Noble.  I asked the folks at First Person Arts what you can expect for the price of admission and here is what they said:

…this will be more like a tasting tour—a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  Maybe a slider or two from each place, with a sampling of a few different beers.

If this sounds good to you, buy tickets sooner than later as the trip
is limited to 35 participants. 

In advance: $45 (First Person Arts members) / $50 (general public)
 $50/$55 after 10/25

Buy tickets here

Burgatory readers can take advantage of a discount!!
Get the member price even if you aren't a member by simply
adding "Burgatory" to your last name when you register.   

So if your name is John Smith, type John Smith Burgatory. 
If your name happens to be Meredith Baxter Birney write
your name as Meredith Baxter Birney Burgatory.

Disclosure: I receive no compensation if you buy your ticket
via the above link or by using the discount code.  I do not get
a free ticket to the event for posting this either.

Proceeds support First Person Arts programming.

Filed under: Burger, Burgers & Beer, Philly Burgers

Home Cookin’: The Burger Explosion

More than a little hat tip to the gents over at BBQ Addicts whose invention, the “Bacon Explosion,” was the creative jumping off point for this monstrosity.

No shot of getting this thing in the New York Times, but my concerns (and those of our crew of culinarily curious friends) were in getting this in our bellies.  The idea just seemed like the logical next step and although it took about 3 hours start to finish, it is more than worthwhile trying it out at home for your next get together.  This one is guaranteed to stop people in their tracks.  As always, I will note that I am not a professional chef and though these directions worked for me, they may not work well for you.  This recipe is fairly forgiving so as long as you are certain to cook these beauties all the way through I can see little danger in making a minor misstep (and tons of upside in creating your own variations).

I actually made a Bacon Explosion alongside the Burger Explosion for comparison’s sake.  The recipe for the “Bacon Explosion” which is packed with pork sausage is best picked up at BBQ Addicts, though I will note that I tweaked that recipe a little, swapping out the bbq rub for a home spun mixture of salt, pepper and rosemary.  The rosemary worked out very well.

Burger Explosion (serves 8-10)

1lb 80/20 ground beef

4 slices of white American cheese

9 slices thick cut bacon

3 slices of regular bacon

1 butt of whole grain bread – toasted

1 large egg

2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce

1/3 cup BBQ sauce (any kind will do)

Step 1 – Fry up the 3 slices of regular bacon on a griddle as you would for morning breakfast, when done remove from griddle and pat dry (don’t worry about getting too much grease off, this ain’t health food!)

Step 2 – Take the butt end of the whole grain bread and sop up the rendered bacon fat from the griddle.

Step 3 – Place the bread into a food processor and whir it up for a few seconds to make breadcrumbs (yes, even the breadcrumbs are gonna taste like bacon!).

Step 4 – Put your ground beef, egg, oyster sauce and 3 tablespoons of the bacon-y breadcrumbs into a bowl and mix thoroughly by hand.

Step 5 – Make a 4×5 lattice pattern with the bacon (this may be the most fun part of the recipe)

Filed under: Bacon, Burger, Burger Geek, Burger Recipe, Burgers & Beer, Burgers In The Burbs, Cheeseburger, Family, Hamburger, Home Cookin', Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Recipe, Recipes, Twitter, Where Have You Been My Whole Life?

Home Cookin’: Burger Topping Game Changer

Almost a year ago I gave up watching TV.  With only minor exceptions I have avoided the giant glowing orb in our living room, having instead spent my time in other more high-brow pursuits (like writing a burger blog).  But when I do break down and turn on the tube I tend to gravitate towards the lowest common denominator (i.e. Cheaters).  These forays back into TV land never go well and I always end up redoubling my resolve, having decided that all programs must be this bad (especially since Joey Grecco replaced Tommy Grand as Cheaters host/staff psychologist, but I digress).  After tonight, however, my mind has been changed.

Last week while watching an episode of Man Vs Food (yes, it’s come to this…) I caught a glimpse of a burger whose toppings I have never seen nor imagined.  Toppings that conveniently exist in my refrigerator 365 days a year, but whose combination and placement on ground beef has never even been considered.

Host Adam Richman dropped by Duffy’s Cherry Cricket, winner of Best Burger Bar in Denver (2008), and among the 21 different toppings (and myriad of combinations) we catch a glimpse of what I am calling a “Game Changer” for burgers (at least in our house because I swear I have never seen cream cheese offered as a topping at any burger joint anywhere).

