burgatory

2300 miles from an In-N-Out, 509 miles from a Krystal's, it's like being in burgatory

Home Cookin’: The Chinese Takeout Burger Topped With Sriracha Ketchup

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As the days get shorter and the air a bit crisper up here in PA, the odds of foregoing preparing a home cooked dinner and ordering Chinese takeout instead have increased.  This quick recipe came about the day after a recent takeout night and we resurrected it this evening for dinner with some friends.  It is a dead simple recipe which produces a quirky take on familiar fare and, when combined with Sriracha Ketchup, makes for a darn good burger.

The taste?  Take everything you love about bacon on a burger and then sugar that up about 200%. By itself, honey boneless spareribs may be the most addictive item on any Chinese menu (and easily account for 2/3 of my repenting on Yom Kippur)  and as served here (chopped up and mingled with high quality beef) it follows along the lines of the trend led by so many “name chefs” adding different cuts of meats into their burgers (not just on them).  The spicy ketchup cuts down the sweetness a bit and provides a tease of heat to take this burger to the next level.

Recipe:

Rough #’s here, but any combination of these ingredients will produce more than passable results.

1 lb. ground beef (we used “all-natural” Hillacres Pride beef purchased at our local farmer’s market)
1/4 lb honey boneless spareribs  from Pak Yue (which is a fun name to say but always sounds confrontational when they answer the phone)
2 tablespoons of Oyster Sauce

Dice the pork into very small slivers then combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix lightly but well and then form patties (we made slider sized burgers).  As mentioned earlier on this blog, and ripped from the pages of John Torode’s book “Beef and other bovine matters,” when using the oyster sauce you can omit salt from the recipe.  The oyster sauce provides you with the tang you are looking for and keeps the burgers incredibly moist.

Siracha-Ketchup

3 parts ketchup
1 part Sriracha

As shown cooked on the gas grille and served on Martin’s Whole Wheat Potato Rolls.

Filed under: Burger, Burger Geek, Burger Recipe, Chinese Takeout, Family, Grass-Fed, Hamburger, Healthy, Marc Sanders, Martin's Potato Rolls, Meat in Meat, Organic, Recipe, Recipes, Sliders, Weird Burgers

Ithaca, NY: Louie’s Lunch’s Bo Burger

louieslunch

500 Thurston Ave
Ithaca, NY 14850-2434
(607) 257-4649

You’d probably be excused for confusing Louie’s Lunch with Louis’ Lunch, the venerable Connecticut restaurant which claims to be the birthplace of the hamburger. Both have Ivy League links (Louis’ Lunch is in New Haven, home of Yale, while Louie’s Lunch sits on the north campus of Cornell in Ithaca, NY), both are mobile (Louis’s moved four times before settling into its current location and Louie’s has four wheels and thus can move at any moment – though there are a bunch of wires to unhook from the light pole and something that looks curiously like coax cable) and oh yeah, both serve darn nice, lo-fi burgers.

With lineage dating back to 1918, the current Louie’s Lunch truck sets up shop seven days a week to satiate the late night cravings of our country’s future doctors, lawyers, jock-rockers (Huey Lewis) and surgeon generals (oh yeah I’m talking about you C. Everett Koop).  Until 3 am (except Sunday nights when they retire at the modest hour of midnight) students in various states of stress and/or inebriation can hit up this mobile c-store for cold drinks, hot coffee, energy shots, candy bars and of course – burgers.

Back in college at the much less educationally challenging (though no less hilly) Mansfield University, I discovered the Bo Burger, a griddled hamburger topped with cheese and a fried egg. To this day, no single dish has screamed “college” to me as much as this combination which I used to enjoy at the local truck stop affectionately known as Greasy Eddie’s, and so when I saw the Bo Burger listing on the starboard side menu of the truck I jumped at the chance to reminisce about my own college years.

louiesburgerLouie’s version featured about 1/4 lb of griddled beef, resting on some white American cheese and topped with a nicely cooked egg.  Health departments be damned for their insistence that eggs cannot be runny, but kudos to the flat-top chef who brought this oeuf in just on the cooked through side, avoiding that rubbery, overcooked state.  The Bo Burgers of my youth were served on squishy white buns, but this being Ithaca (home of Moosewood and macrobiotic jerky) my Bo was served on a whole grain bun flecked with oats…a bit odd, but good; almost allowing me to dream for a second that this burger was kissed by Mother Earth herself and thus filled with only healthful vitamins and minerals (reality check – it is in actuality a glorious greasebomb of a burger!).

