Eat This Before You Die: The Doug Special in Vancouver
That's a strange picture; Vera's doesn't serve their food on plates. You get the Doug in a basket lined with take-out foil paper.
Serious Eater Profile
Get to Know a Serious Eater.
jimcowling's Profile
The Ten Most Recent Comments By jimcowling
Moderne Burger vs. The Tomahawk in Vancouver
Moderne Burger's beef is much better, for sure. It's a perfect, beautiful, loose-packed unseasoned patty, tastily black on the outside and juicy on the inside. But I don't like their adherence to what they think is a perfect form. All you can get for sauces are mayo, ketchup, and their own sauce, which is ketchup, mayo and some chili sauce. I don't like any of the above on my burgers. I really do need to have mustard.
As for The Tomahawk, it's in North Van and isn't worth the trip. Vera's burgers are just as good, the variety of toppings roughly equal, and there are a number of locations to choose from. And the price is better.
Grilled: George Motz Redux
Wow. I had heard of Motz, of course, but just figured that he was some single-purpose self-promoting know-nothing. I was wrong; this is a guy who knows his stuff.
I'm a mustard-only guy, too, and I completely agree with him about how overrated Burgerville is. Expensive, small, dry, flavourless. Local ingredients do not necessarily makje a good burger. I was kinda down on In n Out, too, until the last time I was in Reno. I ate double-doubles every day, and loved it.
I'm going out to buy his book right this second.
The Most Disgusting School Lunches
When I was in high school in the mid-80s, I was lucky enough to go to a school with the city's best culinary program. The food available was well-prepared, healthy and tasty. You could get a full meal with drink and salad for something like three bucks.
The downside was that I grew up kinda po' and was only given money for lunch as a special thing the last Tuesday of the month. The rest of the time it was cheap lunch meat on white bread plus an apple and a juice box, all in a paper sack.
Apizza Scholls: One of the Top Five Pizzerias in America
After having seen this place on Bourdain's show, I knew that I had to go there on my next trip to Portland. So, last Labour Day, I and three friends drove from Vancouver (BC) and braved the queue. I don't know if it's still the case, but they didn't take reservations. We went on a Saturday night and it took two and a half hours for us to get seated. We had time to go to this hole-in-the-wall bar up the street and have a couple of beers and some really good hot dogs.
Anyhow. We ordered five pies (for four people, with the intent of having some leftovers). One bacon bianca, one sausage, one white, one capicollo and one margherita. The only pizza I've had that was better was from a place in Victoria, BC that closed down a decade ago.
It's all about the crust and the purity of the toppings. Not quite as sparse as a true Napolitano, with a local edge.
Looks like they've been bending their rules some: used to be that you couldn't order a pie with more than one meat on it, but now it's no more than two. Still no more than three toppings per pie.
Going back again this Labour Day.
Hot-Dog-Topped Hamburger
Way to crib from Slashfood.
Anyhow, this is a pretty common variation. When I was growing up -- and I'm talking 30+ years ago -- my dad would make these, and call it a "combo burger". Since Nick mentions that Marty's calls it the same thing, and I live in a whole 'nuther country, it can't be a local thing.
I've seen such burgers all over Canada and the US. Vera's, the local chain in Vancouver, BC, offers a burger with half of a beef dog on top, called "The Frank", as an example.
Grilled: Allan Krueger
dear anonymous troll. come on back once you're sapient enough to form an original thought.
Grilled: Allan Krueger
So basically he likes his burgers as charred jumps of dried leather. This interview was meant as a cautionary tale, right? Kids, if your dad likes burgers like this guy, look into emancipation. I don't care if he don't care that I don't like how he likes his burgers. As far as I'm concerned, he's scarcely human.
In Videos: Anthony Bourdain Visits Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon
In that same episode, he goes to Apizza Scholl's, also in Portland. On my last road trip there, I convinced three of my buddies to go. At the time, they took no reservations, so we waited nearly three hours for a seat. It was worth it.
Gonna hit up Voodoo when I'm there over Labour Day. And Apizza Scholl's again, too.
Responses to Comments by jimcowling
Eat This Before You Die: The Doug Special in Vancouver
Vera's sucks. It's so overrated.
