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From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

While visiting my son in Chicago last year, we did a mini food tour. Among the great places we ate, was Hot Doug's complete with duck fat fries, Smoque (heaven) and Kuma's Corner. I had the Mastodon, which was great, but I wasn't so crazy about the pretzel roll...trying to be the star, when really a supporting player. My son kept raving about the waffle fries, but was embarrased by how soggy and frankly, inedible, they were. I guess it was a bad night. One morning was spent at the Lincoln Park Green Market, one of the best I've ever been to. Chicago-definitely my kind of town.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

I'm a baker, but the first time I ever made a pie (pumpkin), I was at a friend's house in Laurel Canyon in L.A. and we made them together. I had never transported a pie before and put it on the front seat of my car to take it to my Mom's for Thanksgiving. As you can imagine, as I navigated the twists and turns, my pie slid between the seat and the passenger door. I kind of slopped it back into the pan and camouflaged it with whipped cream. I had traces of that pie in my car for a year.

From Talk

Flank Steak Too Crusty

Thanks all. This marinade had soy sauce, oil and honey in it-flavor was great. I'll try a combination of all of the above.

From Talk

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Dorie Greenspan's vanilla is my go-to recipe. When it's just vanilla it has to be really good. It's in Baking-From House to Yours.

I'm surprised at how really good and simple to execute the recipes are in Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Book. I've made Ben's Chocolate, which is a very intense chocolate flavor and Butter Pecan (last night). What was cool about the Butter Pecan was that I decided to make some at around 3 in the afternoon, usually too spur-of-the-moment for ice cream, and yet by 7:30m we had a yummy soft-serve-ish treat. It didn't need to cool down before freezing. Suffice it to say that this morning's "test", after it had hardened, was great!

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Flank Steak Too Crusty

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Best of Trader Joe ?

From Talk

What about lunch near 57th and 7th?

From Talk

Where can I find the best Black & White Cookies in New York?

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From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

While visiting my son in Chicago last year, we did a mini food tour. Among the great places we ate, was Hot Doug's complete with duck fat fries, Smoque (heaven) and Kuma's Corner. I had the Mastodon, which was great, but I wasn't so crazy about the pretzel roll...trying to be the star, when really a supporting player. My son kept raving about the waffle fries, but was embarrased by how soggy and frankly, inedible, they were. I guess it was a bad night. One morning was spent at the Lincoln Park Green Market, one of the best I've ever been to. Chicago-definitely my kind of town.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

I'm a baker, but the first time I ever made a pie (pumpkin), I was at a friend's house in Laurel Canyon in L.A. and we made them together. I had never transported a pie before and put it on the front seat of my car to take it to my Mom's for Thanksgiving. As you can imagine, as I navigated the twists and turns, my pie slid between the seat and the passenger door. I kind of slopped it back into the pan and camouflaged it with whipped cream. I had traces of that pie in my car for a year.

From Talk

Flank Steak Too Crusty

Thanks all. This marinade had soy sauce, oil and honey in it-flavor was great. I'll try a combination of all of the above.

From Talk

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Dorie Greenspan's vanilla is my go-to recipe. When it's just vanilla it has to be really good. It's in Baking-From House to Yours.

I'm surprised at how really good and simple to execute the recipes are in Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Book. I've made Ben's Chocolate, which is a very intense chocolate flavor and Butter Pecan (last night). What was cool about the Butter Pecan was that I decided to make some at around 3 in the afternoon, usually too spur-of-the-moment for ice cream, and yet by 7:30m we had a yummy soft-serve-ish treat. It didn't need to cool down before freezing. Suffice it to say that this morning's "test", after it had hardened, was great!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes'

Aside from my own home-made hamburgers cooked on the grill, my prefect hamburger exists in childhood memories of Chesler's in Queens...an archtypical New York corner candystore. Thin burger on a griddle...bun shining with a patina of grease...melted cheese and, of course, an egg cream on the side.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Endangered Recipes' by Lari Robling

Mayflower doughnuts with my Dad after being picked up from ballet lessons at Carnegie Hall. No doughnut has measured up since. Also my Mom's chicken and rice...kind of creole-style. I loved it. Once I told my Mom I didn't feel good and she didn't believe me until, at dinner, I couldn't touch the chicken and rice...then it was official-I was sick.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Tacos'

When I was a little girl, in the Fifties, after visiting family in Texas, we drove to California. When we came over the mountains into California, we stopped at a roadside stand and bought a strange snack called a taco. It was a crispy shell in a cup shape filled with unusual spiced meat. The first taco this New York girl had ever seen and a very new food to most of the U.S. Didn't taste another until years later. They looked and tasted very different from that first one...but they're all good! (Taco Bell notwithstanding!)

