August 26, 2009 • 11:17 PM 0
Now 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
May 27, 2009 • 10:22 PM 2
“Bald guys like me don’t get famous, we’re just happy to get work.”
Fresh from the road playing the role of Elwood P. Dowd as part of the touring company for Mary Chase’s Harvey, Jon Menick’s agent arranged an audition for “something.” The intentional ambiguity of the agent’s statement would portend a lot of the secrecy which surrounded this second part of the campaign. With so much on the line (money-wise), finding an unknown actor and then keeping his identity a secret until the right time was critical. Menick’s acting ability and lack of national presence helped him secure the role of Herb, and Menick shared with me some of the planning that went into fleshing out his character.
Filed under: Burger, Burger Geek, Burger Legends, Hamburger, Herb, Marc Sanders, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, interview
May 23, 2009 • 10:13 PM 4
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 – toastedStep 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?
May 20, 2009 • 10:00 AM 1
Every so often the Internet kicks out something that triggers a tidal wave of memories and sets you off on a silly (and probably completely useless) quest to find a nugget of info or the answer to that long ago forgotten question. A few weeks back I saw an “I’m Not Herb” shirt listed on eBay and off I went…to YouTube to watch the commercials, to Wikipedia to read about the campaign, to Google to read critics panning the campaign and ultimately imdb to learn about the career of the actor who played Herb in the iconic Burger King campaign of the mid-1980s.
If I told you that today, Jon Menick, the actor who portrayed the hapless Herb was out of show business you might not be surprised. If I told you he is out of show business after a long, fruitful career which included feature films, network TV and a slew of national commercials you might not believe me, but thanks to the kickstart offered by this campaign, Jon Menick carved a nice career for himself out in Hollywood (eschewing the seemingly certain perils of typecasting) and has recently ditched the rat race for a more peaceful life working in the Valhalla of the Americas – Asheville, North Carolina.
I had the chance to speak with Jon about life pre- and post-Herb, but for those who may not be 100% familiar with the campaign, perhaps a bit of a refresher is in order (I keep having to remind myself that not everyone who reads this blog is a mid-30’s male weaned on TV and fast food – although I am sure there is some Google Analytics tool that would tell me I have the demo pretty well pegged…thanks for visiting!)
Homogeny From Sea To Shining Sea
In the early 1980’s a war raged across our country, one that would change the landscape (and shape of humans) like no war had before or since. Fast food, which until then had been a regional affair, was in the throes of the last great land grab. Regions of the country that had subsisted on burgers and fries prepared with local flair at hamburger stands and greasy spoons were facing an invasion of golden arches, burger royalty and a freckle faced girl in pigtails. It is hard to even imagine now areas of the country that didn’t have access to these homogeneous fast food empires, but it is true (and it occurred in my lifetime). I can (and I am sure many readers can, too) remember dominant local chains which existed and thrived across the country delivering what may realistically have been just complete knock-offs of McDonald’s, Burger King and to a lesser extent Wendy’s…but many of us did not know better (and/or may have been better off for it). So, back to the war…
By the 1980’s most every part of the country was infiltrated and in order to gain market share, the big chains spent millions battling for mindshare and walletshare by launching some of the most memorable and expensive TV ad campaigns ever seen. Perhaps we’ll explore this a bit further in future posts, but the first major shot fired was by Wendy’s with their famous “Where’s The Beef” campaign featuring the lovable octagenerian Clara Peller. Wendy’s had placed McDonald’s and Burger King on the defensive and each answered in a completely different way. McDonald’s introduced the McDLT, with its unique packaging and value statement (wasn’t it “Keep the hot side hot and the cold side cold?”). Burger King answered with a character of their own to match up against Peller…Herb.
The Original Whopper Virgin
Herb was born in the fertile minds of the creative folks at J Walter Thompson, who at the time were helmed by James Patterson who now enjoys life as basically the most successful fiction writer alive. Though his direct ties to the Herb campaign are tough to confirm, what is known is that Herb almost never happened. In fact, the first time the character-driven concept was presented to their client (Burger King) the idea was shot down. Pitched again months later as the Burger Wars continued to heat up, the idea grew legs and a two-part campaign was crafted.
The first part was “Who’s Herb?” in which the world was asked to ponder what would a guy who has never tasted a Burger King Whopper look like? Concerned friends and relatives appeared in commercials questioning just what type of person could go through life without tasting a Whopper. The implication was that only “Herbs” (a nickname for geeks/nerds/other undesirables) don’t eat at Burger King and if you wanted to avoid the stigma of being a nerd yourself you’d better get one right now. (It is at this point that I must tell any millennials/Gen Yers reading this that there was a time in our humble country when using a computer and showing a modicum of interest in technology was not cool…if you need more information on this wild and backwards-seeming time I encourage you to add the following to your Netflix queue Revenge Of The Nerds, Revenge Of The Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise, Revenge Of The Nerds III: The Next Generation and of course Revenge Of The Nerds IV: Nerds In Love).
