"hamburger" news and stories

When it comes to topping a burger with more meat, we figured bacon has the market safely cornered. But after talking with Food Network's Michael Symon recently, we're rethinking our position. Not to offend any bacon-cheeseburger purists, but listening to Michael Symon describe the "Fat Doug," the Philly Witt" and the "Yo Burger"-- standouts that he's serving at B Spot these days -- we're thinking bacon actually sounds a bit boring.

Earlier this year, Symon's "Fat Doug" beat out Bobby Flay at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. In the video below, he details these standout burgers and reveals which of his creations he's taking to South Beach in 2011. Watch, but be warned: you will get hungry.

Considering that In-N-Out has had a 38-year lead over its rival, it may seem like this burger popularity contest would be an open and shut case. However, if latest reports are to be believed, not only has Five Guys caught up to the older chain but it's poised to to pass it. To conduct some comparative eating of your own, you'll have to fly coast to coast since the chains reside at the opposite ends of the U.S. -- so TravelInsurance.org has created the side-by-side infographic below to entice you on a burger adventure.

In tough times, diners aren't going for the prime rib or petit filet mignon.

Instead, they're looking to get their gourmet beef fix from designer hamburgers -- and restaurants are turning the fast-food sandwich into a "fine dining experience" all over the country, Voice of America News reported.

"I think with the economy the way it is now, honestly, I think there is more room for profit in a burger restaurant than there is in a steak house right now," Greg Cook, head chef at the BLT Mirage in Las Vegas, told VoA News. "I think that the general public can always afford to have a burger."

And they're not the only ones turning to toppings like fried eggs, spicy fresh aïoli and even truffles to take burgers to the next level.

It's a tragicomic lament that hovers like a cartoon thought-bubble over the heads of many fast-food burger eaters these days: Why, oh why, does the Big Mac in my hand look almost nothing like the one pictured in the McDonald's ad?

If any conclusion can be drawn from a new Consumer Reports survey, it may be that customers are getting fed up with chains that tantalize with mouth-watering pictures of plump, juicy burgers perfectly trimmed with all the fixings only to deliver a pallid simulacrum in reality -- sad, gray little patties topped with a loveless smear of ketchup and sandwiched between two tasteless buns.

Because when you look at who fared worst in the survey of more than 28,000 Consumer Reports subscribers on their fast-food burger preferences, they seem to have one thing in common (other than, apparently, terrible burgers): outsized advertising budgets.

Consumer Reports asked participants to rate the burgers at 18 different chains on a classic 1-to-10 scale. With a miserable average score of 6.3, Burger King and Jack in the Box both tied, vying for second-to-last place. (Maybe that's a sign that Jack in the Box needs to pick a "CEO"/spokesman that doesn't have an oversized ping-pong ball for a head.)

Even burgers are getting on Twitter these days.

With the debut next month of Manhattan's "healthy fast food" joint 4Food, diners will be able to combine their love of burgers with their love of social networking, the New York Times reported.

Customers order the doughnut-shaped burgers -- and get to name them -- that are then broadcast on the Internet on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.

Burger orders are shown on a leaderboard that advertises which is most popular. Every time someone orders the burger you created, you get a 25-cent credit to the restaurant, the Times reported. If your burger is popular enough, eventually you'll eat for free.

And turning it into a game could make customers promote 4Food online as they try to nudge their won creations higher on the list.