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Real Cajun'

Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches... and my Dad and I stopping the the Mayflower Donut Shop in Manhatten on Saturdays after dance class to buy a dozen and a half powdered and cinnamon. Why the half? Because we'd demolish them on the way home and that way we'd have a dozen to present to my Mom.

From Talk

What about lunch near 57th and 7th?

Thanks-don't know where we'll go yet, but you've given me a good start..night, night simon

From Talk

You live where?

Born in NYC, lived in LA, Texas, Florida, am now in the southeastern corner of CT...live there by the shore and do my grocery shopping in RI. Seems like I am always searching for good deli or 'que or Tex-Mex. Once it's in your blood...

From Serious Eats

Matt Martinez Jr., 'King of Tex-Mex,' 63

His cookbook, Matt Runs For the Border, I think is it's name, has a great recipe for boneless chicken breasts that are great-moist and flavorful-it has never failed me. After a fast saute (minute on each side) the seasoned, pounded breasts go in the oven for an hour at 200 degrees.

He was quite a character. Rest in peace.

From Talk

Slow going on Food Network website

I thought it was just my computer. Very frustrating, very un-user-friendly. Haven't you noticed, though, that most of the time when a site "updates" or "improves" it becomes slolwer and more frustrating to use. Doesn't anybody check these things out before they unleash them?

From Talk

Paula Deen is pantsless

What do you mean "over-sexed for her age"? Shame on you...I have a newsflash for you...people over fifty have sex...does sex have an expiration date? Thank heavens, no. She may be a lot of things (the list is endless), but no one is over-sexed at any age!

From Talk

Best Way to Keep a Stainless Steel Pan Stainless

Martha Stewart says that occassionally (once a month or so) she will put her stainless steel pots and pans through the dishwasher - says it keeps then looking new. Not her non-stick, of course. I put my All-Clad frying pan in and was very pleased.

From Talk

Frozen Pearl Onions: Way or No Way?

Ditto Junie- I used them at Christmas to make creamed onions. ( I figured if Ina uses them...) What a disappointment! While fresh pearl onions are truly labor intensive-the flavor and texture payoff cannot be duplicated.

From Serious Eats

Seriously Delicious Holiday Food Giveaway: Russ & Daughters

Bagel, lox, good cream cheese, red onion, coarsely ground black pepper the Sunday Times...heaven...and hard to get in my remote corner of CT.

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

happyscrappy,

Thanks for your reply. I saw Kuma's on TV over the weekend and some of the toppings did look good. Next trip to Chicago I will try for a visit. However, PaulyWalnuts' comment might send me to Hot Doug's first...I have been hearing about it for ages, so want to give it a try.

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

Kuma's has really gone downhill. It's not just the wait, or even the replacement of the delicious hand cut fries with frozen waffle fries, even the burgers have deteriorated in quality. They lost one of their chefs (the guy who did the Fu Machu burger, hence it no longer being on the menu). Things haven't been the same since. The last two times I've gone in there the burger was over cooked (I order medium rare and there wasn't a hint of pinkness), and so over salted that I literally felt ill by the time I was done eating it.
Damn shame this happened to a place that just two years ago I would have sworn up and down was the best burger in Chicago, and one of the best in the country.

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

I moved away from Chicago in January and wish that Kuma's would open a location here in California. I'm partial to the Kuma's burger as well as the Led Zepplin. Mmmm.

@Bhdancegirl - Hot Doug's and Smoque are the other places I miss from Chicago! Yummy.

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

I haven't been to Kuma's yet but I've read a lot about it. Will have to try.

Have you been to Charlie Beinlich's in Northbrook though? They make a great and highly sought after burger...

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

@Lvn4life: I understand your concern about pretzel rolls and ordinarily I'm not a huge fan. But at Kuma's, I think the extra heft provided by a pretzel roll is necessary to handle the burger and toppings.

@Chefhorn: The homemade chips are better than the waffle fries, but, and this could be simply because of the bliss the burger provides, the waffle fries are surprisingly good - crisp outside, soft middle. I'd be surprised if they're using a crappy brand of frozen fries

@happyscrappy: Agreed 100%. The patty itself is very good, but if there's a plain burger anywhere worth the kind of wait normally required at Kuma's.

@jjchampion: That's surprising you've gotten overcooked burgers consistenly and mine have always been done correctly. Maybe they've mastered cooking rare burgers but have trouble with other temperatures. How are you ordering your burgers?

