February 11, 2012
The Best and Worst Burgers According to Yahoo! Health
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 10, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Turkey burger from Hardee's. [Photograph: John M. Edwards]
You probably aren't eating burgers for their healthful properties, but in case you're wondering where to get the (relatively) healthiest and unhealthiest burgers from chain restaurants, Yahoo! Health recently published this list of the nutritionally best and worst burgers in ten categories each. Click through their slideshow for full descriptions, or check out this quick list:
Best...
Plain burger patty: Wendy's Jr. Hamburger
Low-carb burger: In-N-Out Burger's Hamburger With Onion, Protein Style
Burger with mushrooms and cheese: Dairy Queen's Mushroom Swiss GrillBurger
Other-meat burger: Ted's Montana Grill's Skinny Dip Bison Burger
Gluten-free burger (with bun!): Cheeseburger in Paradise's Back to Basics Burger
Sliders: Ruby Tuesday's Zucchini Cake Minis [AHT note: This is what a slider is.]
Meatless drive-through burger: Burger King's BK Veggie Burger
Restaurant veggie burger: Denny's Veggie Burger
Portobello burger: Cheeburger Cheeburger's Grilled Mushroom Portobello Sandwich
Turkey burger: Hardee's and Carl's Jr.'s Charbroiled Turkey Burger [AHT review]
Worst...
"Cheeseburger": Friendly's Grilled Cheese Burger [AHT review]
Double cheeseburger: Denny's Double Cheeseburger
Drive-in burger: Sonic's Ring Leader Loaded Burger
Burger posing as breakfast: Perkins' Sunrise Burger
Healthy-sounding burger: Ruby Tuesday's Avocado Turkey Burger
Oversized burger: Fifth Third Ballpark's Fifth Third Burger
Fair or festival burger: Krispy Kreme Burger
Burger melt: Red Robin's All-American Patty Melt
Burger hybrid: Applebee's Quesadilla Burger
Burger so bad it should be illegal: Chili's Southern Smokehouse Bacon Burger
About the author: Robyn Lee is the editor of A Hamburger Today and takes many of the photos for Serious Eats. She'll also doodle cute stuff when necessary. Read more from Robyn at her personal food blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Tagged: chains, fast food, health, lists
Chain Reaction: Hard Rock Cafe
Posted by Erin Jackson, February 10, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Of course we love our mom & pops, and our favorite burger joints around the country are pretty much all independently owned, but there are certain times in life—overnight layovers, hungover Sunday mornings, all-day shopping trips at the outlets—that the only options around are the chains. Chain Reaction is here to help you decide when to go for the burger, and when you're better off sticking with the chicken fingers.
[Photographs: Erin Jackson]
Hard Rock Cafe
801 4th Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 (map)
150 locations worldwide, from Bankok to Boston, see list at hardrock.com
The Schtick: Tourist-friendly restaurant with a rock and roll theme
The Burger: A tasty 10-ounce burger that's surprisingly well crafted, though not without its flaws
Want Fries With That? Yes. Fries are light, crisp, and well seasoned
Setting: Framed music memorabilia covers every available space on the walls, but though the end effect is heavily themed, it doesn't look tacky
Price: All burgers, including the "Local Legendary", are $13.99 (price may vary by location)
I've always thought of the Hard Rock Cafe as a place reserved for the tourist and convention crowd. It's a great chain to fall back on after a day of sightseeing or a mid-convention business lunch. The music memorabilia decor and big, cozy booths make it markedly cooler than most chains, and sometimes, a predictable menu of American standards can be comforting.
The last time I visited a Hard Rock was years ago at the now-closed location at the SkyDome/ "Rogers Centre" in Toronto. Because the restaurant overlooked the field, I had to pay a premium to watch the Blue Jays lose. The burger wasn't great, most likely because the Hard Rock's default cooking temperature is medium well, and I was not yet wise to the benefits of medium rare. The second time around, I knew better.
Burgers are definitely a key component of the Hard Rock menu. Options include burgers topped with everything from guacamole to grilled portabello mushrooms, all of which are a staggering 10 ounces (except for one option, a classic six-ounce burger). Each city also has a "Local Legendary" with toppings that reflect the local cuisine. In San Diego, there are a few Local Legendary options, but the burger inspired by a California burrito was the most intriguing.
Continue reading »
Tagged: AHT Reviews, Chain Reaction, chains, Hard Rock Cafe, reviews, San Diego, Southern Cailfornia
From Photograzing
The latest hamburger photos from Photograzing, our photo sharing site. Add yours today!
source: www.icancookthat.org/2012/01...
