There are endless ways these days to enjoy a burger, one of America’s favorite comfort foods. While we’ll always be fans of the classic varieties, chefs today continue to push the envelope, using a variety of patties — beef, lamb, tuna, veggie and more — and a myriad of inventive toppings and sauces. Here are 17 fancy burgers that’ll surprise and delight even the most experienced fast-food aficionado:
The perfect combination of sweet and savory, Grange Hall’s Berries and Brie Burger is made from Tallgrass Beef Company’s grass-fed beef, topped with brie, arugula, mixed berry compote, Dijon aioli and a red wine balsamic reduction, served with either a sesame seed or gluten-free bun or on a bed of lettuce.
Bacon lovers rejoice at WHISK over The Ron Swanson, an 8oz burger wrapped in 1lb of bacon, topped with bacon-mayo and served with a side of regular or Cajun fries.
The Chef’s Favorite Burger at Plan Check is made with cheese two ways, bacon two ways, a sunny fried egg, hot sauce and ketchup leather — a mysterious, innovative take on the favorite condiment that’ll have you smiling all the way home.
A.bar delivers a juicy patty with Lancaster Swiss — a creamy cheese that’s full of flavor — pickles and bacon-onion jam.
6. HAMBURGER & POTATO TOTS – One Market (San Francisco)
Photo provided by One Market.
One Market’s Hamburger and Potato Tots, prepared with sweet onions, coleslaw, port Dijon and Point Reyes blue cheese — the Best Cheese/Dairy Product at the Fancy Food Show in Washington D.C. — is the epitome of a power lunch.
Not likely to be found at your backyard barbecue, The Original DB Burger is filled with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffle, and served on a Parmesan bun with a side of pommes frites.
As its namesake suggests, Burger & Barrel delivers best-in-class burgers, including the award-winning Bash Style, prepared with onion and bacon jam, pickles, American cheese and special sauce.
A delicious lunch to cozy up to with a craft cocktail, the signature burger at Trade boasts rustic vibes with pancetta, Vermont cheddar and grilled onion.
A perfect complement to the microbrews from Abigaile’s on-premise brewery, the Dry Aged Brewery Burger oozes with Gruyere and truffle aioli and is topped with arugula, heirloom tomato, caramelized onion and an optional fried egg or slab bacon.
Made with crispy pork belly and white cheddar and served with herb fries, the “Le Royale” burger at RN74 is an extra juicy lunchtime treat that’s sure to fuel your afternoon.
On its upscale pub-grub menu, The Tip Tap Room features a number of inventive burgers, including turkey with cranberry, steak with a veal demi-glace and Italian sausage with pretzel-Dijon mustard, to pair with its 36 different draft beers.
Made with sustainable, farm-raised Angus beef from Maine, the Whiskey King at Village Whiskey will knock your socks off, topped with maple bourbon-glazed cipollini onions, Rogue bleu cheese, applewood bacon and foie gras.
Offering the best of both worlds, the Surf & Turf Burger at The Franklin Room — ⅓ lb. Wagyu beef, soft shell crab, whiskey-balsamic sauce, fried egg, cheddar, provolone and bacon on a pretzel bun alongside waffle fries — satisfies all your cravings.
Darren’s Grass Fed Burger Sliders — three sliders with bacon, red onion jam, in-house smoky chipotle Velveeta cheese, sun-dried tomato remoulade and brioche buns — is one of many mouth-watering snacks and small plates great for sharing with friends.
A can’t-miss for condiment lovers, Catalyst’s house burger is served on a brioche bun with cheddar, bacon, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, house-made ketchup, mustard and aioli, plus a side of Catalyst Fries.
17. SESAME CRUSTED TUNA BURGER – Ditch Plains (New York)
Photo provided by Ditch Plains.
Looking for something lighter? Ditch Plains’ Sesame Crusted Tuna Burger with pickled carrots, guacamole and jalapeño aioli is a match made in heaven.