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

Quoting from the original post:
"There are places where so much is made of the toppings that the actual burger is an afterthought. That is not the case at Kuma’s at all; my rare burger was cooked perfectly."

That is surprising because I've been to Kuma's several times and have always received an over-cooked burger. It seems to me like the burgers are, if not an afterthought, then victims of the inconsistencies of grilling combined with an overwhelmingly hectic kitchen pace.

That being said, I do love that High On Fire.

My favorite thing about Kuma's is that despite all of the national press and attention they've received (and continue to receive) and after becoming a "burger destination" attracting all sorts of visitors who would ordinarily never set foot into a metal bar, they have not changed one bit to cater to the new clientele. Kuma's is still very much a metal bar, with sleazy artwork on the walls and blasting the angry hate music.

One bit of advice regarding the wait times: Because of the configuration of their dining room and tables, the larger your party, the longer you will wait. A party of two is ideal. A party of four is manageable. But they only have two tables (inside) that can accommodate a party of six, and you'll wait forever to get one of those. It gets a little better in the summer when the back patio is open, but while that increases the number of tables, the grill is as tiny as ever so the wait for your food will likely be even longer.

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

Waffle fries = Fail fries...

Why put that much effort into a great burger only to zip open a frozen bag from Sysco ?

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

I sort of don't think it's worth a trip to Kuma's if all you want is a burger "your way." Yes, the meat is delicious and well seasoned and could, in theory, stand on it's own, but the whole point of Kuma's is to experience their creativity and menu options you can't get anywhere else. I guess it depends on what you would wait 2 hours for. . . (the last time I was there we arrived at 7 pm on a Monday and weren't seated until after 9).

I highly recommend the Mastadon. Oh man, I need to get back soon!

From A Hamburger Today

Kuma's Corner: A Chicago Burger Even Upton Sinclair Would Love

I'm not a fan of mushrooms or horseradish, but the fact that anyone would name a burger after Neurosis has me overwhelmed.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

kevlney
Sigilum
firni
merstar
_greenbean

Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

I made walnut brownies with walnuts that had secretly gone bad...it was a giant inedible pan of musty, nasty brownies. Sick and so, so sad.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

As a kid, my best friend and I made sugar cookies. She read the ingredients as I incorporated them. She read off 1/4 cup of salt, I then asked her if she read that right because that was a lot of salt. She insisted she was correct and I added that amount in. Once the cookies had baked, we couldn;t wait to try them, we each took a bite and spit them out. She was wrong, it was 1/4 tsp salt!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My most triumphant baking success was making brownies for my friend.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My biggest success was baking my husband's favorite pie, a Lemon Meringue Pie. garrettsambo@aol.com

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

no disasters but I haven't tried to make anything that seems too complicated for me, I guess the triumph would have to be making pound cakes, just because I had to make them with a hand mixer

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My most disasterous was when I was about 8 or 9, I deceided to make my mother a surprise cake. I got up about 4 in the morning and decided to make of all things a chiffon cake. Well it calls for lots of eggs and etc. When that cake came out it was flat as a pancake and I cried and cried, but my mother said it was the thought that counted, but she was not happy I had used so many eggs.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My greatest success was the first time I made bread. I was inspired by a retired pro-wrestler (yeah, a "wrassler") interviewed in the student newspaper. He baked bread, read classic literature and was a tour guide at the local zoo. If he could do it, I could do it. And it did.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

Oh, just pick me, I always enter and never win, but this book I REALLY want. I now live in the south (KY) and really need to show up my next door neighbor, she's just a little too cocky about her pies. And I'm telling you, they aren't that good. This old lady needs to be taken down a couple of notches!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

I made an apple pie in college from apples grown on my parent's farm for a girlfriend. It came out quite well.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My baking disaster was the time I made a red velvet cake and forgot to put in the baking powder. I ended up with a 1/2 inch thick red, tough cake. It didn't taste bad, but the texture was horrible.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My greatest baking success is finally learning how to make my great grandmother's pie crust using her method. It took me awhile, and I had a few of my greatest disasters during the process (including a pie crust that literally disintegrated and became part of the filling), but I've finally gotten the feel for it. I hope it makes her proud.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

Success: Three layer chocolate wedding cake
Catastrophe: Three layer chocolate wedding cake that fell over...

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies'

My own personal success was making a devil food cake once. Turned outlywonderful

Recent Posts

From Talk

Flank Steak Too Crusty

From Talk

Best of Trader Joe ?

From Talk

What about lunch near 57th and 7th?

From Talk

Where can I find the best Black & White Cookies in New York?

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