"cheeseburger" news and stories

If I hadn't found myself contemplating how to eat a burger a myriad of times while out and about, I would've thought it was just me. But it isn't.

As a burger-loving community, we seem to have this obsession with huge, towering burgers -- even if they're ridiculously hard to eat, and usually result in each bite not having every delicious and hefty ingredient. I usually try to reign in my burger making for that precise reason. But the thing is, I usually don't think of it until I see the towering inferno of meat in front of me. Can our brains not process the heights of burgers, cheeses, veggies, and condiments?

Heck, I'm trying to watch my diet right now, and it didn't even occur to me to make the above burger thinner until I saw it all done up. It's like the meat gods have implanted a wall in which no rational anti-meat thought can get over until its too late. But at least it's a tasty weakness. A delicious and juicy tasty weakness.

The above burger is delectable ground bison, with a mixture of cheeses, a lightly sauteed tomato, and a ringed slice of caramelized onion.

Carl's Jr. continues its eternal variations upon the cheeseburger with the guacamole bacon burger. One of their more successful efforts (I still recall my disappointment with the brilliant-in-concept Teriyaki burger and I continue to vacillate on the matter of the Western Bacon Burger.), it has appeared on the menu before. Now, however, it's being offered in single, double and six-dollar variations, with the size reflected in the price.

I went for the latter (Hey, if you're gonna indluge in the drive-thru, indulge in the drive-thru). and found it to be a darn sight better than the average fast food burger. The patty was thick and juicy, the guacamole was pleasantly spicy and the bacon was actually of a quality and amount to enhance the burger, rather than detract from it, like most fast-food bacon-on-burgers.

The guacamole bacon burger was named the official burger of last month's 2008 California Avocado Festival and it's a pretty solid choice. It also makes me consider what other high-end flavors I'd like to see on my low-end burgers. The grilled pineapple on the aforementioned Teriyaki burger raised my hopes, the the execution was distressingly bland. Mushroom Swiss burgers have been tried with varying degress of success, although the chili burgers are usually not terribly enticing. Toppings like brie, caramaleized red onions, roasted tomatoes or any lettuce beyond iceberg is probably out of range. Still, it'll give you something to mull over next time you're waiting at the window for your extra ketchup.

Even before the plummeting economy bred the trend toward downscaling, the idea of the burger joint as a gourment restaurant was popular. However, it's hit Las Vegas in a big way, with two casinos introducing their high-end take on the American classic--BLT and LBS. I guess this initial thing is in fashion now too....

The Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser is so big that it looks like it might eat Brad Sciullo. Nonetheless the 21-year-old chef from Uniontown, Pa., took down the 15-pound burger along with 5 pounds of toppings in four hours and 39 minutes. For his efforts the 5-foot-11, 180-pound received $400, three T-shirts, a certificate and what the owner of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub calls "a burger hangover."

Sciullo is the first person to ever successfully eat this outlandishly huge burger within the 5-hour time limit. The colossal cheeseburger was dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish. Four hours and 39 minutes is a glacial pace compared with the people on the International Federation of Competitive Eaters circuit. The IFOCE is all about speed.

I'm guessing that Sciullo might spend a good 4 hours in the bathroom after eating that much ground beef. At least the chef doesn't have to face any burgers when he returns to work. He works at an Italian restaurant called Pasta Lorenzo's in Uniontown.

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The weather is nice (at least where I am). It's Friday. Why not break out a grill this weekend and make your own, perfectly melted cheeseburgers?

Thanks to Another Pint Please... for adding your photo to the Slashfood Pool.

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