Text 16341, 110 rader
Skriven 2008-11-11 22:12:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Re: large lobs 2
========================
MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: A Radius Burger Walk-Through Pt 2
Categories: groundmeat, beef, sandwiches
  Servings: 1

           con't

There's no short ribs or truffles on here. It's what I cook in my
back yard. "This isn't a fancy burger," Schlow says. "There's no
short ribs or truffles on here. It's what I cook in my back yard."
His choice of toppings seems consistent with his burger philosophy
(has someone coined a contraction for that yet? Burglosophy?). Melty
orange cheddar cheese, crisply fried frizzled onions, and a drizzle
of a mild horseradish and black pepper-spiked mayo. As for the buns?
Radius uses toasted brioche—generally a bad mark in my book, but as
the Spotted Pig's everything-done-the-wrong-way-but-still-amazingly-
delicious burger proved to me, there are always exceptions.

Turns out that a two stage cooking process is actually a three stage
cooking process: after it's finished in the oven and topped with
cheese, the Schlow-burger gets a quick visit to the salamander until
gooey and bubbly.

Now for the fancy-restaurant tall-food plating. Watch Michael's
hands as he plants the top bun on top of a massive tower of onions
sitting on a not-so-vaguely sexual schmear of creamy sauce. Hey,
Bobby: Your Crunch Burger's got nothing on this baby.

And now for something equally important: the fries. Like the burger,
these things are an exercise in simple ingredients, and impeccable
technique. "There's nothing special about the fries," says Michael.
"Just a standard double-fry. Low heat to blanch, then high heat to
crisp them up." If there's one thing that I miss most about working
in restaurants, it's always having a hot fryalator on hand.

OK, OK. They're a bit fancy, after all: chives, parsley, and thyme
fancy, that is. I note that the cook is sure to make a few more than
he actually needs. Another thing I miss about working in
restaurants: chef's perks like extra fries.

Note to Michael: I beg to differ: there is something special about
these fries. Perfect technique delivers some of the best fries I've
ever had, closely rivaling those at Cafe Boulud (whose meh burger is
easily blown out of the water by this one, as I'll soon find out).
These are ultra-crispy on the outside, steaming and soft in the
middle, not a hint of greasiness, very well seasoned (under-seasoned
fries make me visibly shake with anger), not overpowered by the
herbs, better-than-McDonald's-on-a-good-day fries. Let's hope the
burger matches them.

Despite my innate indifference towards grilled burgers, I have to
admit, this is one damn-good looking sandwich.

Michael's advice for eating this fat boy: First: Squish down the top
bun with the palm of your hand the way that that weird girl in 2nd
grade used to do with her peanut butter and banana sandwiches (you
know the girl I'm talking about, right?). This will compress its
massive 7-inch height into a more manageable 4.

Second: Get a sharp serrated steak knife (Radius uses the
honeybee-stamped knives made in Laguiole) to cut the monsters in
half, providing you with four convenient corners from which to take
the first exploratory bites. If all went well, the centers should be
a perfect, juicy, medium rare.

Third: pour yourself a cold beer, open real wide, and put her back.
Make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand, because as Chef Schlow
masterfully demonstrates, this one makes a mess.

So how does it taste? The meat does have the kind of compact texture
that you get from pre-ground, massaged chuck, but in this case, it's
not too bad. The olive oil certainly lubricates it a bit, and the
gentle finish in the oven means that the fat in the interior is just
beginning to melt, keeping things nice and juicy. I'd like to try
this thing with meat ground to order.

The burger to bun ratio is spot on—the last bite of meat disappears
with the last bit of bun. The brioche didn't bother me none. The
usual too-airy, too-sweet, too-lightness of brioche all goes away
when you press it down into a pile of crispy fried onions.

Another note to Michael, about those crispy onions: bag'em, sell'em,
fund your burger joint with the profits. If people wait in line to
try the greasy, stringy, anemic onions at Bartley's, wait'll they
get a load of these.

And as far as special sauces go, you can do worse than horseradish
mayo. Much worse. So final verdict? If even a hard-core griddle-man
like myself can enjoy eating it, I can only imagine how a fan of the
grill will take it. Not the best burger I've ever had, but quite
possibly the best burger in Boston.

And in case you didn't catch it: Fries = phenomenal.

Let's hear it for the home team.


  From: Serious Eats                    
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

YK Jim


___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 [NR]
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)