The Damn Finest Burger Around
I have narrowed down the best burger in the world contest to two different locations. The race is to close to call, so I have decided to have two winners, but it is not a tie. Ties are stupid and should be saved for soccer and hockey. Instead we are going to say the finest franchise/chain burger and the best private burger.
Bar none, the best chain burger has to be In and Out Burger in California. It is beyond good. They have no freezers in the place. Everything arrives in the morning and is made only after the order has been taken. Thinking about it makes my mouth water. The fries are good, but the chocolate milkshake to go with the burger takes the price. Apparently all the meat is free range beef and the vegetables are all ecological. They treat their employees well, so there is really nothing one could complain about, except for the fact that they are only in California!
For the best mom and pop style burger, you have to go to a small town just south of Dallas/Fort Worth called Cleburne. The town itself has about 27,000 people (with about 70 Baptist churches). The Burger Bar is located just off the square behind Patrick’s Floral. The restaurant, if that is what you want to call it, can fit in the back of a pick-up truck. You can either eat it there, on one of the four stools by the counter, or you can take with you. If you stay, be prepared to talk to the chef/owner of the place. This place is true Americana! Next time I find myself in that area, I will take a picture of it and post it, because the building is part of the experience. The other part is a damn fine burger of course.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Traveling without even having to leave the house
My parents were in town not too long ago. I wanted them to experience something that they had never experienced before, so we took them to an all you can eat sushi buffet. I was in heaven as I gorged myself with 21 bits of sushi, plus some Thai food. My parents took the Thai food and ignored the sushi completely (with the exception of the Wasabi, which mom took a generous portion. Only because she thought that it was guacamole).
I did not grow up eating seafood. The only time we ate anything that came from the water was on Fridays when we had to have fish sticks (at the time we were Catholic). If we wanted to have an exotic meal, we would have Chow Main. It was then we were having “authentic” Chinese. Boy how times change. As the world travels more and more, the Earth is getting smaller and smaller. When we travel, we try to eat “ethnic” food (ethnic being a very general term that encompasses everything from Italian, to Moroccan to Mexican and everything in between). Then when we get home, we want to have that same, or as close as we can get to the same, food again to remind us of the trip and the travels we have taken.
Looking in my food cabinet, I discovered just how true that is. We have a blending of just about everything. We have curry sauces, coconut milk, ginger chutney, jambalaya, bulgur, minso soup, sushi rice and wrap, olive cakes from Spain, glüvien and Mozart Balls to name a few. In the fridge/freezer we have snitzel, kebab meat, moose, reindeer, four different types of olives and three different types of soy sauce, bamboo shoots and lemon grass, peanut and fish sauce, and three different types of hot sauce. If you look at our wine “collection”, we have wines from at least ten different countries that was purchased mainly from the country it is from or from friends who traveled to that country. The beer collection, even though it is getting progressively smaller, is similar.
Right now, Southeast Asian is some of our favorite. In order to get the “right” ingredients, we go to specialty shops that specialize in Asian food. That in itself is an adventure. When friends travel to Italy, we have then pick up olive oil; when friends travel to France, we get cheeses and the list goes on. When I travel with work, my bag will be half empty when I go down, but will be totally full on the way home, full of food and wines.
My parents are not nearly as “bad” as we are, but if you look at their cabinet it is not too different. They will have a mixture of food from a multitude of different cultures. If you compared it to what it was 15 or 20 years ago, it would almost be shocking. As traveling has become more affordable and more people are traveling for pleasure, the food in our cabinet has diversified.
If you are unable to go to Italy this year, that is ok, bring Italy to you. Turn on a little Italian music, light some candles, have some good olive oil with olives and fresh mozzarella, and pop the cork on your favorite Tuscan wine. Then have Italy in your very own kitchen. If that is not enough, turn a soccer game on in the background for the added effect!
My parents were in town not too long ago. I wanted them to experience something that they had never experienced before, so we took them to an all you can eat sushi buffet. I was in heaven as I gorged myself with 21 bits of sushi, plus some Thai food. My parents took the Thai food and ignored the sushi completely (with the exception of the Wasabi, which mom took a generous portion. Only because she thought that it was guacamole).
I did not grow up eating seafood. The only time we ate anything that came from the water was on Fridays when we had to have fish sticks (at the time we were Catholic). If we wanted to have an exotic meal, we would have Chow Main. It was then we were having “authentic” Chinese. Boy how times change. As the world travels more and more, the Earth is getting smaller and smaller. When we travel, we try to eat “ethnic” food (ethnic being a very general term that encompasses everything from Italian, to Moroccan to Mexican and everything in between). Then when we get home, we want to have that same, or as close as we can get to the same, food again to remind us of the trip and the travels we have taken.
Looking in my food cabinet, I discovered just how true that is. We have a blending of just about everything. We have curry sauces, coconut milk, ginger chutney, jambalaya, bulgur, minso soup, sushi rice and wrap, olive cakes from Spain, glüvien and Mozart Balls to name a few. In the fridge/freezer we have snitzel, kebab meat, moose, reindeer, four different types of olives and three different types of soy sauce, bamboo shoots and lemon grass, peanut and fish sauce, and three different types of hot sauce. If you look at our wine “collection”, we have wines from at least ten different countries that was purchased mainly from the country it is from or from friends who traveled to that country. The beer collection, even though it is getting progressively smaller, is similar.
Right now, Southeast Asian is some of our favorite. In order to get the “right” ingredients, we go to specialty shops that specialize in Asian food. That in itself is an adventure. When friends travel to Italy, we have then pick up olive oil; when friends travel to France, we get cheeses and the list goes on. When I travel with work, my bag will be half empty when I go down, but will be totally full on the way home, full of food and wines.
My parents are not nearly as “bad” as we are, but if you look at their cabinet it is not too different. They will have a mixture of food from a multitude of different cultures. If you compared it to what it was 15 or 20 years ago, it would almost be shocking. As traveling has become more affordable and more people are traveling for pleasure, the food in our cabinet has diversified.
If you are unable to go to Italy this year, that is ok, bring Italy to you. Turn on a little Italian music, light some candles, have some good olive oil with olives and fresh mozzarella, and pop the cork on your favorite Tuscan wine. Then have Italy in your very own kitchen. If that is not enough, turn a soccer game on in the background for the added effect!
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