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via Foodbeast We now have six more reasons to place PBR at the top of the grocery list.
For context, we challenged six of our favorite guys known for creating obscenely delicious eats, and asked them to create some more obscenely delicious eats using the golden good stuff PBR–just because we can, and just because we should. (Ask not what PBR can do for you, but what you can do for PBR, right? Something like that.)
Needless to say, our guys delivered, and consequently, history has been made. After all, we’re talking about some of the best. Tym “McBurger Chips” Bussanich. Sushi-making legend Davy Devaux. The Vulgar Fucking Chef, for cheddar’s sake.
PBR pretzel bites, sushi, bacon mac, PABST BLUE REUBEN–this is what happens when you mix fire with fire. You might as well just consider and accept these as your grocery list. Here are six reasons why you need to restock your fridge with PBR immediately:
Tym Bussanich‘s genius idea of combining steak marinated in PBR with green peppers, onions, and melted American cheese, all within the cracks of a warm loaf of bread (I like to think of these as sandwich fries). Happiness is just a finger away, y’all.
This recipe from the Simple Cooking Channel is the ultimate comfort food after a long day wherever: PBR. Bacon. Mac. Cheese. All can be united so effortlessly, it’s almost too good too be true. That’s the joy of Simple Cooking.
An entire sandwich, dunked and fried in PBR batter, and graced with a punderfully appropriate title. We’d be lost without this treasure from Dude Foods.
For many of us, it’s difficult enough making basic sushi. Davy of Make Sushi not only recreated the PBR logo in this PBR-battered roll, but to do so, he imagined the first ever naturally blue rice by using ultra rare butterfly pea flower tea.
The idea of PBR in a PBR can is nice. The idea of PBR Cheddar Nuggets in a PBR can is also nice. Vulgar Chef‘s taking things to a whole new level with these cheddar nuggets fried in PBR batter, which he keenly serves in their own can along with a creamy bacon cheese sauce for dunkin’. Dipping cheese into more cheese–that’s what America’s all about.
Cheesy, salty, and a lil’ spicy–said it before and I’ll say it again, these are the perfect anytime anywhere snack. Seeing a movie tonight? Maybe you pop into your kitchen for a bit beforehand. Maybe you make a couple batches… a couple dozen batches. Maybe you discreetly tuck ‘em into your pockets/purse/mouth and sneak ‘em into the theater with you for a lil’ snack during the show. Maybe you just had the best movie experience EVER.
By Molly Shannon Molly Shannon Molly is the original krill queen and co-founder of the Boba Belt. She fancies a mean ramen burger, and a cold glass of nonfat milk.
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What’s not to love about a classic burger? Sometimes there’s nothing better than a juicy patty on a warmly toasted bun topped with melted cheese, lettuce, tomato and tasty condiments. Here are 14 All-American burgers that’ll make you wish it was barbecue season already:
The burger at Cafe du Nord is as classic as the restaurant — which has been serving San Francisco almost continuously since 1907 — with sharp cheddar, lettuce, pickles and secret sauce plus a side of fries.
At Plan Check, the PCB (Plan Check Burger) comes with delicious toppings — Americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions and mixed pickles — on a perfect “crunch” bun.
Photo provided by Alden & Harlow. Photo by Jennifer Che.
Alden & Harlow’s Burger — offered with limited availability — is made with an 80z Creekstone patty, a house-made roll and “your faith” in the chef. The burger remains a mystery until you take the first bite, but it looks darn good to us!
5. MASON PACIFIC BURGER – Mason Pacific (San Francisco)
Photo provided by Mason Pacific.
Mason Pacific delivers a juicy patty on a pretzel bun with smoked tomato and pickled red onion, plus optional gourmet toppings such as mushroom confit, white cheddar, egg and gorgonzola.
Ai Fiori’s White Label Burger — an eight-ounce LaFrieda prime patty served with bacon marmalade, slices of white American cheese, McClure’s pickles and a side of pommes dauphines (crisp potato puffs)– is the epitome of a power lunch.
