Friday, October 9, 2009

Where I'm coming from

Not everyone's ideal burger is the same, and all food reviews are subjective, so to give some context for my reviews I'm going to outline my ideal burger. My ideal burger is not about wacky toppings, secret spices, or fancy buns. It's a showcase for good meat. I want to taste quality beef, with a lot of juicy fat dripping out of it. I want the meat seasoned with plenty of salt to bring out it's flavor. I want a a thick patty with a good sear on the outside, medium rare or rare on the inside. I want a good texture, not something ground too finely. I want good beef-to-bun ratio, and a soft bun that doesn't distract from the meat with dense bread or a weird flavor.

That's my ideal perfect burger... but food is about variety and creativity, and I try to be open-minded, so I don't automatically dismiss a burger that doesn't meet my criteria. I love some fast food burgers, especially In N' Out, which I grew up eating and consider the embodiment of the classic California style burger. I also love sliders, and I'll hit White Castle whenever I'm near one. As of this post my favorite fast food style burger in Rochester is Five Guys, which is great, and the only national chain that I would get a burger at is Wendy's (a triple stack gets me my ideal beef-bun ratio). I'm also always interested in expanding my horizons and trying out local burger variations and experiments. So now you know me. Let's rage.

2 comments:

  1. sounds like Sterling Tavern is right up your alley then for sure! No frills place just honest amazing home made food.. place is legendary although still obscured from the masses somehow (most burger connoisseurs here will probably suggest Coles, which no doubt makes quality product)... however, one Sterling burger and you'll know what i'm talking about. What's the best ones in Rochester so far?

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  2. I'll definitely hit it up next time I'm in Buffalo. So far I don't think I could pinpoint the best in Rochester because there are a lot of places I haven't checked out. I had basically given up on finding a good burger place around here so I would usually just make my own if I was craving burgers. Now that I've got this blog going I'll be checking out more places. If I had to make a call right now I'd say Lindburgers (http://rocwiki.org/Lindburgers) but I haven't been in a while. Once I go back I plan to review it.

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