Photographic Evidence Of The Existence Of Nerds
The second part of the campaign was “Where’s Herb?” and in what may have been the first example of a character jumping off the TV screen into real life, North Americans were challenged to be on the lookout for Herb at their local Burger King and if they were the first to spot him they would win $5,000. Enter into the story, Jon Menick, who at the time was a stage actor living in New York City.
(Wow! You just read almost 1000 words about Herb…want to hear more? Part II will be posted later this week. I will announce the post via twitter @burgatory or if you’d like me to email you when it is posted, send me an email with the subject “I gotta have more Herb!” to burgatory@gmail.com. You’ll get a one-time email from me – that’s it! No spam, just a heads up when the next part of the story is posted)
Filed under: Burger, Burger Legends, Burger Wars, Fast Food Chains, Hamburger, Herb, Marc Sanders, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, interview , 1980's, ads, advertisement, burger king, interview, TV ads
April 6, 2009 • 9:11 PM 6
A strange confluence of events this evening as I was getting ready to do some maintenance on the blog. I took a look down at the website hit counter and noticed that it had crossed the 9,000 mark en route to 10,000 (and maybe more). I had kind of told myself that when we hit 10,000 I’d feel this experiment was a success. It got me thinking about how this blog started and then a ping came from the mail program and my Google Alerts set for “burgers” showed a story (1,2) about Beef Burger in Greensboro, NC…which in actuality is how this whole blog started.
While late night websurfing a few years ago I came across a website dedicated to a burger chain called “Biff Burger.” This site stunned me in its simplicity and the depth of information it held on this burger chain from the history books and started me thinking how many other stories were out there. Fast forward a bit and sites like A Hamburger Today and the site/book Hamburger America pretty much fill the niche for this type of info, but I thought there were probably a few stories that could be told and so I set up shop @ burgatory.com to tell them, toss out recipes, report burger news and generally learn how blogging works from the back-end.
Each summer we load up the family truckster and hit the open road searching for hole-in-the-wall burger joints and salt-air beaten clam shacks. Last summer we pointed the car towards Greensboro, NC to visit “Beef Burger,” one of two remaining locations of the original “Biff Burger” chain. I’ve been sitting on this post for ages due to lack of inspiration, but the fact that the pictured burger can be yours today and tomorrow for a mere $0.59 is reason to pull it out of the draft folder and send it live to offer my opinion.
Beef Burger
1040 W Lee St
Greensboro, NC 27403
(336) 272-7505
A while back I stumbled upon a website dedicated to a burger chain called “Biff Burger.” After years of driving past one of the last outposts of this chain on the way to college I searched for info in hopes of planning a trip and sadly found out that the restaurant had by then closed. And, with its closure, the Biff Burger chain was down to only two locations (one in St. Petersburg, FL still using the Biff Burger moniker and one in Greensboro, NC now called “Beef Burger.”) Having blown the opportunity to enjoy a burger at a location within reasonable driving distance from home I vowed to get to one of the two remaining restaurants when the opportunity presented itself…and thus the itinerary for this year’s burger vacation was set…we’d make our way to North Carolina.
Located in an industrial section of town, across the railroad tracks from UNC-Greensboro’s campus (and home of the ridiculously great hot dog and ice cream joint Yum Yum), Beef Burger still draws in the crowds. Polite and orderly, folks line up inside the tiny lobby which no doubt was outdoors at some point (and thus much less claustrophobic) and feast on traditional American roadfood fare.
I ordered the SuperBurger combo with a Cheerwine (yet another reason why the South rocks -from a culinary standpoint) and settled into a formica booth to enjoy the fruits of the laborious drive (Philly to NC via Pittsburgh/West Virginia). By sheer will alone that burger had to taste good, and it did.
As C. Catherman notes on his tribute site, Beef (ne Biff) Burger’s signature feature, the Roto-Broiler:
…was an ingenious specially designed broiler which gave Biff-Burger the leading edge over many other Drive-Ins during the day in which fast-food hamburgers were common. But the burgers at Biff-Burgers weren’t just your “ordinary” hamburger. The burgers at Biffs had a unique char-broiled taste which were unlike any other. Every original Biff-Burger sign, regardless of design used, indicated “Roto Broiled”. The “roto-broiled” process was indeed Biff-Burgers signature to fame and the reason why so many people enjoyed their burgers!
