Le Burger

What do you think of this perfect hamburger? I just ate it for lunch; and now I've just become part of the generation that digitizes and transmits into the "cloud" that which it just ate. Vegetarians may move on to a different post.

I feel a bit like the protagonist of a Japanese tea ceremony; in a likewise pursuit of lunchtime perfection I have carefully constructed my hamburger. This burger has the finest grain-fed, cruelty free beef that a certain organic market can provide, a disk of ripe red tomato, and a melting corner of Colby-Jack cheese. The only thing not visible to the Fair Reader is the Maille mustard on toasted potato slider bun.

So the mustard puts me in mind of the great chefs, Jacques Pepin and Julia Child (I know it is cliche of me to blog on the late great Mme. Child; but it's hard to avoid iconic figures.) I remember watching an episode of Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home ( Julia and Jacques Cook Beef ; around 16 minute mark) where they make les hambugers with and without relish (literal and figurative). Wryly, Julia asks Jacques, "Are you going to toast our buns?"; the unflappable M. Pepin just keeps on preparing the meal. Vintage hilarity... I learned that Julia prefers not to form her patty by making a ball and then pressing flat. She just loosely pats a messy disk together for the cast iron skillet. Jacques on the other hand creates a more tightly packed patty and cooks it on the grill.

Of course, Julia slathers BUTTER on her toasted bun. Classic.

Darn, I'm hungry again....


The Modern Suburbanite