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Content about Fast food

I don't really care for big burgers.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one railing against the big burger tide. While nearly every new restaurant opening in Chicago features a big, fat burger on its menu, I’m that guy that prefers thin little griddled burgers. Usually I can only find them at old school joints, but even these are frequently harder to find these days. It’s getting to the point where I haven’t eaten a burger at a restaurant in months. I...
The Big Mac will always be better.
I should apologize in advance for this fast food rant. I've never indulged in such a tirade before, but I simply couldn't resist this one. Regularly scheduled content will return later this week, I promise. The Mac Snack wrap is the stupidest, most idiotic, dumbest fast food creation I've ever seen. It purports to be a Big Mac in flour tortilla, except it betrays logic and any culinary common sense. From the moment I saw the...
Make both of those at home.
The tomatoes were turning on me. A few weeks ago they were red and rosy, destined for a starring role in a BLT. Now, I'm not sure if they can withstand the scrutiny of the spotlight. They are still light years beyond what appears during the winter here in the Midwest, but not quite the ones you can slice up, sprinkle with salt, and eat raw. I kind of wish I would have known this before I bought a huge batch of them at the farmers market...
How to save money in the stylish Spanish city.
While Nick has been saving the world with quick no-soak-beans and investigating the roots of Wisconsin bratwurst (part of my family is from Wisconsin and I hope to weigh in with strong opinions on the subject sooner than later), I've been on the run, away from a kitchen, squeezing every trip out of Europe I can afford.  Which isn't much at the moment.  But a lack of cash didn't deter us from enjoying some of the best...
What Nick cooks when he feels nostalgic for simplicity.
  I think part of the reason I took a break from roast chicken was the rising absurdity of my preparations.  A few years ago I had chased after juicy meat and crispy skin, by trying various combinations of slow roasting, extreme slow roasting, experiments with baking soda, and high, high heat.  The results were often spectacular, if never quite practical.  And somewhere along the line the game lost its fun.  What...
How to make the best burger at home.
You know the burger obsession is going off the deep end when semi-serious discussion takes place over the burger making skills of a cartoon.  Please stick with me.  This cartoon happened feature J. Wellington Wimpy, the burger-loving sidekick of Popeye.  Hamburger America author George Motz found this clip and was there to comment on Wimpy's burger making skills: "Notice how even in cartoons back then they got it...
Keep that spatula at hand.
At first everything was fine.  Taking a cue from Adam Kuban, we decided to make our own onion rings instead of the normal burger pairing of fries. The recipe was taken from Simply Recipes, which soaked the onions in buttermilk and coated them in flour and cornmeal.    We fried them in canola oil set to 350 degrees for a few minutes, until nice and golden brown.  We stashed them in preheated oven and got to the beef...
May 25, 2006
Two things people like to wait in line for. Again.
Burgers and Cupcakes 458 9th Ave, at 36th st. Distance from Shake Shack: 0.94 miles Travel Time: 27 minutes # of People in Line: 9 Burgers and Cupcakes is humorous only to New Yorkers, who can't help but smile at the gall of building a restaurant that caters solely to the big apple's idiocy to stand in line for the most obscenely simple things.  I was spurred to undertake the odyssey out to Hell's Kitchen specifically...
Braving the early season weather
The thunder-stealer was that they actually were open the day before with no line, doing a “test run.” I would have been happy with a “test run” Shack burger. This would not have been a problem for me. The combination of freshly ground sirloin and brisket, their signature; the secret Shack sauce; the frozen custard shakes. Hailing from north of Chicago and therefore a temptingly close drive away from Milwaukee, WI, the...
February 8, 2006
A bag of potatoes and a quest for the cheapest dinner possible
With minds planted firmly in the dirt, we probed the... With minds planted firmly in the dirt, we probed the starchy tuber for secrets buried within, all in search of the perfect cooked potato.   Armed with a bag of $2.99 Idahos, we set aflame preconcieved notions, sexed things up, and tried to find the courage (and stomachs) to eat nothing but potatoes like our poor brethren of the 19th century tenement living. Generally, we...