With the gift of hindsight I must honestly admit that the burger was nothing earth shattering. It didn’t rise to the top of my own personal list of best tasting burgers, though the thrill of the chase more than made up for that. The broiler certainly helped provide a unique flavor to the burgers and I can see why Mr. Catherman and hundreds of others are still partial to this cooking method.
The carousel of meat effect was pretty amusing and my daughter and I stared at it for a while before she made her way outside to the coin-op human version on the sidewalk (that is her in the corner of the pic). The lower level of tis ingenious machine toasted the buns and that was a plus, too! Brought together in a styrofoam container with a decent side of fries and the aforementioned sugar-shock inducing soda, this was burger escapism at its best. A real retro experience worth searching out, even hundreds of miles away.
If you want to learn more about Biff Burger/Beef Burger, I implore you to check out C. Catherman’s site. He truly has a love for the history of the chain, a keen eye for detail and a photographic memory about his experiences at the restaurant.
As we get closer to 10,000 hits (I know – not much for a real website, but heck…my mom would be proud if I took the time to explain to her what a blog was) I will dig out and repost some of the old stuff that I am particularly proud of and finally (I hope) finish a story I have been working on for a few months about the greatest hamburger icon of the 20th Century (seriously)! Thanks.
Filed under: Burger, Burger Geek, Expert Opinions, Family, Fast Food Chains, Greensboro, Hamburger, Hamburger America, Marc Sanders, NC, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Real Retro
March 23, 2009 • 7:52 PM 0
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?
January 2, 2009 • 10:52 PM 0
Kabobeesh
4201 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 386-8081
Ok folks, we’re gonna need a ruling…is this a burger?
Add a slice of cheese, a big squishy bun, and oh heck, a slice of bacon and tell me that wouldn’t be about the best darned grilled burger you’ve ever seen?
Of course you won’t get any of that at Kabobeesh, one of West Philly’s hidden gems (which happens to be a Halal restaurant so forget the bacon). This Pakistani/Afghani/Indian restaurant located in an old diner just blocks from UPENN’s campus is home to some amazing grilled meats, exotic vegetable dishes, truly friendly staff and the delicious (and potentially burger-ish in nature) dish pictured – the Chapli Kabab.
According to the web’s most reliable information clearinghouse – wikipedia:
Chapli kabab is a dish from Peshawar … which is very much popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan. An iconic dish among the Pashtuns, chapli kabab is made from minced beef or lamb, lightly spiced, and cooked on a large flat griddle in animal fats.
Kabobeesh’s version of Chapli Kabab is more than lightly spiced, but nothing outrageous. This burger tended towards spicy, but was not off-putting in any way. Maybe zippy is a better way to describe the heat. Kabobeesh is known for their grilling and the two patties you get with your order came with perfect grille marks. These were super juicy thanks to the higher fat content of the meat and just shy of medium done-ness.
Now, is it a burger?
The grilled naan bread more than made up for the lack of a bun so… √
They are round and of general burger thickness…another √
No mustard or ketchup in sight, but several unique condiment options available including a neon green mint-y sauce…√
They were darn tasty…√
There you have it – burger it is/was (and will be again).
Filed under: Big Burgers, Burger, Burger Perfection, Halal Burgers, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Philly Burgers, Weird Burgers
September 16, 2008 • 8:17 PM 1
www.primantibros.com
3847 Northern Pike
Monroeville, PA 15146
(412) 856-8380
The “Second Best Selling” item on the Primanti Brothers menu is Pittsburgh’s signature sandwich, the Pitts-Burger Cheese Steak. This colossus is an ode to excess, concoted in a manner only a steel town could justify.
The original Almost Famous sirloin beef patty sandwich that feeds the spirited fans of Pittsburgh
…features said beef patty, “sweet and sour” cole slaw (unlike any you have ever had before…think grandma’s recipe but without mayo, really), tomato slices, provolone cheese and yes, french fries, all nestled together under two big hunks off a loaf of bread and served in a wax paper draped plastic basket
The only thing that could make this sandwich better would be to remove the burger. Seriously.
Primanti Brothers was the first stop on our summer burger/BBQ vacation and it was supposed to be the burger that set the course for the remainder of the week, but it fell flat. This sandwich was better than the sum of its parts, the slaw was so unique a tasty that I won’t think of cole slaw the same again, the bread was perfect, the fries stellar…the whole combination was mesmerizing…except for the patty which tasted manufactured. Look left…it just looks sad, pinned down below all of that topping goodness.