Sunny Spot’s cheeseburger — with American cheese, crispy buttermilk onions, tomato, housemade pickles and fancy sauce — is a great dish to enjoy hand in hand with its Caribbean style side dishes like avocado mash, salt and pepper fries, and rice and beans.
A perfect fit for the restaurant’s European-influenced American menu, Alta CA’s burger comes with cheddar cheese and bacon on a sesame bun with a side of crisp potatoes in garlic oil.
Photo provided by Edi and the Wolf. Photo by Andreas Kurzahls.
A delicious lunch to cozy up to with an Austrian beer, the Wolf Burger at Edi & the Wolf is prepared with the restaurant’s signature Pat LaFrieda blend, gruyere and both grilled and crispy onions, with egg and bacon offered as additions.
A staple on its modern American menu, Gemini Bistro dishes out a prime beef with its applewood bacon cheeseburger on a homemade bun with a side of fries.
11. LA PUENTE BACKYARD ORIGINAL – Cerveteca (Los Angeles)
Photo provided by Cerveteca.
The perfect complement to their fantastic beer selection, Cerveteca’s burger can be ordered with a beef, turkey or veggie patty and is garnished with red leaf, tomato, grilled or fried onion, housemade “not so secret sauce” and a choice of pimiento or cheddar cheese.
Photo provided by Landmarc. Photo by Cedric Angeles.
Landmarc offers standout cheeses to top off its hamburgers or chicken burgers — American, gruyere, blue, cheddar, mozzarella and smoked mozzarella are all on hand — to make yours ooze with delight.
13. FOG CITY BURGER & FRIES – Fog City (San Francisco)
Photo provided by Fog City.
A reimagined version of a historic destination, Fog City delivers food that strikes that same traditional yet updated balance, featuring a burger topped with smoked tomato aioli, housemade American cheese, tomato, onion and dill pickle on a brioche bun.
Dudley Market’s Burger Diane, a lunchtime favorite, is a gourmet take on a classic dish, prepared with gruyere, melted onions, mushrooms, pickles and Dijon.
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via BurgerBusiness Face it, what makes the Big Mac special is the sauce, not the two all-beef patties, lettuce, etc. And as the Big Mac approaches its 50th anniversary next year, McDonald’s is treating its Big Mac Sauce as a very valuable commodity in promotions in the UK and in Australia.
In the UK, the chain has introduced the Bacon Clubhouse burger, a menu item that originated in the U.S. in 2014 and that has since traveled the world. What’s distinctive about the Bacon Clubhouse is the inclusion of Big Mac Sauce, something McDonald’s very rarely allows to be used on anything other than the Big Mac. But McDonald’s is learning just how valuable that special sauce really is.
To hype the sandwich’s UK arrival McDonald’s is conducting an eBay auction for one 740ml bottle of Big Mac Sauce that will be accompanied by a dispenser (above) that looks very much like a caulk gun. According to the eBay site, “This is the only bottle of Big Mac Sauce that’s ever been available to the public in the UK and isn’t available for sale anywhere else in the country.”
Proceeds from the auction will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities, and it appears the charity should prepare for a windfall. Bidding doesn’t close until Feb. 10, but as of Friday (2/5) the top bid was £40,700 ($58,909).
In Australia, Big Mac Sauce fans got away much more cheaply. On Jan. 23, McDonald’s made 4,000 16-oz. bottles of the sauce available for just $4.99 at 40 stores across the country. They reportedly sold out in minutes, of course, leaving those who were sauceless unhappy and searching auction sites for bottles that went on offer for $100+.
But there’s hope. McDonald’s has responded with a “Crack the Code” game through social media. Solve the code and you could win a bottle of that coveted Big Mac Sauce plus $1,000 AUS.
The chain also is making mini-tubs of Big Mac Sauce available for Chicken McNuggets dipping for a 50¢ upcharge. I have to think this is something we’ll see in the U.S. soon.