What stared back at me from the screen was a humongous burger topped with a thick slab of cream cheese and a handful of chopped jalapenos.

Oh yes, cream cheese and jalapenos on a burger! Where have you been my whole life?

Cream cheese, like burgatory.com’s reigning best friend bacon, has the innate ability to “make anything better” and in this application is the perfect foil providing a critical antidote to the overbearing hotness of the jalapenos. 

We grilled our burgers inside and once we broke through the seared  crust the cheese commingled with the loose meat, filling pockets of empty space with a blast of dairy to offset the beefiness of our 93/7 grind.  As if that weren’t enough, the cheese hit the trifecta by matching the pillowiness of the Martin’s Potato Rolls.

Denver natives have known about this topping combo for some time and according to the Cherry Cricket’s website, the cream cheese/jalapeno combo is the # 1 burger topping by a whopping margin.  80% of respondents called it their favorite, easily distancing such mundane fare as smoked cheddar and bacon or swiss and mushrooms.  I worked briefly in the Denver metro and have extreme remorse recollecting that the only burgers I ever ate in the Mile High City were from Red Robin.  But I can’t dwell on the past, especially because this one is so easy to recreate.

I’d provide a recipe, but it is too simple to get technical.  Just do what we did and open the fridge, pull out the slab o’ cream cheese buried in there, chop up your jalapenos and when the time is right, apply generously and consider the game changed.

Filed under: Bad TV, Big Burgers, Burger, Burger Recipe, Burgers & Beer, Cheeseburger, Cream Cheese, Denver, Family, Hamburger, Home Cookin', Jalapenos, Man vs Food, Marc Sanders, Martin's Potato Rolls, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Recipe, Recipes, Red Robin, Where Have You Been My Whole Life?

Philadelphia, PA: The Sidecar Bar & Grille’s Sidecar Burger

2201 Christian St
Philadelphia, PA 19146

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I’m cringing at the thought of including that picture…ugh!  On the short list of Philly’s great gastropubs, the Sidecar Bar’s dim lighting is the foil to any food blogger hoping to snap a quick pic of their meal without throwing off a flash (and thus garnering the stares and smirks of other diners). My words may have to hold you over until you can get there in person (and I strongly encourage you to do that).

We hit the Sidecar on a recent dad’s night out for burgers and beer and everything was perfect (1. George Costanza-esque parking spot right out front 2. awesome beer selection 3. truly eclectic and enjoyable background music which took us from 70’s funk to 90’s shoegaze and of course 4. the burgers – billed as half-pound angus beef burgers).

I had the namesake Sidecar Burger which featured my favorite condiment – more meat! In this case, it was some top notch Tasso Ham. Add on a truly tasty Marchand de Vin sauce (described to us by the waiter as brown gravy mixed with a red wine reduction), provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato and this burger, which leans heavily on Cajun/Creole influences (the Tasso & the MdV sauce), hit the spot.

The burger itself was perfectly seasoned, almost as ordered (asked for just a bit below medium – got pretty much medium) and ridiculously huge (I had to cut it in half for decorum purposes).  The Marchand de Vin sauce didn’t hit me at first but the last few bites had been soaking in it for some time and the flavors really popped (wine + butter rarely fails).  The bread sopped up the sauce pretty well too and my mind quickly drifted to thinking about how good the sauce would taste on some leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  But I digress.  Oh yeah, it came with pretty good thick-cut steak fries and a mini salad with cider-dressing, too!

The Sidecar Bar is a neighborhood bar that really seemed welcoming.  Even later in the evening we saw a family with kids sitting down to dinner.  I am certain that the next big burger poll in Philly will feature this place towards the top.

Go check it out for yourself next time you are in “G-Ho”, you won’t be let down!

Recipe for Marchand de Vin sauce (not from The Sidecar Bar, but probably pretty darn close)

The Sidecar ranked #29 on Philly Weekly’s list of Top 50 Bars.

