I swear I don't eat that many burgers

Willamette Weekly just put out an article with a run down of the top ten burgers of Portland. Knowing how Paris has his Seattle Hamburger Project and is making his rounds, I thought perhaps he could be persuaded to expand his feeding frenzy. Not to mention, most of these are sorely tempting to myself. Making number 4 is Foster Burger, which you may remember I have already mentioned. I am ashamed to admit that Foster Burger is the only burger I have had so far on this list. Aghk. Also making the list though is Wildwood - hoo boy!

I've stolen some shots from the article- with this double decker cheese monster being number 1. Although I am sure it probably sicks Moni out, James is intrigued, to say the least.

the midnight meat train

James got me a meat grinder attachment for Christmas (so romantic!) and we've been pretty excited about making some deluxo burgers. Our first was chuck steak burgers, with lots of blue cheese crumbles melted on top. SO GOOD. Patties had a tendency to crumble very easily though- Maybe meat was so lean that there wasn't enough fat to hold them together? Really very good though. My mouth is kind of watering just thinking about them.


The other day we ground up some new york steaks (I think? they were on sale, whatever they were) and topped them with roasted garlic, avacado and grilled poblanos. I also added an egg to the patties, hoping the combat the crumbly texture. Then I got carried away and added another egg (you know me, all about the eggs) and then before I knew it, the patties were cooking in some sort of omelet substance and were more crumbly than before. Still an ok burger though. Also, a bit too well done, but it's a learning process. All good. All good.

Aaaaaand I checked out Foster Burger the other day, where I haz burger w/pork back fat added to the patty. Which led me to the conclusion that what MY burgers need is some duck fat! (Did you know you can order this shit, get it mailed to your door? the duck fat, that is. NOT the foster burger.)
Side note, while at Foster Burger, James had a burger with pickled beets and an egg on it. I took a pic, lost it, and then stole a pic from their facebook so you can see the crazy bastard for yourself.


Interestingly- I do not eat that many burgers. I feel like I need to put that out there. Just so you know. Also, I know Paris has been grinding some meat of his very own- including a fascinating encounter with ground chicken. What up, Paris?

Barcelona Burger

The little alley ways in Barcelona are filled with amazing little shops and restaurants. After a visit to the Picasso Museum my roommate Melissa and I set out to find food. Which was difficult because it was 5:30 and no one eats until 8, so not many places serve meals at that time

But then we stumbled upon this cute little restaurant "PimPam Burguers." I love that every restaurant, store, and pub here are a little "mom and pop" places, unless you go to the touristy areas filled with fast food joints. But this little place was exactly what I needed, Burgers!
The Burgers here are all amazing, with really great juicy patties. None of those thin blackened "hockey pucks," as we called them at Red Robin. And this place was no exception to fresh meat, homemade real potato fries, and a nice cheap draft beer! I know I'm gonna go back, because it was amazing!

under the patty was a delicious little surprise of carmelized onions in some cheesy and buttery sauce, I took it apart for a picture, but it just looks kinda gross here...but it was great


And the wall was covered in these cute drawings!! I love a place with good food even more when it's cute! yay




and I swear next post I'll put up pictures of authentic Spanish food... I had good paella, and it was so yummy I forgot to document.

Seattle Hamburger Project: Skillet Street Food

The traveling Skillet van was on my hamburger list, probably due to this little creation: Bacon Jam.

I bought Noël one of these to help her with her waffle quest, and was a little disappointed to find out it wasn't an actual jam with a gelatin base, but more of a relish, made with onions, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar.

But it was still pretty good on crackers and Noël's Christmas waffles, so I needed to find a time to get to the van. The problem was, that it travels around and usually in the Seattle area, not the Eastside, although I heard rumors that they came out to Microsoft some days. So to find them, I signed up for their facebook page, so I would get their locations before they went out, so I could plan around it.

Then one day in the Month of February, they posted they would be out in Woodinville for a wine tasting, so we organized a trip. After driving around Woodinville on some strange GPS generated wild goose chase, we found it and saw the line:

I hate lines. The hamburger better be good, to be worth standing in line with so many snobby rich eastside wine tasters. Over an hour in line, we finally got our order in.


I ordered the hamburger with some chipotle mac & cheese, and Natalie got the Vietnamese sandwich with fries. And I ordered us both the drink of the day with was cucumber, citrus, mint and Fresca all together. It sounded interesting.
It was a pretty good meal, you can see the photos below. The hamburger tasted like a homemade one, the patty was very good, with some blue cheese, arugula and the jam. And a really nice bun. Natalie's sandwich was good, and the mac and cheese as just a little spicy, to make it interesting. The drinks, tasted like ground up cucumber. It was good insomuch that cucumber is good, but the other ingredients didn't seem to do much.
Overall it was good, but worth that wait? I don't really think so. Order some of their jam online, and make your own hamburger at home without the wait....but then the prep time is longer than the wait...so who knows. It is quite the pickle.

Seattle Hamburger Project: Teddy’s Bigger Burgers

Teddy's Bigger Burgers opened up in Woodinville this year, and its reputation already grew enough to be included in my list of hamburger places to try in the Seattle area.  The hamburger recommended was the Hawaiian burger.

The place is pure Hawaiian and hamburger kitsch.  From the fish tank to the Coke a Cola signs it is very cliché.  The Hawaiian burger was pretty good, with a slice of pineapple, but it was also very messy.  My preferred hamburger is the Cajun burger with onion rings on the side.  It is so tasty, spicy and beefy, with cool pickles and the onions rings are crispy.

Overall a great place to get a hamburger, I found I can bike there from my house, it makes a great Saturday outing.  Look at these pictures!  Aren’t you hungry?

Seattle Hamburger Project: Lunchbox Laboratory, Seattle Wa

This summer I compiled a list of what are supposed to be the best hamburgers in the Seattle area, and I am doing my best to try them all. Here is a notable entry.

I know this has been brought up on facebook, but here are photos from one of my new favorite hamburger places in Seattle: Lunchbox Laboratory! They are in a little rundown shack with a few tables outside and a big line! Everyday it seems they have new and unique hamburger combinations to try, living up to their "Laboratory" name.

In the photos above you can see Natalie and Stefan have burgers with "Dork" patties (Duck and Pork mix) with pineapple and grilled onions. Mine was a lamb patty with olive cheese. The close up shot is of Noël's beef and truffle burger. The hamburgers may look greasy and disgusting, but they are very very delicious. I don't think I would ever recommend eating them on a regular basis, as you would probably have a heart attack within a month, but for special occasions, it is a great time, and a hamburger you must experience!

Next time you are in Seattle check them out! They are near the Woodland Zoo, so it makes a good zoo lunch break.