Is demand for Big Mac Sauce really this crazy strong or is McDonald’s simply manufacturing demand through scarcity? We know the answer, but it’s an interesting way to build buzz about a core menu product that Pittsburgh franchisee Jim Delligatti created in 1967. It went on the national menu the following year.
McDonald’s doesn’t often mess with the Big Mac, but it has played with it on occasion. Currently, Finland and Czech Republic outlets are promoting a “Grand Big Mac” with heftier beef patties. The Finns also are enjoying the Chicken Big Mac, which the chain has dropped into several markets and really aught to put on the U.S. menu. After all, it has that Big Mac Sauce that we all love so much!
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Avocados on Game Day–not a want, rather, a necessity. A delicious, delicious NECESSITY.
In fact, it’s expected that Big Game partiers will consume over 139 MILLION pounds of fresh avocados during the week’s festivities! That’s a lot of necessity.
But with great avocados comes great responsibility, and even greater possibility, so just how do you plan on eating yours? Sure, you could mash ‘em up into guacamole and chip-n-dip to your heart’s content, but after checking out the recipes below, you’re going to rethink every avocado you’ve ever laid eyes on.
Here are three unexpected yet totally Game Day appropriate ways to eat up those pretty green babies.
What’s a potato? These fries from Josh Scherer (Culinary Brodown) are made from 100% pure avocado and loaded with marinated carne asada, refried beans, Mexican crema and queso fresco, and a ‘liberal squirting of Sriracha.’ I’ll take twenty.
With Josh Elkin‘s recipe for Avocado and Bacon Deviled Eggs on the playing field, the Easter Bunny’s definitely getting a run for his money–sorry, man, we prefer our eggs to be filled with creamy avocado and bacon-infused yolks, not expired Tootsie rolls.
These insane Avocado Frito Pie Bombs from Amy Erickson (Oh Bite It) are lethal, but in the best possible way–exploding with flavors of baked avocado, chili cheese, and Frito chips, they’re dangerously delicious.
By Molly Shannon Molly is the original krill queen and co-founder of the Boba Belt. She fancies a mean ramen burger, and a cold glass of nonfat milk.
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via BurgerBusiness American-themed menu promotions are staples of McDonald’s and Burger King marketing in Europe, but McDonald’s France has gone one better, introducing “American Winter,” a five-item seasonal menu.
This latest American promotion nod comes while McDonald’s Italy is running its Great Tastes of America promotion (with star-shaped burgers named for Texas, Miami’s Ocean Drive and Route 66) and Burger King UK is in the midst of a Route 66 Roadtrip promo featuring a Chicago Steakhouse burger, Texas Crunch Whopper and California Chicken Tendercrisp sandwich.
Despite the name, McDonald’s France’s five-item American Winter menu (above) does not seem especially American. It includes two burgers: the Bacon & Cheddar Fondu (beef with cheese sauce, crispy bacon and melted Cheddar) and Champignons & Cheddar Fondu (beef, cheese sauce, grilled mushrooms and melting and melted Cheddar).
There is also what it’s calling a Burger Fromage Pané & Fondant that’s more a giant Mozzarella Stick in a bun than burger. There’s no beef patty, just a deep-fried cheese patty with lettuce and tomato. Smaller versions of the fried cheese patty are the base for a McWrap Fromage Pané. Finally, there are seasoned ridged Winter Fries.
This is the sort of seasonal promotion that the U.S. has seen since 2013, when Burger King stopped doing multi-item Summer Menu LTOs.
Separately, in another curious menu twist, McDonald’s Hong Kong has introduced Sweet Potato Sensation (below), a mix of sweet potato and McDonald’s classic vanilla ice cream. It’s available as a cone, sundae or McFlurry.
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via BurgerBusiness Canadian chain The Works Gourmet Burgers didn’t get the 2013 memo that multi-item promotional menus were over. Burger King and others quit doing seasonal menus then but The Works keeps launching series after series of wild burgers.