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Big Burgers, Burger, Burgers & Beer, Cheeseburger, Gastropubs, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Philly Burgers, Recipe, Recipes

Ardmore, PA: JR Monaghan’s Pub & Grille “Certified Angus Beef Brand” Cheeseburger

34 W Lancaster Ave
Ardmore, PA 19003
(484) 416-3547

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JR Monaghan’s opened a few months ago to fill a niche in the Main Line dining scene, that of a semi-respectable, family-friendly sports bar.  With tons of TV’s, loads of autographed pictures and beer pitcher specials every night, they’ve gained quite a following (1,2,3).

As for the burger, it was perfectly char-grilled 1/2 lb patty, set on a slightly toasted bun, swathed in two pieces of white American cheese and topped with ketchup, mmmmm.

Oddly listed as “Certified Angus Brand Beef,” the burger was very flavorful and cooked perfectly medium.  This is the second time I have seen the word “Brand” in the description of a burger on a menu recently so I will make the leap that these are produced off-site, under the auspices of some Angus Beef oversight committee – (note: turns out you can trace them back here-> click).  This isn’t a bad thing, but might scare away some burger purists who prefer their patties formed by hand on-site.  So quality control and predictability go up (in this case, the taste was perfect) but the subtleties of shape and personal attention are lost.  I’d be curious if anyone has any thoughts about the idea of “brand” and burgers.

Taste is king though, and this burger was a winner.  Served at lunch with a side of crispy steak fries for $6.99, it is on the bargain end of the scale for an pretty upscale tasting burger.  I’ll be back for sure.

Addl. info: Check out this recipe from the Certified Angus Beef Brand website for something called Dan’s Hot Burger, with habanera peppers, pineapple and bourbon!  Sounds deadly.  (Note: this is not served at Monaghan’s – yet?)

Filed under: Big Burgers, Burger, Burgers & Beer, Burgers In The Burbs, Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Main Line, Marc Sanders, Philly Burgers

Chadds Ford, PA: Jake’s Hamburgers

Jake’s Hamburgers

www.jakeshamburgers.com

16 Wilmington W Chester Pike
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
(610) 358-5810

Was doing some data purging and found this one in the archives…can’t believe I didn’t blog about it because it was a great burger.

This eastern seaboard mini-chain delivers “Hand-pattied, never frozen burgers” in true fast food stlye (grilled and served on squishy buns with basic toppings).   I went truly basic, just lettuce, tomato, fried onions, ketchup and mustard and am happy to report the quality beef flavor shone right through.  Add decent fries and a location half-way between our house and the beer mecca that is Wilmongton, DE’s Total Wine And More and this has the chance to become a frequent habit.

Jake’s has locations in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida and the location we hit in Chadds Ford, PA on the state line between Delaware (tax free and beer by the six-pack) and Pennsylvania (taxes and beer by the case).

Filed under: Burger, Burgers & Beer, Burgers In The Burbs, Fast Food Chains, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Mini Chains, Philly Burgers

Wayne, PA: The Beer Yard and the Troegsburger

Beer Yard

218 E. Lancaster Ave

Wayne, PA 19087

610.688.3431

If you go to The Beer Yard in Wayne, PA looking for a burger, you are out of luck. The mythical Troegsburger has come and gone. Like nomads arriving at an oasis in the desert, the Troegs brothers pulled up yesterday, loaded with beer and burgers and before anyone knew it, they were gone. So, in a sense, reviewing a burger that you cannot get seems cruel, but I’ll go on for the sadists among you.

Word came down via the Beer Yards eNewsletter that the caravan would be arriving Friday for the tasting (beer & burgers) and my mind was made up. First, Troegs beer is ridiculously good. From my favorite brew, the Nugget Nectar (which was the perfect compliment to a burger I recently enjoyed at World Cafe Live) to the Sunshine Pils (which you can get at Phillies games!!), Troegs handcrafts great beer with an emphasis on freshness (which means you might just have to come to PA to try it). This is quality beer made by people who truly care about taste.

The beer alone would have been enough, but the email included a note saying that the Troegs brothers would be bringing burgers, and not just any old burgers. These burgers were made from cows that have grown up eating spent grains from the brewery. Yes, the perfect marriage of great beer and G-d’s greatest food, the burger.  I forgot to ask if the cows received daily massages, which would vault the meat into the realm of Kobe/Waygu, but there was no shortage of great flavor – massages or not.

Tons of people showed up (including Joe Sixpack) for the event and we grabbed a few beers before heading to the burger queue. After a short wait we got our hands on the mythical burgers and…WOW!

Filed under: Burgers & Beer