"hamburgers" news and stories

We already thought other countries beat us on quality fast food -- crawl through any backstreet in Southeast Asia and find a healthy bundle of dumplings with local spices, or Mexico for hot-off-the-grill strips of meat with freshly mashed avocado. But leave it to the French to design a foie gras burger (priced at 5 euros, no less) for their national fast food joint, nonchalantly called Quick.

A decided rival to the golden arches, according to Daily Mail UK, Quick will serve a limited-edition "Supreme Foie Gras Burger" for a mere 5 euors -- that's under $8. Try finding that at a drive-though near you. We on this side of the Atlantic have to reserve a spot with a tablecloth to get this kind of decadence.

Foie gras is produced manually by over-stuffing the livers of duck, literally translated in French as "fatty liver". It's been featured on many a high-end table, like at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne, and has been the object of much debate over animal cruelty versus culinary allegiance, ranked up there with the truffles and fish eggs of the world. According to Daily Mail, in the Aquitaine region, it can go for 100 euros per kilo, and even more during the holidays.

But in France, for three days -- December 17 to 19 -- there'll be sliced "foie gras over a minced beef patty, with onion and rocket leaves" at Quick's 360 outlets. So get it while it's hot, you lucky French; we'll just have to stick with our seasonal rib-less beast.

Anyone who's cleaned out a minivan can attest that McDonald's food just...doesn't...age. A fresh-looking burger lies stiffly next to a completely rotted apple core. The fries scattered in the backseat are hard and cold, to be sure, but there's not a spot of mold on them. And it's been weeks since the kids had those Happy Meals! What gives?

There's long been speculation that this food fountain of youth is due to a massive amount of preservatives. But McDonald's maintains that their burgers, at least, are completely preservative-free.

The answer may not be quite as sinister as suspected. Although McDonald's hasn't actually fessed up to whether preservatives lurk in anything other than its burgers, there are scientific explanations for what Salon calls this "shelf life of the undead," and while they're not exactly scary, they're not exactly healthy, either. Rather than huge levels of chemicals, we're talking hefty servings of fat and salt.

The concept behind Boston Market is simple: Pick up what you need for dinner and be on your way. And with 514 stores in the U.S., it's evident that it's a successful formula for the Golden, Colorado, based company. Problem is, the chain's big sellers -- hearty fare like rotisserie chicken, meatloaf, and pot pies -- are great for family meals, but the company wants customers to come in for a new reason: snacktime.

Enter the slider.

Boston Market is rolling out three of the small sandwiches, which company execs are calling "a lighter meal" or "an afternoon snack." And though though the word "sliders" typically means one thing -- tiny burgers -- apparently the term is now being employed to describe any miniature sandwich: Boston Market's offerings are meatloaf and cheddar, turkey and swiss, and BBQ chicken and cheddar.

More about the new sliders after the jump.

At newcomer Relish, in West Palm Beach, Florida, diners can customize their burger right down to the kind of salt sprinkled atop the patty. Between the 12 different types of burger meat (from beef to shrimp), 20 homemade relishes, four cheeses and six salts, owners Desiree and Daniel Tobin estimate that there are over 1,000 possible combinations.

"People say 'whoa' when they see the menu," Desiree acknowledges. "So far, beef has been king, but diners are interested in trying the other burgers like buffalo and lamb. There are different seafood versions, including a generous lobster burger. Our turkey burger is all white meat. We actually grind our own turkey meat in order to provide guests with the best quality white meat turkey. For vegans, there is a black bean burger."

The husband and wife team has been planning this endeavor for three years. Although this is their first foray into the restaurant business, their hard work and ingenuity is already paying off. "My husband and I believe it's important to provide people with food they are familiar with," Desiree comments. "But every business has its own niche and this is ours."

Applebee's is getting real-- real about expanding their "Realburgers from Across America" line, with three new regional creations that tap into the Philadelphia Cheesesteak, the chile heat of the southwest and the big BBQ tastes of Texas. And they're promising that the flavors are "unique as the neighborhoods that inspired them." Aside from Philadelphia, the "neighborhoods" they're referring to feel more like large regions. But enough with the technicalities, on with what's new.

The "Philly Burger" features grilled onions, sautéed peppers and mushrooms, combined with a creamy cheese sauce and aged white cheddar. Yes, that's a double cheese whammy. All of this joins a burger on a toasted hoagie roll.

The "Southwest Jalapeño Burger" piles the heat on in three different ways: pepper-jack cheese, chipotle mayo and candied jalapeños top off this burger.