With its three-burger “Get Stuff’d” LTO menu (including the famous candy-filled Reece PBC burger) concluded, The Works has launched a new “Patty Like a Rockstar Menu” with seven new LTO burgers.
Both the “lead singers” here have patty “blends.” The $16.98 (Canadian) Surf ‘N Turf burger has a shrimp & beef patty topped with house-made red onion and pineapple salsa, green onion, arugula and creamy goat-cheese spread with fried shrimp. The Hazed & Confused burger, also $16.98, begins with a bacon/beef-blend patty and tops it with red-wine caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, arugula and “Dijon-haze.”
The rest of the band:
∆ Hamburger Mary ($15.71): Beef, mayo, egg, tomato, Cheddar and bacon.
∆ Juicy Lucy ($14.96): A cheese-stuffed 8-oz. beef burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion and mayo.
∆ Elk on a Beech ($16.98): Elk patty with avocado, Beechhouse Sauce, sun-dried tomato and feta cheese.
∆ The Hipster ($14.73): Turkey patty with caramelized onion, avocado and Havarti cheese.
∆ Sexy Burger ($14.81): Sweet and spicy sauce, pineapple, cream cheese and banana peppers.
A veggie patty or mushroom cap is available to the meat averse. The menu is offered through March 27.
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via BurgerBusiness Burger King kicks up the quick-service burger category’s value-menu “numbers game” another notch today with a new “5 for $4″ deal. That takes on Wendy’s “4 for $4″ meal, McDonald’s just-begun “McPick 2 for $2″ and other burger chains’ promotions targeting consumers who can’t afford some of the new premium-price sandwiches being offered, such as Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s new $5.59 Steakhouse Thickburger.
Burger King has been touting a “2 for $5″ bundle with core entrees such as the recently launched Flame Grilled Chicken Burger LTO and core items such as the Big King burger, Original Chicken Sandwich and Big Fish. But this new deal offers diners five items for $4: Bacon Cheeseburger, small French Fries, small drink, 4-piece Chicken Nuggets or a warm chocolate chip cookie.
Burger King’s new deal counters the “4 for $4″ meal that Wendy’s has offered since October 2015. That bundle includes a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, small fries and a small drink. During his Nov. 4, 2015, earnings call with analysts, Wendy’s CEO Emil Brolick said the company was “very happy with the early results” from 4 for $4.
McDonald’s new “McPick” value menu, which officially launched today, offers diners their choice of two items from among the McDouble, McChicken, small fries and mozzarella sticks for $2. Some markets are also offering “2 for $5″ menu packages.
Checkers/Rally’s is also in the game, offering a new “$2 Meal Deal.” Diners have the choice of items from a list that includes the Checkerburger with Cheese, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Crispy Fish Sandwich, Bacon Cheddar Crisp, chili dog and small seasoned fries.
Even Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s are playing, despite those chains’ traditional hostility to discounting. But their Sausage & Egg Biscuit is being offered at a “2 for $3.50″ price. Jack in the Box hasn’t yet joined the value-bundle parade. Instead, it has revived its $4.99 Chipotle Chicken Club combo deal.
Why the rush to support the low end of the menu-price spectrum? Partly it’s a balance to 2015′s flood of higher priced burgers and entrees, which were an attempt to shore up local store profit margins. Now it’s time to focus on the other end of the price dynamic for a while.
But demographics as well as economics drive the trend. During his Aug. 5, 2015, earnings call, Wendy’s Brolick hinted at the “4 for $4″ meal bundle that was coming. Consumers are moving away from traditional value menus, he said. That’s because “there are a lot of consumers out there who are simply heavy users of quick-serve restaurants, who don’t have a lot of disposable income, and because they’re using restaurants frequently, price/value is something that is important to them. And we see that as something that will be important for a long time to come, and we just have to evolve our offering to be more relevant to the specific needs that they have.”
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