It's unlikely you'll ever get to try a hamburger in North Korea, but just in case, Jakob Ohlsson wants you to know that 1) they exist, and 2) they're delicious. During a trip to Pyongyang, Ohlsson indulged in a hamburger topped with egg (the other choices being "regular" and "cheese") and experienced "handcrafted bliss" for only 1€:
It was a blessing. It was like visiting someone’s parent, who had once, maybe six years ago, seen a picture of a hamburger, and was now asked to re-create it. But where memory might have failed, competence reigned supreme. Since there is no import of burger bread, seasoning, etc, everything was made from scratch. No Heinz cheating or HP Sauce shortcuts. Only handcrafted bliss.
Those North Koreans don't mess around when it comes to burgers.
To read more about Ohlsson's trip to North Korean, check out his blog, Noko Process.
Health experts in Australia aren't happy about the Quad Stacker, the new burger by Australia's Burger King equivalent Hungry Jack's made of "four beef patties, four slices of cheese, two rashers of bacon, barbecue sauce and two sugared buns." (The burger originally came out in Burger King in 2006.) Dietitians are calling Hungry Jack's irresponsible for marketing a burger that contains 1080 calories and 71 grams of fat and, as the article helpfully points out, doesn't even come with a salad. Because a salad would really help.
But as even bad publicity is still "good" publicity, people are curious to try the deathly burgers. Phil Han of National News Nine puts the burger to the test and initially likes it for its "great smoky flavor making it taste as if it came right off the barbie." 20 minutes after finishing the burger, the discomfort sets in: "I can't get rid of the greased feeling—there's a brick in my stomach."
Posted by Robyn Lee, September 5, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Burger Ranch in Sunnyside, Washington, sells a lot more than burgers—there's also fried asparagus, sweet potato fries, and New Balance shoes. And they're on sale for $39!
David Lebovitz may have been let down by the burger at Hippopotamus, but he should be able to fulfill his craving after looking through his readers' burger recommendations in Paris. With 19 restaurants to choose from, there may be some hope for homesick Americans and burger-loving Parisians.
Posted by Robyn Lee, September 4, 2008 at 10:30 AM
I've seen a lot of burger cakes in my day, but this sugary behemoth made by Alex Lam's sister for his 22nd birthday is one of my favorites. Here are the components (the bacon and the fries are my favorite parts):
Bacon: Fruit Leather Sesame Seeds: Rice Krispies Patty: Oreo + chocolate cake Bun: Vanilla Cake + caramel frosting Mustard + Ketchup: Frosting Lettuce: Fruit Roll-Ups Fries: Cookies
Alex says that even with five people they could barely finish eating just a wedge of the cake. See the full cake carnage in Alex's Flickr.
Cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, ketchup. Then ask for A-1 and hot sauce on the side and mix it together. Having it on the burger is a bit much, but having it on the side and adding little by little makes a pretty nice combo.
My favorite combo at Five Guys (pictured above) is basically my favorite combo anywhere: raw onion, pickle, American cheese, and ketchup or mustard (depending on my mood). I'm closing comments here so you'll head on over to Talk to join the discussion there. (It's much more fun where lots of people are talking already.)
"Everything was going well until we noticed the incredible amount of fat that was accumulating in the pan."
Nick Kindelsperger and Blake Royer of The Paupered Chef made quick-flipped fat burgers out of home-ground meat using Harold McGee's technique where the burgers are flipped every 30 seconds during cooking. The resulting burgers had an "unbelievable sear" on the outside and and were "moist and luscious" on the inside. But as awesome as fat is, there may have been too much in this burger:
And afterwards we all felt a completely nauseous and had to take an hour long walk to feel right again. Both the chuck and the short ribs were too fatty, and I'll probably try to trim a lot more of the fat off next time I make them.
Having never experienced eating a burger that tasted too fatty, I desperately want to try this version.
Editor's note: It's been a while since we've "Grilled" someone, but we want to get back in the saddle. We Grilled George Motz almost two years ago, but a lot has happened with him in that time. In 2006, he had just released his burger documentary Hamburger America, but since then he has written a book of the same name (which we've been excerpting from every other week) and has sort of become the burger guy out there. We figured it was a good time to catch up and see how his burger worldview had changed. So without further ado, let's get Grillin'.
Name: George Motz Location: Brooklyn, New York Occupation: Hamburger expert, TV commercial director of photography
How often do you eat burgers? At least 3 times a week, sometimes 4.
Has this number increased or decreased with the book project and your increased burger notoriety? Increased for sure. During the research for the book I was eating up to 20 burgers a week for weeks on end. Compared to working on the film I've eaten far more burgers. I've lost count at this point but I guesstimate that I've eaten over 3000 burgers in the last seven years, film, book, and PR combined. Most of them good ones, I might add.
Where did you eat your most recent one? I just had another Dram Shop burger [Park Slope, Brooklyn], the second in just a few days. It really is a great ode to the Dallas double with shredded lettuce and cheese. This time, though, I swapped the raw onion for jalapeños to make it a real Texas burger.
David Lebovitz may have been let down by 
Name: George Motz