Served with a smile by an actual Cornell student, I give this burger high marks for both quality and history.  For years I have been fascinated by the idea of making decent burgers in a food truck and as mentioned on this site before, my own bucket list includes opening a mobile burger shop called “Burgatory” (ideally parked on City Ave in Philadelphia half-way between the Catholic Seminary and the Hebrew Yeshiva).  Louie’s provides further proof that good burgers can come from just about anywhere and thousands of Cornell grads no doubt have fond memories of placing their own late-night orders at Louie’s window.

The Louie’s folks have done a great job of cataloging their own history on their web site.  For more details on the various iterations of the lunch truck and pictures of through the years, click here.

This is the first of a four part series ingeniously titled “Burgers I Ate While In The Finger Lakes Region A Few Weeks Ago.”  Future installments will include entries from a winery, a creamery and the epicenter of the gourmet vegetarian movement.  Stay tuned.

Filed under: Bo Burger, Burger Geek, Burgers I Ate While In The Finger Lakes Region A Few Weeks Ago, Cornell, Hamburger, Hamburger Vacation 2009, Ithaca, Marc Sanders, Mobile Food Truck, Real Retro, Upstate New York

Home Cookin’: The Mar-A-Lago Turkey Burger

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To put it lightly, I am not a fan of Oprah and as such I had an immediate prejudice against this recipe when my lovely wife mentioned she was going to prepare some for me to grill for dinner the other night.  Not sure of the complete back story on this…apparently Oprah ate this burger at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort, begged for the recipe for herself and then shared it with her TV audience.

Recipe here via Oprah.com (ugh!)

The best part of this burger might be the use of the mango chutney.  Clearly not a common burger ingredient, it keeps the burger juicy (which is often an issue when cooking a turkey burger and relying on your mom’s advice about cooking turkey until it is done aka completely dried out) without imparting too much fruity flavor.  The apples and scallions are nice touches, too.

Additional notes: Finally got the BBQ up to a high enough temp to land some grill marks on the burgers – a geeky thing that fills me with pride…Potato rolls are the bacon of the baked goods industry, they just make everything taste better…Pull back on the salt a bit, you aren’t going to draw out any beefy flavor by loading up the sodium so you might use this as an opportunity to back off…Bought the corn at Root’s Market the other day, which is a completely chaotic Amish/Farmer’s market nowhere near where you or I live (which is a shame)…For those that know me personally, the addition of a mini-van to our driveway and now my reviewing a recipe promoted by Oprah means that yes, I have officially given up. The old Marc was a lot of fun – remember the good times and pour one out for me.

Filed under: Burger, Burger Recipe, Chutney, Family, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Martin's Potato Rolls, Oprah, Recipe, Recipes, Root's Market, Trump, Turkey Burger, Wait a second did he just say Oprah?

Bonus Footage: Dissecting Picahna Grill Lanchonete’s X-Tudo Hamburger

Picture 5Now you can try to authentically recreate this baby at home.  Still no sign of the mysterious 11th ingredient (only available in Portuguese).  Enjoy!

Filed under: Brazilian Burgers, Burger, Burger Dissection, Cheeseburger, Fried Ham, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Philly Burgers

Philadelphia, PA: Picanha Grill Lanchonete’s X-Tudo Hamburger

DSC_0009Picanha Grill Lanchonete (yes, that is spelled correctly)
7638 Castor Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19152-3623
(215) 745-5555

The best new burger in Philadelphia is an absolute mess!  An ungodly train wreck of ingredients served to you in a location devoid of glitz, glamor, panache or any of the other adjectives our beloved city’s slew of worthy new burger joints can lay claim to.  It is primal, carnal, evil and glorious.  It is more Ronaldo than Ronald.  It is 5 inches tall and a hemisphere of flavor wide.  It is the reason I may never have to venture into Newark, NJ again.

