Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Just went to Five Guys in Levitown, Long Island last night and found it tucked in a shopping plaza. Despite the location the place was still packed.

Both my wife and I ordered cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato, raw onions, ketchup and mayo and instead of a large order of fries we took the suggestion of the cashier and ordered a small.

Even though it was busy we only had to wait a few minutes for our order to be called. As their policy, the burgers came well done but they still had a nice juicyness. The toppings were plentiful but not overpowering which still allowed you to taste the burger. Unlike Adams burger mine did not have that nice crust on the patty. I found this place to be comparable to American Roadside in Smithtown with 5Guys getting the nod because of their fries and the juciness of their burgers. My wife ranked them the over way around because she thought the burgers were better at AR.

Would we make the 59 minute trip from our house again? My wife says yes because of not only the burgers but there is a DSW, Kohls, and other stores around.

Le Creuset is a quality product but is not the only quality product available. I believe that cast iron products from Paderno are also top quality - http://tinyurl.com/b8gqg7 There are less expensive good products but some of the issues mentioned above could be a concern. The French developed products are of similar quality but less expensive (still not cheap).

yogiwan
Your Smart Kitchen

LC, Staub, and Lodge are expensive, but they've earned their good reputations with Dutch/French ovens. Personally, I was good with the gorgeous red $40 Tramontina I got from Target before they stopped carrying them. They sell a different brand now. I use the hell out of it, from braising, stewing, baking no-knead bread--it's held up awesomely.

Double-check your packaging when you buy something in a Le Creuset box from TJ Maxx, Ross, or Marshall's. That cookware is often enameled steel, not enameled iron. And LC's enameled steel products are often if not always manufactured in China.

sorry about the double post my laptop is acting funny and I'm a tool on the computer .

The bottom line is you get what you pay for and QUALITY IS NOT CHEAP but you shouldnt pay extra for a name brand when the SAME quality is available from another manufacturer .
I need a new enameled 'Dutchoven' to replace the old one (30+ yrs) that wasn't a LC and it had developed crazing like antique china pieces on the entire inside surface and had started to lose little squares of enamel so I put it in the recycle bin and have been researching and comparing different products and manufacturers and have not deciced yet although I do have 2 Lodge castiron Dutchovens but need/want an enameled DO so this is good timing for opinions on brands .
But I would never buy anything made in China to be used in anyway associated with food as they have used questionable materials in innumerable products in the manufacturing process such as low level radioactive contaminated metals , plastics , recycled metals and other substances and chemically contaminated raw materials and recycled materials . Google chinese drywall [ used in the gulf coast to rebuild after the hurricanes ] purely as an example of what they do .

I finally spent the dough for an oval LC dutch oven (5 quarts, I think), and I love it. If I could start from scratch for pots and pans, money no object, I would buy the entire line. That, and maybe a few All Clad pieces.
Check your area to see if there is an outlet near you before you spend money on retail prices. I bought mine at an outlet mall in Aurora, IL for around $150, I think they were having a sale at the time.

As an additon to my comment above:

Here is a link to a page that has the history of Descoware for anyone who is interested: http://www.youpickedawinner.com/desco_hist.html

Julia Child apparently was a big fan and featured it on her show. I didn't know that until I went looking for this link!

Just do it and get it; you won't have any regrets. I first got turned on to LC when I got a "starter set" in red for Xmas about 7 years ago. I have the large Dutch Oven, large nostick frypan, the grillpan, the covered round casserole/gratin/saute pan, and the large lasagna/baking pan. All are wearing like iron, the no-stick surface of the grillpan and frypan clean up very well, and the Dutch Oven is indispensable for chili and slow-simmer soups and stews. My Mom still has a dutch oven in the original Flame from forever ago and while it's beaten to hell (she got it from someone else who abused it) it's STILL the best pot in her house! Just make sure to buy a "core" color (like the red or blue) and not get some trendy color that will get phased out. I happen to be in agreement with whomever upstream complained about the "trendy color" thing. I would also snap up some of the cute little cast iron pepper, apple, and pumpkin-shaped covered casseroles while they still make them just because they're future historical pieces.

Blueberry muffins - perfect every time. Thanks!!

Stampnsark@aol.com

Her blueberry muffins are so delicious.

Her Ginger Chicken is pretty awesome.

sangria too!

My favorite basic is for pie dough.