The Burger Thread!

[DeluxeMoustache]

Review of the burger at the District

I have been a part of a few classes at Cookbook Cooks. During one class, the chef was discussing undercooked meat. Paraphrasing... Bacteria such as E Coli may live on the surface of a steak, and it actually is killed at a relatively low temperature. If your steak has grill marks, you should be fine. A burger on the other hand is a disturbed surface. If the middle of the burger is not heated to a sufficient temperature, if it is present it will survive. The contention that high quality AAA beef, organic beef, or beef watched with a keen eye is not susceptible to the presence of bacteria is unfortunately not true in any way.

Typically if someone asks how I would like a burger cooked, I will request that it be cooked. Haven't sent back a burger when it has shown up pink. I never really gave it much considerstion until the District Burger I ate about a month ago. Undercooked on the inside. Tasted fine. The subsequent 24 hour period alternately was spent with nausea, the chills and bound to the latrine. Nasty case of food poisoning.

Funny enough, a couple of weeks later I have lunch at Notable. Order the brisket and they gave me a sandwich made of pretty much the end. Tough, leather hunks of end. This sandwich was unacceptable, and the server, noticing that I was not devouring it with gusto, offered a replacement meal. I mentioned that I had an afternoon meeting so time was tight. She recommended the burger, as they can prepare it quickly. No request unfortunately of how I wanted it cooked, but I am not used to that question in Alberta anyhow.

I cut it in half, and the pink juicy center immediately set off warning bells. My dining companion was done at that point so I told the server I had to go. Made them pack it up, and took it home and cooked it myself.

Basically after sending back one crappy sandwich, I didn't want to be the guy that sent back the burger too.

The Notable burger was a pretty decent burger in the end, solid but nothing special. Not one of their adventurous ones, beef based. It was ok.

[psyang]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Review of the burger at the District

I have been a part of a few classes at Cookbook Cooks. During one class, the chef was discussing undercooked meat. Paraphrasing... Bacteria such as E Coli may live on the surface of a steak, and it actually is killed at a relatively low temperature. If your steak has grill marks, you should be fine. A burger on the other hand is a disturbed surface. If the middle of the burger is not heated to a sufficient temperature, if it is present it will survive. The contention that high quality AAA beef, organic beef, or beef watched with a keen eye is not susceptible to the presence of bacteria is unfortunately not true in any way.

Typically if someone asks how I would like a burger cooked, I will request that it be cooked. Haven't sent back a burger when it has shown up pink. I never really gave it much considerstion until the District Burger I ate about a month ago. Undercooked on the inside. Tasted fine. The subsequent 24 hour period alternately was spent with nausea, the chills and bound to the latrine. Nasty case of food poisoning.

Funny enough, a couple of weeks later I have lunch at Notable. Order the brisket and they gave me a sandwich made of pretty much the end. Tough, leather hunks of end. This sandwich was unacceptable, and the server, noticing that I was not devouring it with gusto, offered a replacement meal. I mentioned that I had an afternoon meeting so time was tight. She recommended the burger, as they can prepare it quickly. No request unfortunately of how I wanted it cooked, but I am not used to that question in Alberta anyhow.

I cut it in half, and the pink juicy center immediately set off warning bells. My dining companion was done at that point so I told the server I had to go. Made them pack it up, and took it home and cooked it myself.

Basically after sending back one crappy sandwich, I didn't want to be the guy that sent back the burger too.

The Notable burger was a pretty decent burger in the end, solid but nothing special. Not one of their adventurous ones, beef based. It was ok.

Funny coincidence. Was just at Notables yesterday to have the burger of the month (pork-based). Slightly pink in the middle, tasted fine, though. No nausea or chills, but basically had my system flushed last night - fast and painless. Because I feel fine today, I can't complain, but I will be more careful at eating pink burgers in the future.

[Wormius]

Isn't the burger relatively safe if it handled safely and was ground up just prior to cooking?

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Isn't the burger relatively safe if it handled safely and was ground up just prior to cooking?

There's still a big issue with the grinder and other surfaces the meat touches being clean. But the grinder is the biggest worry.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by blankall

There's still a big issue with the grinder and other surfaces the meat touches being clean. But the grinder is the biggest worry.

Agreed. Bacteria are tough to see without a microscope, and if pushed in to the middle of the patty, will survive if a certain temperature isn't hit.

