Burger Bites, Episode 4 - Irv's Burgers, LA

Thanks to everyone who came to the launch of the new Burger GPS app at the Apple Store last night. The afterparty at Idle Hands involved more burgers, thanks to Rev and upstairs restaurant Billy Hurricane's. The chef brought round after round of amazing mini burgers, each one better than the next. My favorite was the Hurricane Burger, which was topped with a Frank's Red Hot concoction. And Robin from The Land of Cake Believe (great name) brought her incredible bacon cheeseburger cupcakes to the afterparty.

Those who attended the Apple Store event watched the premiere of Burger Bites ep.4 about Sonia Hong and her West Hollywood burger joint Irv's Burgers. I showed the clip during the app demo to give the crowd an idea of what Hamburger America is all about. People like Sonia are what keep me going and remind us that classic mom 'n pops can survive if we care to save them.

Enjoy episode 4!

Nice Interview on Eater

I'm happy with this piece on Eater. Paula Forbes totally got it right. Thanks Paula!

I Just Tested the New App!

I just took the new Hamburger America Burger GPS for a test drive and it was awesome! The guys behind the new app have been working their asses off to get it done in time for the big launch at the Apple Store, Meatpacking, next Friday. As they were testing, hilariously incorrect GPS coordinates popped up like the one on the left which placed the Upper East Side Shake Shack on the tip of Antarctica. Who knows? They are moving to Brooklyn soon. Anything is possible..

The new app is really amazing and I for one will use it often. Having an interactive burger map in my hand is a dream come true.

George's Shoulda Been In The Book...

I've been trying to get to a little-known burger joint in the Cochella Valley for years called George's Bar & Grill and man, they should have been in the book. George's meets all of the criteria to be included in Hamburger America so expect to see this place in HA3 one day (and in my new burger app, releasing May 20th!).

George is long gone but his son Ed has been large and in charge for many years. The sign out front proudly proclaims "World's Best Burgers and Insults" and he means it. Thank God Ed has an opinion on what makes a great burger (and yours is most definitely wrong). Ketchup graces the bar but it's there for the fries. Go ahead, just try to put some on your burger...

The patties are fresh ground, hand-pattied and cooked on a flattop behind the bar. A single works but the double, weighing in at around 1/2 lb, is better. Ask for grilled onion and there's a charge of $1.10 (go for it). The burger is served on a toasted white squishy and the result is heavenly, and a bit peppery. To round out your Whole Burger Experience take in the bar - authentic baseball memorabilia, comfortable leather stools and a tiny pool table complete the scene and an engraved plaque just below the television reads "Screw The Customers". Perfect. You know you want to be there.

Hours at George's are strange so check before you head out there. Even though it's a bar it's only open until 5:30pm weekdays and 3pm on Saturdays. Ed has better things to do so come down and get your drink on at lunchtime.

Hamburger America 2 is Out!!

The completely revised Hamburger America, with 52 new joints, is out and shipping from Amazon as of yesterday. I'm assuming bookstores will follow soon. I'm very happy with the result and hope that you are too.

Burger Bites, Episode 3 - Miami Frita Crawl

Burger Beast, aka Sef Gonzalez is the authority on excellent Cuban food in Miami. He asked me to join him on a tour of some of his favorite frita counters and I couldn't refuse. It took me a while to get back to Miami but I'm sure glad I made time for lunch.

Click here to see the new Burger Bites, episode 3 where Burger Beast and I power through 3 amazing fritas at El Rey, Morro Castle, and the one and only El Mago. If it weren't for the traffic we may have been able to fit in 2 more..

New Burger Bites Coming Soon

I spent the afternoon with Burger Beast hitting a few great Frita joints in Miami last Friday and shot some footage of the journey. As we were approaching the first place, he offered to take me to an additional 4 or 5 places on top of the 3 we had agreed upon. Even I would have had a problem consuming 8 fritas for lunch. We stuck with El Rey De Las Fritas, Morro Castle, and El Mago. I probably could have fit in one more..

Stay tuned for the Miami Frita Crawl, Burger Bites episode 3, coming soon to this blog.

Custom Burgers for Flyers Only

This was, by far, the best burger I've ever had in an airport. I'm working on a story about burgers in Queens and the newish Custom Burgers in Terminal D at LaGuardia was on the list. The people behind Custom took over an old Burger King and have done great things. The beef is supplied by none other than Pat LaFrieda and it's pretty obvious. You can customize your burger with an array of toppings or do what I did and eat yours with cheese only (I took that salad off, above, before eating..). The 4.5 ounce burgers are cooked on a flattop and served on supple, toasted, buttered Martin's Potato Rolls. What could be better?

Oh, and this burger is not for everyone (literally). You'll need a ticket on a Delta flight to enjoy Custom because this place is on the other side of security. I managed to get authorization though, without having to buy a ticket to Indianapolis (it's good to know people).

New Josh Capon Joint is Pretty Awesome

This is a much-belated post. I think I visited way back in November.

After reports started coming back that the burgers at Josh Capon's newest burger outpost Burger & Barrel were amazing I made a point of getting there. Man was I glad I did. These burgers kick some ass.

Though they are relegated to the bottom of the menu, the burgers are the main attraction at this cozy new 'gastropub' (gag). I had the Bash Style burger, presumably the burger that won Josh top honors at the 2009 Burger Bash in NYC (though honestly, the burger at B&B was way better than the burger I ate at the Bash). The Bash Burger makes use of just a few key ingredients (and some of my favorites) - caramelized onions, bacon (bacon jam?), pickles and American cheese. It takes a big pair of nuts to use American cheese on an upscale burger in Manhattan and I love Josh for having the balls to do so. The beef used, of course, is a special Pat LaFrieda blend and it's cooked perfectly on a flattop and served on a super-soft fresh-made bun. A nice flourish is the stack of perfectly cooked jumbo onion rings balanced atop the burger bun.

Fun Book Signing

Thanks to everyone who came out in the snow to Schnipper's for the last book event for the first edition. Hamburger America is now officially out-of-print with the new version coming out in May of this year. And thanks of course to the Schnipper Brothers for hosting the event and for creating great burgers. And of course congrats on making it to year 2. Only 18 more years and they'll be eligible for inclusion in Hamburger America. Keep it up! 2029 is just around the corner!

Pictured above, Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper, and me, looking like I need to lose a few.