I present to you the X-Tudo Hamburger-

Hubcap-sized sesame seeded roll – check
Beefy grilled patty – check
Gooey mozzarella cheese – check
Perfectly fried egg – check
Leafy green lettuce – check
Fire-engine red tomato – check
Fried slices of boiled ham – check
Crunchy potato sticks – check
Juicy corn niblets – check
Blasts of mayo and ketchup for good measure – check and check

Game-Set- Match, checkmate, “you sank my battleship“, Yahtzee! and “boom goes the dynamite (as uttered by Cleveland Brown)” all wrapped up in wax paper and delivered piping hot on a plate.

I was first introduced to the concept of Brazilian hamburgers by Jason Perlow’s review of Hamburgao in Newark on his pioneering food/tech site offthebroiler.  After that, and thanks to the coincidence of some of my work locations being in that neck of the woods, I trekked to the Ironbound to get my hands on a Cheese Egg as often as possible.  And whenever possible I dragged others, first my wife and daughter and then later my boss and some work colleagues.  The Brazilian version of a hamburger just rewrites the rules and is guaranteed to be a memorable experience (even if it were bad – and they have never been – it would be memorable for so many reasons including the atmosphere, the language and the ubiquitous pastries).  Now to find a location so close to home serving these gems…needless to say I’m a happy happy guy.

DSC_0010The Picanha Grill Lanchonete is the sister restaurant to Picanha Brazilian Grill, which sits further south on Castor Ave towards Oxford Circle and offers all-you-can-eat rodizio style dining.  In fact, the Lanchonete will be moving next door to the grill later this year, which is good news for anyone visiting from the City or the ‘burbs because it makes the trip about 10 minutes shorter (just off the Roosevelt Boulevard).  It features a long bar with high chairs for eating while watching Brazilian daytime TV and a row of tables for more refined noshing.  In the barren wasteland that is this strip of Castor Ave, the inside of this joint yearns for a hipness above what is both expected and probably attainable considering the rivers of asphalt just steps from any seat in the place.

The menu features several different variations on the kitchen sink theme, with your choice of hamburgers, chicken or hot dogs buried underneath.  Even if this wasn’t a burger blog I’d insist that this be your point of entry to the cuisine as, in my opinion, it provides the perfect foundation (both in shape and taste) for the bevy of toppings which run the gamut from the mundane (lettuce) and mandatory (bacon) to the ridiculous (bananas) and sublime (yes, potato sticks belong on your sandwich!).

My Portuguese is negligible, despite a short period of time living in Rhode Island (where have you gone Vinny Pazienza?), so I am still a bit lost as to how the description of my burger on the bi-lingual menu has more ingredients in Portuguese than English?  (11 items in Portuguese and 10 in English).  I’m jut going to assume the real secret to the deliciousness of this concoction is that magical 11th ingredient which us estrangeiro’s are forbidden to possess (like bikes in the United Arab Emirates  or  that Goethe quote about “…what we cannot understand”).

Eating this burger gracefully is impossible.  Even after cutting it in half (a tactic both to increase one’s ability to grip the darn thing and to cause me to pause long enough to weigh the downside of consuming the whole thing in one sitting) didn’t render it manageable.  An ample supply of napkins were key as were the polite pauses in conversation offered by the server who told me about his family in Sao Paolo and his impressions of Philadelphia after having only been here a short time.

In a year where so many great burger joints have opened in the City, the arrival of Picanha Gill Lanchonete has gone completely unheralded.  Nary a tweet, yelp or peep from a chowhound has tipped off the masses to this joint, and that is a shame.  I hope you’ll stray from your comfort zone at least once to test this place out (or their new location when it opens) because your perception of what makes a great burger will be changed forever.

