Top Notch Hits The Spot

At the end of a quick trip to Chicago I was compelled to swing by one of my burger faves on the way to the airport. Just past Midway on Cicero and 95th is one of the later spinoffs in the Top Notch Beefburger chain. I've been told it's not as good as the original but I didn't care. I had a jones and I had the rental car floored. When I walked in I told the girl taking orders that I had to be at the airport in 10 minutes, "Can I have the King Size 1/2 pounder with onions?" Hmmm she said, "That'll take 10 minutes." Thinking quickly I tried, "How about the quarter-pounder?" "5 minutes," she told me so I said, "Great! I'll take 2 quarter-pounders."

Minutes later I was back in the car inhaling these gorgeous quarter-pounders covered in glorious, sweet, sauteed onions and driving 80 mph on Cicero. Made the flight in time but I'm sure the dude that checked my car in at Hertz was questioning the rank bouquet of my rental...

The pic above is a Top Notch quarter-pounder from a previous visit. The two I ate yesterday kicked the piss out of this one. Whoever said this outpost of Top Notch was no good was way wrong!

Motz Burger in Manhattan!

More than one person has told me that they believe the Motz Burger does not really exist. But as you can see from the photo on the right said burger does in fact exist, and it can now be found at 2 NYC locations. The latest spot my proud burger has popped up is at the new Water Taxi Beach, South Street. Now you won't have to venture into the wilds of Long Island City to indulge in the Motz Burger. And likewise, if you live near Water Taxi Beach, LIC you won't have to venture into the nuttiness of Manhattan. I have no idea what the hrs are of the new beach so good luck to you.

Black Label Burger at Minetta

I ate a lot of burgers last week. A feature that Saveur is working on for their August burger issue had me and other burger minds at the uptown Shake Shack putting down many tasty singles. I also stopped into my local Five Guys for a fix and made a few at home using my grinder (of course). But the burger that really knocked me over this past week was the Black Label burger at McNally's newest venture, the resurrected Minetta Tavern.

I know it's impossible to get into the place and the burger is $26, but man was it worth it. This beast, made from the Pat LaFrieda aged beef blend, sat on a bun that could barely contain the patty's (nearly) 1/2 lb. girth. Topped with nothing but sweet, limp caramelized onions this burger needed nothing more. The pungent bouquet of the aged meat was obvious making the beefiness pronounced. The combination of the grease, those onions, and the butter from the bun was all I needed for the perfect flavor profile. Unfortunately, the waitress immediately offered me a bottle of ketchup, which I declined, but feared that most patrons probably accepted. Please do not ketchup this perfect burger. I think I finished the burger in 6 quick bites.

The Black Label blend from LaFrieda has come a long way since I tested it back in October 2008. I asked McNally, "Why Black Label on the menu?" He told me, with out missing a beat and pointing to the kitchen, "Chef's choice." A good choice at that. Clearly great beef in the right hands yields positive results.

Obama Orders A Burger Correctly! (sort of)

Of course, the prez can't fart without the media covering every angle so when he and Joe walked into a burger joint in Virginia the media went nuts. I was happy to see that the they covered the president placing a burger order on camera and it's fully audible. He actually says: 

"I want just your basic cheddar cheeseburger, medium well, mustard, no ketchup. Do you have a spicy mustard like a Dijon or something? Lettuce and tomato."

Now, I say that he ordered 'correctly' because most know my view of ketchup by now. Ketchup on a burger is for kids. Mustard is the way to go. Ketchup is sweet and hides the beefyness whereas mustard enhances beefy flavor. If you ask for a burger in most small town joints across the nation it'll come with mustard only. History is on my side. 

As for everything else in his order he was a bit off. Medium-well is a travesty for fresh meat and as far as I'm concerned lettuce and tomato are for a salad. Cheddar is too 'fern bar', as John T. would say...

Biden orders a jalepeno burger with ketchup...yikes.

Regardless, in the bigger picture the president is a beef-eating, small business-supporting guy and that's a good thing. He ordered a burger made from fresh ground beef on national television. Any positive burger awareness is good by me. I'll get over the Dijon request. 

Zaitzeff Has Sliders..Who Knew?

And they're good. Owner Zack Zaitzeff told me they are not always available though because the buns are specially made for them. "They are artisans," Zaitzeff said of the bakery that supplies the burger joint with those oft-talked about Portuguese buns. The sliders are really just miniature versions of their griddled sirloin burgers, which is a good thing. To qualify as a 'slider' Zaitzeff does it right and serves them with cheese and caramelized onions only.

If you are looking to try the excellent Zaitzeff sliders I would call ahead to make sure they are on the menu that day (they do not exist on the web menu or at the restaurant even though Zack explained that they have them "everyday"). The only reason I ordered them was because the chalkboard outside told me to.

1600 Mile Harley Ride to Benefit Cancer Research

I received an excellent email from a fan saying that he and his wife were considering riding their Harleys from their home in Iowa to a burger spot from my book 800 miles away. This is my kind of adventure. Not just because it involved a great trek for a hamburger, but because it also combined my love of motorcycling with a cause that is close to my heart. 

They have enlisted 2 other friends in Iowa to make the trip this Friday May 1st and are looking for other riders to join them along the way. If you live between South Central Iowa and Memphis click here to get involved with "Bikes For Burgers" (you should also make a donation to their cause, breast cancer research, if you can). They plan to hit some of my favorites on the trip: Town Topic in Kansas City, Cotham's outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Dyer's in Memphis.