Eat This Before You Die: The Doug Special in Vancouver
Actually, its served on a plate or on a basket, but never to go
Grilled: George Motz Redux
One difference I've noted with grass fed organic beef is that it cooks much quicker than corn fed. Using the touch test it will feel medium or medium rare but it actually comes off medium well or well, it still is moist, juicy and flavorful but you definitely need to adjust your technique when cooking grass fed beef
Grilled: George Motz Redux
@BurgerSeeker
I think you misunderstood. I'm fully in support of using grass fed, provided you can get cuts that are fatty enough, which at least around here, is very difficult. For most people in the country, fatty corn-fed beef is the best burger option in terms of flavor, but hopefully that'll change some time as grass-fed beef gets more support and different, better marbled cuts become more regularly available.
Grilled: George Motz Redux
@BurgerSeeker - Kenji is right. 60-plus years of corn fed cattle in America has completely altered the cattle bred in this country. I'll bet a burger made from a Bogota chuck shoulder tastes a helluva lot better than the first generation grass-fed cattle here in America. We'll get it right here eventually after grass feeding becomes the standard (as soon as all the corn goes to Ethanol).
Like I said in the interview, I want to like American grass-fed but for burgers it's just not there yet. And we need more people like you pushing grass-fed! It's good to be pissed off about that.
Grilled: George Motz Redux
kenjialtci,
First, big hand to you for eating your way through 12 burgers in 8 hours... this is truly a major feat... big ups to you sir.
I understand the benefit of added fat to a corn fed cow, but still think that the grass fed beef I get (blend of chuck and brisket) has plenty of fat, and is way high in terms of flavor (with the added benefit of not forcing the cow to eat what it was not built to digest). Picture of the grass fed goodness with plenty of fat
Grilled: George Motz Redux
@BurgerSeeke
"I've got to ship you a tube of the local grass fed beef"
As unnatural as corn-fed beef is, it doesn't come close to sounding as unnatural as "shipping a tube of beef." Yikes!
I'm mostly with George on this one. If you're sticking with chuck or not grinding your own meat, corn-fed is the way to go. But if you're willing to source nice fatty cuts like short rib or brisket with some of the fat cap attached, you don't have the dryness issue, so you can get grass-fed beef, which does indeed have more flavor.
I'm going to Bogota next week, where they have the most flavorful grass-fed beef I've ever had (haven't made it to argentina or those other big beef-eating south american countries yet), but no real burgers (their burgers are mostly a vehicle for massive amounts of toppings). Maybe I'll make a goal to either find a great burger down there, or at least secure a meat grinder and griddle to make some.
Grilled: George Motz Redux
Wait a minute... corn fed beef... Dude, that is just plain wrong. Sure corn helps fatten up the cow faster so the meat can hit the table sooner, but cows are built for grazing, and corn in a cow is not natural... corn fed usually means the farmer wants quicker profits so they also use extra protein supplements, antibiotics and other drugs, including growth hormones... no thank you.
Organic GRASS FED should be the only way. I've got to ship you a tube of the local grass fed beef here in NJ and you will see the light my friend.
The Most Disgusting School Lunches
i don't know about these days but when i was in high school in the early eighties we had lunch ladies that made the best rolls and you could smell them baking all over the school...i liked chili with rice day because it came with cinnamon rolls and was pretty tasty. my friends mother was the head lunch lady.
The Most Disgusting School Lunches
let's see if i can remember elementary school lunches in new jersey... there were the pork roll sandwiches,2 pieces of pork roll on a bun... that was it. friday was pizza hoagies..cheese, sauce and a somewhat toasted roll. and i think we had something that resembled a fish sandwich every so often. and veggies.... tator tots and not much else. of course if you didn't like the main lunch you could always get PBJ... not too much of the jelly to call it that though.
Website: http://www.kitchengeek.com
Location: Vancouver, BC
About: "The Kitchen Geek" (the original, accept no substitutes) is currently on hiatus and offline. I'm working on its return. Or revenge.
Favorite foods: Too long to list.
Last bite on earth: My guilty pleasure is pork bangers, Kraft Dinner (that's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for you USians) and fresh garden peas. And anyone who would harangue me for it ain't worth a good goddamn.