Additional thoughts…Fries With That Shake’s friend girlscantell needs to diagram this thing for her next set of placemats….the roll at Hamburgao in Newark is a bit different and much better, but it is about an hour and a half away and will set you back $20 in tolls to get there so I am willing to forgive…I was in the area for business and to test out the kosher burger at Holy Land Grill (located just a few doors down).  Not sure if I will ever actually make it there…yes, it is called a hamburger but it has cheese on it, I think cheese is just a given.

Filed under: Big Burgers, Brazilian Burgers, Burger, Burger Perfection, Cheeseburger, Fried Ham, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Newark, Weird Burgers, Where Have You Been My Whole Life?

Kansas City, MO: Blanc Burgers + Bottle’s Classic and Au Poivre Burgers

Editors note:  I am honored to present the first guest post ever here on burgatory.com.  Penned by good friend and world-class BBQer, baker, chef and eater, Jim Caccamo, this post is guaranteed to make your mouth water and have you running to a map to figure out exactly where Missouri is (we know it’s there somewhere – in the middle, right?).  Look for Jim’s own blog about Technology & Ethics kicking off later this fall.

blanc classic

419 Westport Rd
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 931-6200

Beef In a Pork Town

I’ve spent the past twenty years living in beef towns. Chicago, with its Vienna Beef dogs, and Philadelphia, with its devotion to the Cheese Steak, certainly have their charms. But I grew up in the land of bar-b-que–Kansas City, Missouri. Now, I don’t know much about my new home here on the east coast, but what I do know is that few people from Philly know much about my home town. For most people around here, KC is one of those generic places in the thousand mile “flyover zone” between here and the west coast. If people have a sense of it, they think of it as a cow town.

Of course, it’s not a cow town. When I was growing up, it had a population of more than 2.5 million people. The stockyards had long given way to 4 professional sports teams, ballet, opera, and world class art museums. That, and we ate pork, not beef. Bar-b-que, to be specific. There were some good burger places, no doubt. Winstead’s made thin, melt in your mouth burgers. Town Topic did the perfect all-night-diner burger. But Kansas City was a bar-b-que town, with pork ribs at the top of the luscious hickory-smoked, mopped, and rubbed heap.

Today, the city’s food landscape has changed. Don’t get me wrong, bar-b-que is still king. But the city has undergone a dining-out revolution, and now there is a veritable royal family of great restaurants that serve excellent contemporary American cuisine, local favorites, and foods from around the world.

Into this mix comes Blanc Burgers + Bottles, a burger place in the Westport neighborhood that opened in 2006. Blanc is an independent boutique-burger restaurant that focuses on quality. Their menu is trim, focusing on burgers, fries, and beers. The beer selection is great, with a variety that is balanced between local, national, and international microbrews. They do a few appetizers and some great “adult” milkshakes (see later).

But the focus here is the burger. Their beef burgers are half-pounders made from a custom blend of tenderloin, ribeye and NY strip steak. They are going for the taste jugular. The buns are baked daily at a local bakery. They make their own pickles. They do hand cut fries and sweet potato fries, and local brew Boulevard Pale Ale battered onion rings. To top the fries, they make their own ketchup, whole grain mustard, and chipotle aioli, all of which are vibrant and flavorful. They do offer bison, pork, turkey, mahi mahi, and lentil burgers, but I didn’t try them, so I can’t help you there.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Big Burgers, Burger, Burger Geek, Burgers & Booze, Expert Opinions, Gastropubs, Guest post, Hamburger, Kansas City

Scranton, PA: Coney Island Lunch’s Texas Hamburger

burgerdog

Coney Island Lunch

515 Lackawanna Ave
Scranton, PA 18503-2007

(570) 961-9004

* approximate timesO

texas-wiener.com

I am thoroughly convinced that places like Coney Island Lunch exist in every town, except the ones I have lived in. It is some sort of bizarre Murphy’s Law hybrid that (mercifully) keeps me from eating like this every day of my life (which would no doubt be shortened by easier access to food like this).  Stereotypically retro, with bustling counter service, a handful of booths, limited menu options and friendly staff, luncheonettes like Coney were a dime a dozen just a few decades ago but are sadly a dying breed in the continued “chaining” of our country.