They plan on doing a trip like this every year near May 1st so I told them I would DEFINITELY  join them next year on a rented Harley for some portion of the trip. Now that's Hamburger America.

*************UPDATE****************

The ride organizer has just informed me that due to the awful weather throughout the southern Midwest the trip route has changed. They are now heading north to Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis. I hope they stop at Matt's Bar for a Jucy Lucy. Check back for trip photos here next week.

New In-N-Out Tell-All Book Is Out

Stacy Perman's new In-N-Out book is out and a must for anyone who is even slightly intrigued by this cult burger phenomenon. In-N-Out's attention to detail, the strange but successful business plan, the biblical references under the soda cups...it's all here. What more could you ask of a book that gives you all this plus a family that has endured as much tragedy as the Kenneys have (well, maybe not that much). The favorite son and heir to the In-N-Out throne dies in a plane crash and is replaced by his pill-popping, drag racing older brother. All the time the mission of the burger chain stays true to its roots and to this day they are still cranking out the same quality burger that first left the drive thru over 60 years ago.

Keep in mind that this is a business book, published by Collins Business, written by a staffer from BusinessWeek. That said, the story of In-N-Out is covered from a business angle which is absolutely fascinating. Just the fact that someone took the time to tell the story is enough for me. I was a fan of In-N-Out before reading Stacy's book, now I'm a believer.

Quick Trip to Denver - Bud's and Smashburger

I landed in Denver last Thursday just before the city was covered under 2-4 feet of snow. That did not deter me from the plan at hand which was to get to Bud's Bar for a burger. Owner Mike Steerman was there (above, with me), as well as his wife Mary, bartender Nanc, and longtime grillperson and burger genius Judy. I had some friends with me that were thoroughly impressed with their simple yet perfect double cheeseburgers. There was an impromptu book signing and many beers were consumed. I love being a hamburger expert.

Another burger spot that I had to visit after reading many emails from enthusiastic Coloradans was the newish chain Smashburger. Clearly modeled on the successful Five Guys, Smashburger hit the spot. They use balls of fresh ground beef that are smashed thin on a flattop griddle with a special misshaped smashing tool (that looks a lot like the channeled smasher at Five Guys). The result was a glorious grease bomb that may have actually been too greasy (if that's even possible in my world). Regardless, I'd go back again and again. Unfortunately, the image of the burger on their website looks nothing like the real thing, which in person looks amazing...

CNN Likes Burgers

Wow! CNN ran a great piece about burgers after an interview with me. It's on the front page of their website today. I do a lot of media but this was a big one. How do I know? I must have received over 50 emails and phone calls before noon today from friends, fans, and family.

I did not know however that they were also interviewing Guy Fieri for the piece. Do I need a new hairstyle now?

Schnipper's Rocks

Holy crap did I have a great burger yesterday. The brothers Schnipper, after successfully creating and guiding Hale & Hearty Soups, have tried their hand at hamburgers and the result is amazing. They invited me into their 8 week-old Schnipper's Quality Kitchen for a taste and I was not about to turn them down. I had a feeling this would be good.

Expert burger taster Kris B and myself decided we need to see the place in full swing at lunchtime. Thanks to the built-in lunch crowd that works right above Schnipper's in the new New York Times building the place was packed. The restaurant is enormous and can seat 170 inside and out.

The menu goes beyond burgers but Andrew Schnipper, the business end of the two, explained, "About 50% of our sales goes to burgers, fries, and shakes, 25% of that just burgers." The other 50% includes staples like hot dogs, and a large selection of salads and sandwiches (that we did not try).

The burger at Schnipper's starts as a 1/3 pound hand-pattied beauty. Jonathan, the food side of the Schnippers, told me, "Every morning I take a handful of the fresh-ground beef when it comes in and throw a burger on the griddle to test." They get their beef from Master Purveyors and comes in as an 80/20 chuck blend (my favorite) that has dry-aged trimmings thrown in. Jonathan told me, "Master supplies many of the best steakhouses. Our trim comes from those steaks."

Kris B and I sampled 3 burgers: the bacon cheeseburger with carmelized onions, Schnipper's version of a green chile cheeseburger (which is not really a GCCB but made with a decent replacement - Jon's blend of poblano and jalepeno), and the Hickory Bacon Blue Burger.

All of the burgers were cooked to temp, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside, and served on a toasted white-squishy bun. The brothers have their own house-made sauce called Schnipper Sauce that was excellent. Jonathan told me he was inspired by the Pacific Northwest goop sauce recipe in my book but added a few more ingredients to his version.

Upon his first bite, Kris B exclaimed, "MAN. It exploded when I bit into it!" Sure enough, juices were running. My bacon/cheese/onion burger was a taste explosion as were the green chile and blue burgers. The Blue, Jonathan's opus, piled high with bacon, lettuce, tomato, hickory bbq sauce, melted blue cheese, and deep fried onion strings, was dreamy.

The Schnippers clearly care about how burgers are made. These aren't bloated gourmet burgers or tasteless steakhouse burgers, these burgers are made with an attention to what goes into the American classic. The brothers apparently spent months on the road doing burger research all over America (much like yours truly) and it shows.

And it should be noted that the chocolate malt I ordered actually had malt powder in it. Very few in NYC seem to understand this concept. Also, we were presented with awesome cheese fries that were identical to the ones you may have enjoyed (at 1:30am after a night of hard drinking) at Chicago's infamous Wiener's Circle. I think that may have been the first time I've guiltily enjoyed that cheese goo sober, and I liked it.