Burgers For Mayor Mike

I was invited to Gracie Mansion today to show the catering and kitchen staff my favorite way to make a burger. Naturally, I wanted to show them the smash method after Mayor Mike ate a few burgers at our Brooklyn Burger 'N Beer Garden (as part of the NYC Food Film Festival). It was 102 degrees on the upper east side and the staff wanted to make the burgers outside (even though they had a beautiful flattop in the air-conditioned kitchen). I think they wanted to compare griddled to grilled burgers so they threw two Lodge flattops right onto the grill. It actually worked.

I thought I was just making a few burgers but ended up making close to 30 sliders of varying sizes. It was a real workout and the heat was unforgiving. We tested burgers without any seasoning, save salt on the patty and butter on the toasted buns. And since it was my lunchtime I had them pick up a Vidalia onion so I could make one of my favorites - the Oklahoma Onion-Fried burger. They were a hit, though some complained that they were 'greasy' (which they are of course - that's why they are so good.)

Hopefully I changed their minds. They plan to replace their outdoor flame grills with rented flattops temporarily. Let's see what happens when someone complains that they want their burger 'flame-grilled' at the next 800 person Gracie Mansion cookout. I may take a guest spin on the griddle at the next cookout too..