One of my favorite artists and food bloggers, Hawk Krall, just posted a story about another Coney Island in PA, and a quick Google search reveals a “Coney Island Lunch” spot in just about every nook and cranny of the Keystone State, including the bustling hubs of Erie, Shamokin and Johnstown (where I have personally enjoyed their legendary “Sundowner” – a cheeseburger with chopped onions, “Coney Island” chili sauce, mustard and a fried egg). The Scranton version has been around since 1923 when Steve Karampalis, newly arrived from Greece, started serving hot dogs and burgers to the factory workers and railroad men in this bustling industrial hub.

Truth be told (and man it seems to get murky), this Coney Island Lunch isn’t the same one that Scrantonites would have visited back in the 20’s. The joint we popped into on a recent sunny Sunday opened in 1988. This location, across from the “Mall At Steamtown,” claims direct lineage to the original owner (their grandfather was Steve Karampalis) and the original location a few blocks away – where, coincidentally, you will find a similar restaurant named Coney Island Texas Lunch, which recently reopened after a devastating fire (arson suspected). There seems to be a bit of a turf war in the Electric City over the true “original” and at the risk of adding fuel to that fire, I’m gonna have to side with the folks at the new location (Lackawana Ave) as I’d consider the direct family link the lynchpin in making a decision on who can rightfully claim to be the original.

gravyfriesThe first thing that arrived at our table was this heaping serving of gravy fries. They could not have been cooked any better, perfectly crisp on the outside and airy inside, these slightly smaller than steak-fry sized spuds were made all the more incredible by the addition of brown (beef) gravy. Toss on some cheese curds and we’d have poutine, but this is Scranton so none of that French stuff here. To me, gravy fries are the classic diner food staple. I can remember many a post little league game meal with my dad at the now dismantled Vale-Rio Diner in Phoenixville, PA where ordering a bowl of gravy fries was de riguer (there’s that French stuff again, note to self: limit the amount of Fancy Nancy books I read to our 3 year old daughter). Back to the program, the gravy fries were a great start and were quickly joined at the table by the above pictured Texas hot dog and Texas hamburger (left to right in your picture, though you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference before biting in).

When the place is called Coney Island Lunch you can expect an emphasis on “Coney Island Chili,” a traditional no-bean chili (not spicy hot either) made with ground beef, onions, tomato paste and the most popular items from your spice rack. A cauldron endlessly simmers in the storefront kitchen waiting to be heaped on top of a hot dog (Berks brand beef dogs sliced in half if you are keeping score at home) or burger (pretty good beefy patty, though to be honest it really is just a delivery vehicle for the toppings) along with a mound of diced onions and a slathering of Dusseldorf mustard (applied almost artistically, paint brush style during the lightning fast construction phase). Both dogs and burgers are served on the same fresh, pillowy rolls, made by Scranton’s own National Bakery.  Slightly hard on the outside, these buns are sturdy enough to help avoid a complete toppings blowout disaster and ensure that you get every bite of the delicious chili. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger, Burgernomics, Coney Island Chili, Fries, Hamburger, Johnstown, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Mr. Pibb, Phoenixville, Pie, Real Retro, Scranton

Philadelphia, PA: P.Y.T.’s “P.Y.T. Burger”

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P.Y.T.
The Piazza at Schmidt’s
1050 N Hancock St

Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 268-7825

A few people are talking about this place online…just a few – read here, here, herehere, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here (the rest of the world still has Crystal Pepsi?  Seriously?  Damn!), here, here, here, here and oh, here.   Holy word of mouth!  Well, if there is one thing legendary Philly party-promoter Tommy Up knows how to do it is get people talking and with his latest venture, the uber-hip restaurant/lounge P.Y.T., it is clear another thing Up can do really well is run a burger joint.