Goat Cheese Stuffed Lamb Burgers
Posted by I Can Cook That
source: blogchef.net/french-dip-burg...
French Dip Burgers
Posted by BlogChef
Talk!
Dobleta - The Best Sandwich Wendy's Never Made
17 Comments | Posted by chime13, January 23, 2012 at 5:46 PM
From Drinks
Reality Check: New Bacon Shake from Jack in the Box
Posted by Adam Lindsley, February 9, 2012 at 2:00 PM
[Photographs: Adam Lindsley, unless otherwise noted]
As part of Jack in the Box's recent and mildly disturbing "Love Bacon? Marry It." advertising campaign, the scientists slaving away in the fast food chain's laboratories have concocted a new milkshake that will either have you sprinting to the nearest franchise location or recoiling in horror: the Bacon Shake.
Arriving a few years late to the bacon party, along with such fellow bandwagon-hoppers-on as Denny's and IHOP, Jack in the Box is hoping to carry over the popularity of its bacon-topped burgers to its desserts, starting with its Bacon Shake, which it is making available for a limited time only. And while marrying sugar with the smokiness of salty bacon is hardly new, the result of this bacon-meets-ice cream experiment can only be described as disastrous.
Continue reading »
Tagged: bacon, chain restaurants, jack in the box, milkshakes
Cleveland: Stunning Burgers at The Greenhouse Tavern
Posted by Daniel Zemans, February 9, 2012 at 11:15 AM
[Photographs: Daniel Zemans]
The Greenhouse Tavern
2038 E 4th Street, Cleveland, OH 44115 (map); 216-443-0511; thegreenhousetavern.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Phenomenal restaurant with heavy bent towards sustainability puts out a pair of top-notch burgers
Want Fries With That? Yes, especially the animal frites
Price: Beef burger, $15; lamb burger, $17; both include fries; animal style frites, $13
Cleveland native Jonathon Sawyer, one of Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs" in 2010, made a name for himself before he opened The Greenhouse Tavern three years ago. With multiple stints in New York and Cleveland under his belt, including multiple positions under chef Charlie Palmer and a stint as the opening chef de cuisine at Michael Symon's Lolita, there was no question he had the chops. But when he went out on his own at Bar Cento in Cleveland (he no longer has a connection to the place) and then at The Greenhouse Tavern, he established himself as one of the best and most conscientious chefs you'll find anywhere.
From the commitment to local food sources and suppliers to a heavy reliance on recycled materials throughout the restaurant to the greenhouse on the roof to Sawyer's personal involvement in the Slow Food Movement, Sawyer's commitment to sustainability, passionately articulated in this speech, permeates every aspect of the restaurant. But social conscience only carries a restaurant so far; it ultimately comes down to the creativity and execution in the kitchen. And in that regard, Sawyer is even more impressive.
Continue reading »
Tagged: AHT reviews, Cleveland, Ohio, recommended, reviews, The Greenhouse Tavern
Talk!
Checkers Prime Rib Burger
4 Comments | Posted by Hard2Handle, December 16, 2011 at 3:59 PM
Los Angeles: A Delicious Homage at Pier Burger
Posted by Damon Gambuto, February 8, 2012 at 4:00 PM
[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]
Pier Burger
330 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica CA 90401 (map); 310-587-2747; pierburger.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A new Shake Shack-esque burger restaurant makes some burgers that match up to the original
Want Fries with That? Oh, yes! These skinny-cut fries are fantastic!
Prices: Pier Burger (w/ cheese), $4.50 (single), $6.50 (double)
If you're an Angeleno and anything like me you probably avoid The Santa Monica Pier like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I love an old-school pier—the all day fishers and ocean breezes never fail to evoke the best memories of my youth—but the Santa Monica Pier is nothing like the authentic piers of my memory. Rather, it's a self-styled tourist trap that literalizes the amusement park metaphor; that is to say, there really is a small amusement park aloft the pier that affords roller coaster views of the breakers.
But as tourist traps go, things could be much worse. Route 66 dips into the Santa Monica Bay, which stretches out for miles around you as the mild air floats between pleasant and meteorological perfection.
A recent visit from some out-of-town friends prompted revisiting the Santa Monica Pier. As expected, there were throngs of tourists crushing for room for a view. As you'd imagine, there was little fun to be had for me on this visit until I spotted a friendly sign: Pier Burger. Delightful. A new burger to try with my guests made the visit less the exercise in patience I'd expected it would be. In fact, the burger itself was attraction enough.
