This Burger was indeed the cat's meow.

Cat's Meow Burger 9-17-09
The Black Cat, off Remesen Street, Cohoes, NY

I cannot speak too highly of this burger. A nice 8 oz. burger, cooked medium, with bacon, swiss, onions and peppers under the melted swiss, a little lettuce and tomato, mayo and ketchup. Great steak fries.

The best part of this burger was the juiciness of the meat itself. It was well-cooked, rich in flavor, not too dissimilar from the 4 Corners Burger from the other day. Because of it's wetness, it was a bit messy to eat and I did have to resort to fork and knife, but only at the very end.

The service, provided by a young lady named Shannon, was accommodating, and I talked with her about the possibility of painting a picture of this meal and offering it to the establishment.

Love burgers, love painting. When the two meet...it's magic.

The Short Sabbatical Is Over

4 Corners Burger, September 16, 2009
Lark Tavern, Madison Avenue, Albany NY

After a 4-week sabbatical from my cheeseburger odyssey and a bit of concern over the impact of the burgers on my cholestorol, I returned to the road with the 4 Corners Burger at the Lark Tavern.

This burger, which I ordered medium (of course), includes carmelized peppers and onions under melted white American cheese, bacon, two tomato slices and a huge leaf of lettuce. I added mayo and ketchup to this and proceeded to devour it in good time. The side was onion rings, with the onions soft and well cooked and a lovely dark brown batter. The beer: Saranac Black Forest.

This was a good way to return. The burger was medium but wonderfully grilled and a bit blackened on the outside. The combination of onions, peppers, cheese and bacon made for great concert of flavors. It was a bit messy, no doubt and mostly due to the addition of ketchup and mayo, but well worth it.

And as far as art goes, this was one of the more colorful burger pictures I took, and it will made a lovely painting, when I get around to it.

For record, the Willett Burger is also a good time at the Lark Tavern. The bartender was gracious and accommodating (the other day, she went out of her way and was able to find in the back the last available Anchor Steam and the patrons very friendly. I am enjoying the occasional mid-day visit to the Lark Tavern, especially if a burger is on my mind.

Burgers in Atlanta

I am in Atlanta, GA this weekend, and my brother in law and I hit a couple of burger places and had some exceptional burgers.

The first was Flip Burger Boutique, which is a very trendy place. We ate at the bar, where we had a lovely dark-haired bartender who looked NYC but had a soft southern accent.

I had the Butcher's Cut, a 5.5 oz burger with carmelized onions, blue cheese and a red wine jam. The burger tasted great, and the only problem was that the red wine jam was overwhelmed by the blue cheese. The fries that accompanied it were tasty as well, and offered along with ketchup and a smoked mayo.



Butcher's Cut, Flip Burger Boutique 8-7-09.

The highlight of the visit though was the nutella-burnt marshmellow milkshake. A very thick shake with actual marshmellows lightly burned by a blow torch. I would go back just for the shake. Although it would be great to try the other burgers some day.



On Sunday, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece joined me at George's, a 41-year old burger joint in the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood. I had the bacon and monterrey jack burger with tomato and guac, and a side of potato salad. This burger was exceptional, larger than the the Flip burger, juicy and wonderfully cooked on the outside. Of the two burgers, I would go back to George's first.



Bacon and Monterrey Jack Burger, with guac. George's, Atlanta, GA.

Poppy's Burgers

Poppy's Classic Big Burger, August 1, 2009

Last weekend, I took a trip down to Beacon to visit with friends. We met up at Poppy's Burgers. I had the Classic Big Burger: two grass-fed burgers with melted cheese on sesame seed buns. Medium cooked. It was an outstanding burger.

It was an outstanding day.

No Snob

Every now and then...probably more often than necessary...a double cheeseburger and Coke from McDonalds suffice. The other day, I took my daughter through the drive-thru: a happy meal for her and a double cheeseburger and coke for me. It is no great burger, but sometimes it does the trick.

And at $1.39, it's a good deal.

This blog will not avoid the McDonalds, Burger King, or Wendy's burgers; nor will it turn its nose up at Red Robin, Applebees or Chilis. All make respectable cheeseburgers. Five Guys is on my list too...although their burgers are a cut above the rest, and their fries are outstanding.

And, having a fast food burger now and then makes one appreciate the other burgers made by independent businesses all the more.

Diner Burgers

Depending on the diner, a cheeseburger can be a hit or miss. The bison burger at the Circle Diner (Route 9 & Troy Schenectady Road in Latham) was neither hit nor miss. Bison has an enjoyable, richer flavor than standard beef burger, and I had this one medium-well last Sunday (before seeing the light about having a burger cooked medium, see prior posting), with not-so sauteed mushrooms and cheddar cheese...and a side of onion rings.

The best part of the meal was the onion rings. Perhaps I'm too picky, but when I want sauteed mushrooms, I like them cooked down as much as possible and very hot. These were still somewhat firm and not as flavorful as they should have been. The cheese was ok, but nondescript. The bison was rich.

Because I was driving, I opted for a glass of cold milk (usually I would have ordered a Coke, but the Circle only offers Pepsi and I despit ande Pepsi). The milk was cold and delicious and added to my enjoyment, such as it was, of the burger.

I did enjoy this meal with a lovely friend of mine, a fellow traveler and a poet, an hour before taking her to the airport. Overall, it was a good time.

But the burger almost didn't merit a post, as it was nothing horrendous or great.

I'm Beginning to See the Light

It has always been a preference when ordering a burger to have it cooked medium-well. I had this irrational concern that if a medium burger is undercooked, it would be too pink for my tastes and even that I might get sick. Again, irrational. So I always had my burgers cooked medium well. They tasted great, but I did not realize that something was missing.

Today at Justin's at 301 Lark Street, Albany, I moderated this position and ordered the burger medium. What a difference it made. No longer will I be satisfied with a dry burger when I could savor the richness of a burger with a moist and juicy interior. I have seen the light.

Today's burger included bacon and sauteed mushrooms, on top of which lay a wonderfully melted slice of swiss cheese, which draped over the burger and helped contain the toppings. Two slices of tomatoes and a piece of romaine lettuce on top of the cheese, mayo and then ketchup on the top bun, and then the first bite.

Justins makes a solid cheeseburger to begin with, but this one may have been the best yet. The subtle sweetness of the swiss/bacon/mushroom flavors in concert with the juicy medium burger, complimented by a tall pint glass of cold Coca Cola made for a wonderful lunch experience.

But most importantly, I learned not only to accept but embrace medium as my temperature of choice, and it made all the difference.