Food: Cheeseburger Heaven

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Cheeseburger Heaven
Saturday, April 15, 2006

The other day I was driving to the mall and I passed a location where they are building a new restaurant. The sign said "Coming Soon Cheeseburgers in Paradise". Yum, I thought. I'm always up for a new place that I can take my kids to-- and they love cheeseburgers. A quick Google search showed that the "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" chain is owned buy Jimmy Buffet and they serve a lot more than just cheeseburgers. But some of their awesome-sounding burgers selections include the "Mardi Gras Mushroom Swiss Burger" and the "What's Shakin' Bacon Burger".

So it got me to thinking: nothing is better than a good, gourmet cheeseburger. Although they are not all considered to be gourmet, every cheeseburger restaurant has their own style. Here is a rundown on a few favorites:

The fast food burger: Every parent knows that they will end up at a fast food joint with their kids at some point. But even amongst the fast food industry, each burger has its own style. McDonald's is known for their double cheeseburgers. Big Macs and Quarter Pounders. A plain cheeseburger (the kind found in a kid's Happy Meal) is pretty thin-- there's more bun than burger-- but the kids sure do love them. Swing over to Burger King for their flame broiled burgers, slightly thicker than McDonald's and actually pretty tasty (I admit I'm a sucker for BK's Whopper's, too). Then there's Wendy's, with their lettuce, tomato and onion topped burgers (it just feels healthier with a few "veggies" on top). Yes, the fast food burgers vary quite a bit.

The top your own burger joint: I love places like this, where you can order up a burger, usually in varying weights like a quarter or a half pound, and then go over to the toppings bar to top it yourself. I like to put barbecue sauce on my burger. And pickles. Other toppings usually include lettuce, tomato, onion, mushrooms, cheese, mayo, relish, avocado, peppers, etc. I like places that offer a dozen different types of cheese-- from American to cheddar to provolone to jalapeno pepper jack cheese and everything in between (have you ever tried a feta cheese burger?).

When I was younger, my Dad used to stuff burgers with blue cheese and then cook them on the grill. I thought it was disgusting at the time, but now, being a blue cheese lover myself, I find it to be simply heaven.

Other tricks I use when making burgers at home? I never use just plain ground beef-- I always season and flavor it. I like to change it up, sometimes adding salt, pepper and some worstershire sauce. Other times I mix in some A-1 steak sauce. I used to add eggs but find that eggs sometimes makes them too moist and then they fall apart on the grill. If I want a bulky, flavorful burger I sometimes add some herb seasoned stuffing cubes. That's right-- the dry stuffing cubes and a little water-- if you try this trick then that is all the flavoring you will need.

It took me a long time to figure out how to make a good burger on the grill, but I finally realized that burger meat that is too moist will probably fall apart when you try to turn them. Also, don't turn them too early or they will definitely fall apart. I like to use my George Forman grill sometimes, which guarantees the burgers won't fall apart because you don't have to flip them. Plus, all the fatty grease drains out into the drip pan.

There's an art and a science to the whole thing, which is why I have so much respect for a burger restaurant than can actually do it right. So next time you're craving a gourmet burger, try a new place and try to figure out what their secret is. It may be a special topping or a cooking technique. It may even be the bun or the cheese (some of the best burger places use processed cheese like Velveeta or even-- gasp--Cheez Whiz). You may be amazed at what you will find and then you may even decide to go home and make it your mission to create your own version of the best burger ever.

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