Self-described as a California style burger bar, P.Y.T. as a concept is well thought out and its location in the middle of Bart Blatstein’s Piazza At Schmidt’s is both ideal and logical.  Indoor seating in stylish booths and at the sleek bar will be more popular in colder months, but on a gorgeous day like we had (a rare example of the idea that it is “Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) the piazza-side tables with lime green umbrellas were the place to be.

I modified my P.Y.T. Burger (toppings are key here) and was able to snap a few pics before eagerly diving in to devour  the 1/3 lb.(ish) of beef blanketed (but not buried or overpowered) with a fried egg (preparation nailed – just the slightest bit of yolk ooze), bacon, lettuce, tomato (bright red!), onions, cheese (great melt) and a devilishly sweet onion & mayo secret sauce (note to Colgate – this would make the perfect toothpaste flavor).  The burger was heavily seasoned and cooked around the range I requested, not pegged, but to the rarer which is a 1000 times better than going too far.  The completed burger stacked pretty high, but everything squished together well and was pretty manageable to eat in mixed company.

DSC_0028As good as the burgers are, the P.Y.T. sign also promotes two other strengths of the restaurant.  If the “T: thing” is the burger and the “Y:young” is the music (djs, Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” was playing as we were leaving – probably not stereotypical but it worked for a Sunday), then “P: pretty” is a really great way to describe the drinks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Bacon, Big Burgers, Blogroll, Burger, Burgers & Booze, Cheeseburger, Fries, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Martin's Potato Rolls, Meat On Meat, Philly Burgers

Wynnewood, PA: Elevation Burger’s Cheeseburger

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50 E Wynnewood Rd
Wynnewood, PA 19096-2013
(610) 645-7704

I first posted about Elevation Burger way back in February so needless to say the anticipation has been building for a while on this one…and I am happy to report that Elevation Burger did not disappoint.

With a mantra of “Ingredients Matter,” what many have dubbed the “healthy Five Guys” opened their first store here on the outskirts of Philly over the 4th of July weekend.  It took me a whole 2 days to get down there thanks to holiday festivities but lunchtime Monday was destined to be all about Elevation Burger.

Four of us from work headed over and I was not surprised to run into another burger-loving friend already waiting in the short queue ahead of us.  Word seems to have spread fast as they had a decent lunchtime crowd already for their first work-day service.

I opted for the Cheeseburger, as opposed to the Elevation Burger (1 patty vs 2 patties) and was presented with one of the best upsell attempts I have ever heard…”We find men are more satisfied with the Elevation burger (double) as opposed to just the single.” Ah-hem.  Innuendo aside, I still stuck with the single burger (a rare show of restraint) in order to justify getting a side of fries and a soda.

As you can see from the picture, the burger itself is aesthetically pleasing.  It is clear that they spend a lot of time training their staff to present the product well and I appreciate when a burger joint does that (ex: Shake Shack or In-N-Out) as opposed to just slapping together ingredients.  I ordered my burger with lettuce, tomato and “Elevation Sauce” which I was told was a creamy, light tomato sauce.  Either an homage to INO or even Big Mac sauce, I found that the sauce really didn’t add too much flavor to the package.  It didn’t distract or ruin the taste, just didn’t add that much. To be honest, that is my only complaint.  The burgers at Elevation are 100% organic, grass-fed and free range and you definitely can tell that something is different about the patties.  Well seasoned and served on a squishy bun with a nice hunk of cheddar cheese (non-processed!) my cheeseburger was a winner.  The best part may have been the complete lack of that icky, weighed down feeling (strangely enough this was a negative factor for my co-workers).  The absence of greasiness meant no strong desire for an afternoon nap which could help productivity back at the ranch.

As good as the burger was, I have to say the fries are even better.  Fresh cut shoestring style and crisped up perfectly in 100% olive oil (no trans or saturated fats), these were probably the best fries I’ve had in a long time and everyone in the group agreed they were the highlight of the meal.  A side order was enough for 2 of us to split, though in the future I’d easily order one side just for me because they were that good (perfectly salted, each one tasted like that idealized vision of a McDonald’s fry we conjure up but have only ever experienced maybe once or twice in our lives).