Continue reading »
Tagged: AHT reviews, California, Los Angeles, Pier Burger, recommended, reviews, Southern California
Reality Check: The Big America Burgers at McDonald's Japan Are Back (and Bad As Ever)
Posted by J. Kenji López-Alt, February 8, 2012 at 11:15 AM
[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]
America may be the home of McDonald's, but Japan is where its hamburgers go to spread their wings and take off into flights of fancy, combining flavors that no American would dare combing, stacking to unusually great heights, dousing themselves in ever-more obscure sauces, and, of course, all coming with a side of genuine smiles and service. Seriously. You see those smiling faces on the tray liner under the burger in the photo above? That's really what every McDonald's employee in Japan looks like.
We've seen McDonald's Japan tackle Korean flavors with the KBQ—two beef patties topped with sweet & spicy bulgogi and gochujang. We've seen its mechanically-recovered meat tread where no mechanically-recovered meat has trod before with its double-stacked, Big Mac meet Little Tokyo Mega Teriyaki Burger. It's even put its stamp on the ol' U.S. of A. with it's Big America burger series last year and the year before.
Well hey, looks like Big America is back this year with four all-new burgers in their lineup, each one available for a few weeks at a time.
Continue reading »
Tagged: fast food, Japan, McDonald's, Reality Check
Talk!
The perfect burger bun
18 Comments | Posted by carsten c, December 11, 2011 at 10:43 AM
Latest from McDonald's in China: Mashed Potato Burger
Posted by Robyn Lee, February 7, 2012 at 6:30 PM
[Photograph: mcdonalds.com.cn]
Looks like the newest burger for the "manly man" (as described in this commercial's title, "Beef 2012 Manly Man Campaign") at McDonald's in China features two beef patties, bacon, and...a hefty glob of mashed potatoes? The commercial starts by calling their beef patty "good," then the bacon "better," and finally, the mashed potato "best." Knowing how tasty McDonald's beef patties are, this may very well be the correct order of ingredient deliciousness.
Poking around the Internet hasn't shown the mashed potatoes-in-a-burger combo to be widespread, but here are some examples: this burger topped with mashed potatoes and bacon, this burger stuffed with mashed potatoes and (turkey) bacon, and Burger King's Loaded Steakhouse Burger topped with mashed potatoes, along with bacon.
What do you think of mashed potatoes on burgers?
About the author: Robyn Lee is the editor of A Hamburger Today and takes many of the photos for Serious Eats. She'll also doodle cute stuff when necessary. Read more from Robyn at her personal food blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Tagged: chains, China, commercials, fast food, McDonald's, polls, videos
Dallas: Jake's Hamburgers Deserves its Stellar Reputation
Posted by Ewan Macdonald, February 7, 2012 at 4:00 PM
[Photographs: Ewan Macdonald]
Jake's Hamburgers
5505 Belt Line Road, Dallas TX 75254 (map); 972-503-5253; 7 locations listed at jakesburgers.net
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: Unlike many older joints, Jake's hasn't been overtaken by the recent burger revolution—its greasy deliciousness is as appealing as ever
Want Fries with That? Get the crispier, battered Jumpin' Jake Fries over the regular ones
Price: Jake's Special burger, $5.99; battered fries, $1.99; jalapeño bottle cap burger, $6.79; tater tots, $1.79; root beer, $2.50
Notes: Full bar. Breakfast available.
By north Texas standards, Jake's Hamburgers is positively ancient at over 25 years old. This local favorite predates the recent drive towards gourmet burgers with artisan toppings—it's very much a product of the fast-food age, albeit with some Texas quirks, and the menu reflects this. However, Jake's can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best burger places in town.
We visited one of its newer locations, just off the tollway in Addison, to find it relatively quiet for a Friday evening. That's as much to do with the restaurant's design as anything else—spacious and bright, there are two bars and three seating areas, all distinct from each other but interconnected. For a joint that has to serve local old-timers their weekend beer fix as well as young families and out-of-town businesspeople, it does a great job of making everyone feel welcome in their own space.
The same goes for the waitstaff, who were both friendly and informative. Not that I needed much information: I knew what I wanted, which was the Jake's Special. That's the fairly classic fast-food formula of two quarter-pound patties of beef that's ground fresh daily, Thousand Island, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. No onion, no pickle—unusual for Texas, but there you are.
Continue reading »
Tagged: AHT reviews, Dallas, Jake's Hamburgers, recommended, reviews, Texas