I have been assured in one case (unnamed restaurant) that there was no risk with undercooked meat because they used AAA beef, grind it on site, and the cooks handle their food with the utmost care. I have full confidence that they have this attention to detail when they are not out smoking weed by the dumpster in the alley.

[MarchHare]

Bacteria are tough to see without a microscope

This sentence made me giggle IRL.

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Isn't the burger relatively safe if it handled safely and was ground up just prior to cooking?

Beef yes, pork, not so much.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Beef yes, pork, not so much.

Ah. Somehow missed the part about it being a pork-based burger.

[Knalus]

The Spicy Chorizo Pork Burger at Blue Star Diner is one of the best burgers I've ever had, and like many of you I am also a burger guy. I was leery about the apple going in, but man, just try it. SO much better than the excellent Dairy Lane burger on their menu.

[PeteLFan]

How's the chicken selection at smash burger ?

[LockedOut]

Sounds like the Smashburger in Royal Oak is now open.

Smashburger ‏@Smashburger
Today we opened 2 BRAND NEW locations! One in Mansfield, TX and another one in Royal Oaks, Calgary! Grab a burger if your in the area!

http://twitter.com/Smashburger/statu...47305180389376

[KelVarnsen]

I would be a lot happier(and fatter) if they opened one up in the West Springs/Aspen area.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by LockedOut

Sounds like the Smashburger in Royal Oak is now open.



http://twitter.com/Smashburger/statu...47305180389376

Was there today for lunch - best burger I have had in a long while. Will definitely be going back there...

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Finally one of these places is close to where I live. I will be stopping by soon.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by PeteLFan

How's the chicken selection at smash burger ?

The chicken is pretty good actually.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Had Smashburger at Royal Oak yesterday. They screwed up the toppings totally but it was a solid burger. If Five guys was a 10 out of 10 they'd be a solid 8.

[Byrns]

I went to Smashburger Royal Oak on Thursday. An excellent burger, but I still like Five Guys better. (although it's very close) And Five Guys seems slightly less expensive.

[Russic]

The Calgary burger scene interests me. I love burgers and I'm not generally a picky person, but the burgers in this town for the most part don't do it for me. I enjoyed Alley Burger because it's something different. Five Guys and Clive Burger meanwhile seem to offer very little punch for what they charge in my opinion (CB had shakes and fries that were incredible though). If I'm going to pay $8 for a burger, I'm looking for it to be 2-3x's better than a standard fast food burger, and I'm just not seeing that.

I'm in the Okanagan on vacation and had a Carl's Jr. burger for the first time and felt immediately sad that we don't have one. $6 gets you a huge burger that totally did it for me. Fries were nothing more than vessels to deliver coarse salt, but that wasn't really what I went for. My friends always make fun of me because I consider at $1 the standard tiny dairy queen burger to be a personal favorite. Carl's Jr. to me is like a quality DQ burger. Still fast food, but fast food done right.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Russic

The Calgary burger scene interests me. I love burgers and I'm not generally a picky person, but the burgers in this town for the most part don't do it for me. I enjoyed Alley Burger because it's something different. Five Guys and Clive Burger meanwhile seem to offer very little punch for what they charge in my opinion (CB had shakes and fries that were incredible though). If I'm going to pay $8 for a burger, I'm looking for it to be 2-3x's better than a standard fast food burger, and I'm just not seeing that.

I'm in the Okanagan on vacation and had a Carl's Jr. burger for the first time and felt immediately sad that we don't have one. $6 gets you a huge burger that totally did it for me. Fries were nothing more than vessels to deliver coarse salt, but that wasn't really what I went for. My friends always make fun of me because I consider at $1 the standard tiny dairy queen burger to be a personal favorite. Carl's Jr. to me is like a quality DQ burger. Still fast food, but fast food done right.

have you tried Rocky's Burger Bus? i agree with Five Guys being overhyped, i've been there twice now and the burger just doesn't seem like anything special. and when you're spending over $14 for a burger, fries, and a drink you may as well spend a bit more and go to a regular restaurant. but the same thing at Rocky's is $9 flat, and i find the beef far tastier than any other burger place i've been to. the only one that comes close is Naina's, but their fries are terrible so they get docked for that

[JiriHrdina]

Our new review is up...this week we look at Burger Inn.

http://burgerquest.com/burger-inn/

I'll warn you, my fellow questers really tore BI apart. I had them ranked quite a bit higher.