Burger Clubbing again
Well, this past week we had another burger club outing. We have a group of 6 of us that go have a burger every month. It started in January and we had a bit of a hiatus while some of the members were out of the country. We went to Sidetrack Bar and Grill in Ypsilanti, MI. The reason that we chose it was because it was on the GQ's 'The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die' List. If you ask me, it wasn't worthy of the list. I've only had one other burger on the list and that is from Miller's Bar in Dearborn, MI which is leading the pack currently on the GQ poll. It is a travesty that Redcoat Tavern in Royal Oak, MI is not on the list. It is the best burger that I have ever had!
After the average burger from Sidetrack we had a viewing of Hamburger America which is a documentary about 8 of the best burgers in America. They all have their little quirks, that is for sure. I haven't had any of them and only two are found on GQ's list. Anyway here they are in the order that I would like to try them.
- Dyer's (Memphis, TN) - Yes, it is a deep fried hamburger. It looks wonderful. The best part is that the grease is ancient. They strain it every evening so it is 'clean' for the next day.
- The Bobcat Bite (Santa Fe, NM) - This one has green peppers to go with the cheese. It looks great. This is one from GQ.
- Louis' Lunch (New Haven, CT) - This is the other one on GQ's list. It claims to be the oldest burger in the world. It's served on toast and you don't get ketsup. They also have this chiz whizy stuff to spread on the bun to act as cheese.
- Ted's (Meriden, CT) - Steamed burger along with steamed cheese. It is a hunk of cheese on it though which is what made me like the looks of it.
- Solly's Grille (Glendale, WI) - You have to see this to believe it. This is a butter burger and I am not talking about a spread of butter, it is a hunk. I'd say a half of a stick. I love butter but this might be over doing it. I'd like to find out for myself though.
- Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (Chicago, IL) - I've acutally walked by this place before. It looked like a regular burger to me. No excitement here. The SNL skit was funny although I don't think I've ever seen all of it.
- The Meers Store (Meers, OK) - This was the biggest of the bunch. It is for cowboys. You can only get mustard because mayo is for sissys and ketsup is for yankees. I, personlly, don't agree but that is fine. It's made from the long horn cattle out back.
- Wheel Inn Drive Inn (Sedalia, MO) - I like hamburgers and I like peanut butter but I am not excited to try them together. Maybe one day I will though.
- FRESH ground meat is key. Almost all of these places had their meat ground daily.
- You have to be popular enough to move the entire building (or at least the grease) to be on this list.
- You can live forever if you eat these burgers! Or at least until 90.
posted by apete @ 3:19 PM
17 Comments:
i agree--the burgers at red coat are by far the best. absolutely delicious. i've had the billy goat tavern's, and they're just regular burgers. though, if you like people yelling at you, this is your place.
Yeah, I remember not being excited by the Billy Goat when I was there. I guess I'll have to stop by there the next time that I am in town now. Yes, just because it is on a list, I'll go.
On another note, you should be able to pick up the documentary at the AAPL shortly. It is being donated by my burger club.
I had a gardenburger for lunch today . . . it was awesome!
I had a nice ostrich burger at Fuddruckers once.
Heh heh....fuddrucker....
Was that a Cari 'heh heh'?
Angry Dog in Dallas (don't judge them by their website!). The best I've ever had by a long shot. There's a rather undignified picture of me floating around stuffing about half of a burger in my face.
You could have it with a Fat Tire too!
That article makes my arteries hurt. But, I'm sure your burger(s) was(were) delicious!
[I kind of gave up burgers when I was 15. But, I still like fries.]
A phat Fat Tire. That just put a smile on my face. Thanks.
Personally, I enjoy the cooking of the burger as much as eating it. I like grilling up a nice 1/4-lb'er right out back and working some seasoning and steak sauce into the ground beef. Tasty.
I believe Dennis Leary said it best..."Bring me a live cow over to the table. I'll carve off what I want and ride the rest home!" Yee Haw!!
Nice post, Andy. I like that you've provided a link for each of the burger joints in the video, although the Meers Store link seems to be goofed up.
I'm sticking with Miller's, and I'm happy to see them leading the GQ poll, though I can't help but suspect some ballot stuffing may be taking place.
Oh, and I have a buddy in Albuqurque who visits Santa Fe from time to time. He hadn't heard of the Bobcat Bite, but now that I've tipped him off he's going to try to remember to stop in. If I get a report I'll let you know.
You know, for a person who blogs once every year you sure as hell get a lot of comments!! People keep coming back to your blog waiting for new posts!
Mr. Popular :)
I would have to say that Billy Goat is over-rated. It is a tasty burger, but I do not think it should belong on the GQ list. Next time you come to Chicago, we will go to a place up on Broadway and Irving Park called Michael's. That is one of the best greasy burgers I have ever had!
Burger club?!
How beautious mankind is!
O brave new world,
That has such people in't!
I can vouch for Lou's Lunch. Their burgers are fantastic. As a kid, we'd go into New Haven to have lunch with my dad and that was our favorite place to go. More recently, I love it as a place to late at night, before heading home.
They press a few onion slices into the burger before it hits the grill. And I'm a big fan of the toast.
The building itself is ancient and tiny - you get the feeling that people have been eating burgers there since the revolution. I'm happy to host the burger club in New Haven any time (though we'll have to get some pizza too). What do you say - spring break in CT?
I agree with you that Redcoat has the best burgers. I am disappointed that Miller's is on the list. Your burger club should go down to Checker Bar and Grill. They keep unreasonable hours (closing early on weekdays), but if you can make it to downtown Detroit before they close, it's worth the trip.
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