Bonus points for Pibb Xtra as a fountain selection.  Having spent time growing up in the south, seeing Pibb Xtra, which is the “new” name for “Mr. Pibb,” triggered lots of nostalgic memories.  And despite Mitch Hedberg famously maligning Pibb’s lack of advanced education (“Mr. Pibb is a poor imitation of Dr. Pepper. Dude didn’t even get his degree.”) I’d choose it every time over the much fizzier Pepper.

The menu also features fresh-scooped ice cream milk shakes made with Blue Bunny ice cream.  I didn’t have one, but they were hand-dipping a lot of them and I am sure I’ll get around to that at some point (maybe Jess @ Fries With That Shake will beat me to it).

Located half-way between my work and home I am going to have to try hard to avoid filling up one of their “7 Club” cards each week.  Congrats to the team that has been working so hard on getting this location open and good luck to them keeping the steady stream of people coming.  Keep delivering a good product and they will (and the demos of this area seem ideal with a Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in short driving distance the health-concious bent should play well).

Filed under: Big Burgers, Burger, Burgers In The Burbs, Cheeseburger, Fast Food Chains, Fries, Grass-Fed, Hamburger, Healthy, Main Line, Marc Sanders, McDonalds, Narberth, Organic, Philly Burgers, Wynnewood

Burger On-Deck Circle (Another Update): Elevation Burger Wynnewood, PA & Weird Twitter Story

Note in the comments section of the last post from the owner of the Wynnewood location says “July 4th should be the first day for Elevation Burger.”

Plus, interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about Twitter Imposters, the last place I expected to read about Elevation Burger…weird tale though -> read full story here or excerpt below.

At Elevation Burger, a seven-outlet chain owned by Elevation Franchise Ventures LLC, a vendor in March found an unauthorized Twitter profile with tweets promoting rival Z Burger. Hans Hess, Elevation’s founder and chief executive, complained to Z Burger and Twitter, which later suspended the profile after a letter from Mr. Hess’s lawyer.

Kenny Fried, a publicist representing Z Burger, says owner Peter Tabibian created the Elevation Burger profile on Twitter, as well as profiles in two other competitors’ names, “to be creative and fun in promoting Z Burger” and didn’t intend to be malicious.

Mr. Hess calls the stunt “extremely unprofessional.”

Old stuff below:

Just a quick note to say the sign went up yesterday! Can’t be too much longer now. Lots of activity over the past few weeks means hopefully they will be open before the end of the month. Will update with pics for those interested via the Twitter feed later today.

Read my Elevation Burger post from February here.

If this place is half as good as I am anticipating I am going to have to alter my route home from work.

Filed under: Burger, Burgers In The Burbs, Grass-Fed, Hamburger, Healthy, Main Line, Marc Sanders, Organic, Wynnewood ,

@Burgatory Tweets

  • Coffeemaker not scaleable. Only makes 6 cups. Problem b/c I'm the only 1 in the house th@ drinks it. Solution: convince 4 yo to drink it too 1 day ago
  • @burgerbaroness Sure did. Thx. Le Bus whole wheat burger bun, grass-fed beef, bacon (extra chopped up in the beef mix), tomato & blue cheese 2 days ago
  • 1/2 day at work + trips to 2 farmers markets = darn good burgers for dinner http://ow.ly/i/7kY served w mashed (purple) cauliflower, too! 2 days ago
  • 3 vegetarian cookbooks on my nightstand right now - might spell the end of burgatory.com (all these recipes could benefit from bacon though) 5 days ago
  • Spent the afternoon making @eatingcrowe 's pulled pork recipe. So good. Upped the ante by making a Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak BBQ sauce. 1 week ago
  • More amazing food/photojournalism from Penny De Los Santos http://ow.ly/woZg This time she visits Jerusalem for the November issue of Saveur 2 weeks ago

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