The good news is my wife ordered the Black Angus Sirloin Steak Sandwich, which featured all of the same toppings but with delicious hunks of steak. Needless to say, she wasn’t going to share after she saw the look on my face after the bite of my burger, but I did get one good bite and man, that sandwich was terrific.
I am not going to pan Primanti’s because they are legendary. And, despite the notation that the burger is the #2 seller, it is widely reported that it is in fact the #1 seller (Serious Eats called their bluff earlier in the summer after noticing that there is no #1 seller listed on the menu). Somebody must be eating these. Here’s hoping they test out a Black Angus sandwich just once…I guarantee they’d switch allegiances.
Additional notes:
Filed under: Big Burgers, Burger, Cheeseburger, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Mini Chains, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Weird Burgers
September 2, 2008 • 8:36 PM 0
Wright’s Dairy Rite Inc
346 Greenville Ave
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 886-0435
We are just back from this summer’s burger vacation (more BBQ this year than burgers, but I don’t have a BBQ blog…yet!) and one of the highlights for the whole family was Wright’s Dairy-Rite in Staunton, VA. What a treat!
As they proudly claim on the sign out front, this gem has been serving Staunton (and hungry travelers) since 1952 and little has changed since then (and thank G-d for that!).
The signature burger at Wright’s Dairy-Rite is the Superburger:
SUPERBURGER
Staunton’s original since 1952. Two patties of pure ground beef (total quarter pound), real american cheese, shredded lettuce, and our own special sauce. Served on a triple-decker bun.
Jane and Michael Stern point out in their foodie bible Roadfood that the Superburger preceeded the Big Mac by “more than a decade” and the taste today continues to outpace the McDonald’s version. The special sauce isn’t syrupy sweet like its fast-food knock-off and the bun is fresh and delicious. Plus, no pickles!!
Served on wax paper with a side order of onion rings and perfectly complemented by a chocolate malt this burger made me nostalgic for an era I never lived through.
Carhop service is available but we chose to exit the car for a bit (we clicked off 1500 miles in 5 days – cushy seats and a formica table top looked great to us) and we were extra thankful for the great jukebox that kept our daughter entertained (and entertaining nearby diners) for at least 15 minutes. Each booth has a telephone to call in your order which was neat (although a bit awkward when it comes to phone manners – do you say “bye” when you are done ordering?)
Visiting a place like Wright’s will no doubt make walking into any one of those faux-retro joints a tough task. It is so rare to be able to catch a glimpse of that so-called “simpler time” and I know our family is better for it.
Staunton is a beautiful little town, too. Train buffs (and parents of little ones) will want to check out the “Gypsy Express” train located in the Gypsy Hill park. For a buck a person you get a great ride on a cool train that is about as old as Wright’s. Stop by on July 4th or Labor Day and your ride is free (more $$$ to spend on burgers!!).
Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger Perfection, Burgers In The Burbs, Cheeseburger, Marc Sanders, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Real Retro
August 7, 2008 • 7:34 PM 2
Behold, the CHURGER!
What?
Yes, the CHURGER!
The most pleasant intersection of summertime BBQ staples, the Churger is half hamburger, half grilled chicken and all right by me.
I’ve been going to Reading Phillies games for close to 30 years now (wow, that feels weird to write – am I that old?) and one thing you can always count on is great food. For years it was hot dogs and french fries and most recently it has been the burgers.
The Churger hybrid no doubt comes from the R-Phils cooks flair for experimentation which a few years ago birthed “The Grand Slammer” which is a deadly combination of two 1/2 half pound burgers, cheese, sauce, pickles and oh, yeah…a half-ton of french fries, all wrapped up in a bun. At $10/per it might give you sticker shock, but have no fear it can easily feed a family of 4.
A sign above the Grand Slam Grill located down the right field line, defines the Churger:
It’s a sandwich that combines a burger and chicken breast separated by a slice of American cheese on a fresh roll and made with a whole lot of love.”
Signed by “Scoly,” noted as the Inventor of the Churger
Scoly is Jamie “Scoly” Scolastico who runs the outpost and is deserved of his name in lights (or at least on paint) for this invention.
The $7 sandwich itself is a 1/4 lb. hamburger and a similar sized chicken breast, char-grilled and kept from co-mingling by a slice of cheese applied during burger construction. No need for condiments of any kind because both the burger and the chicken were perfectly cooked and juicy. Besides maybe BBQ sauce, I’m not even sure what condiments you would put on it if you so decided they were necessary.
I can’t wait to catch another game (and burger) in Reading. This place is a perennial winner for a great family night out and the food just puts it over the top.
Filed under: Ballpark Burgers, Big Burgers, Burgers In The Burbs, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Weird Burgers
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