AHT reader Nick alerted me to this video here, saying, "David Hasselhoff celebrates national hamburger month."
Heh, heh. That's pretty funny.
But, as Elvis Presley once sang, "Don't be cruel to a heart that's true." And who but Michael Knight has a truer heart? Therefore, instead of embedding the video right here in this entry, I am making you click the link above to view Mr. Hasselhoff, a man who has battled alcoholism, eating a hamburger as he falls off the wagon. (It's not like you haven't seen it already, though.)
As a fan of Hasselhoff (Knight Rider was brilliant), I would like to believe that this statement was made with all sincerity:
Because of my honest and positive relationship with my daughters, who were concerned for my well-being, there was a tape made that night to show me what I was like. I have seen the tape. I have learned from it and I am back on my game.
I would also like to know where that hamburger came from.
The Apple Pan, an institution of a burger joint in Los Angeles (covered here on AHT), opened in 1947. For 50 of its 60 years in business, Charles Collins has worked there. Burger documentarian George "Hamburger America" Motz catches up with Mr. Collins as he marks his golden anniversary there.
THE APPLE PAN Location:10801 West Pico Blvd. (at Westwood Blvd.), Los Angeles 90064 Phone: 310-475-3585 Price: $5.75 Short Order: Two classic burgers dating to the '40s still amaze tastebuds with individuality and kick-ass quality in old-school diner digs.
About the filmmaker: George Motz is the burger-mad genius behind our favorite burger movie, Hamburger America. For more from George, visit his website, HamburgerAmerica.com
Nobody disputes that Louis' has served its hamburgers longer than any other restaurant. The oldest continuously published newspaper in America thereby declares the oldest continuing hamburger joint in America the authentic one. So there.
Wassup?!? Adam here. So I've mentioned it before, and blah blah blah, but A Hamburger Today is now part of SeriousEats.com, where I'm working as managing editor. No reason to worry that this site will change in any really funky way, etc., or that we're going to get stuffy around here, what with the word serious thrown in there. What it DOES mean is that we have access to some cool new resources and new friends. Among them are Jane and Michael Stern of Roadfood.com.
Over at Serious Eats, we've been producing a series of short videos starring the couple, in which they travel to some seriously quirky and seriously good food destinations. Anyway, one of our recent Roadfood episodes is on Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut. You might know it from experience or from themanyposts we've done on the place recently. Well, if you want to get to know it a little better, click the image below to go watch our short video. Even if you don't agree that Louis' Lunch is the burger's birthplace, you've got to admire the characters who staff the jointand you'll dig their cool method of cooking the patties.
Some would argue that the best drink to pair with a burger is an ice-cold Coca-Cola or a frosty mug of beer. I would argue that the ideal beverage is Dr Pepper, as it's my favorite soft drink. But if you're an oenophile or know someone who is, this video from AHT parent site Serious Eats will help you pair a glass of the ol' Jesus juice with your quarter-pounder. We give you Serious Eat's "Sommelier to Go," Joshua Wesson ...
NOTES FROM THE VIDEO When choosing a wine to serve with a burger, it's not so much about the meat than the toppings or condiments gracing it. If you're going to slather on ketchup, look for fruity wines or even sweet wines, since ketchupnot the burger itselfwill be the dominant element. Off-dry rosés or even white wines with a touch of sweetness can work. An Australian Shiraz is a respectable pick. If you're eating the burger on its own, "nothing is better than a rich, sunny, southern red from Italy." Try a Nero D'Avola from Sicily. Having a side of coleslaw? "You'll find great happiness in a Syrah-based wine from Southern Francea good Côtes du Rhône would be quite lovely." In general: "For everything from burgers to pizza to steaks, I default to Southern Italyto primitivos from Apulia or Nero D'Avolas from Sicily."
FEATURED WINES
Nausica Nero D'Avola Sicilia, 2005 Hope Estate Family Vineyards, Hunter Valley Wollemi Shiraz, 2005
ABOUT JOSHUA WESSON | Serious Eats likes Joshua because he took wine and made it accessible to everyone. You can walk in to one of his Best Cellars stores with $20 and leave with a great bottle of wine and $5 in changeeach bottle he and his colleagues scour the world to carefully select is $15 or less.
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 24, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Last week, the "Hamburgirl" and I went to see comedy troupe Toy Gun Assassins perform. The Assassins did a sketch in which the components of a BK burgermeat, bun, bacon, and cheesewere personified as attendees of an R&D meeting whose agenda was to create a new bestselling burger. I thought it would make perfect fodder for AHT but was dismayed that there was no way to blog ituntil now. Below is the sketch. Readers with delicate sensibilities are advised: There's some off-color language in there. Lighting and sound are a bit muddled, but bear with it.
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 19, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Here's a fun one from the mailbag ...
Dear AHT: Dyer's Hamburgers in Memphis TN featured on Food Network cooks there hamburgers in a skillet with ancient grease. When they moved from their old location, they actually had the Memphis Police Department escort the grease in a padlocked trash can to the new location. Do a search and check it out. One day the manager looked up and saw Tami Fay Baker at the order station... Mike, Montross, Virginia
Funny you should ask, Mike. AHT parent site Serious Eats featured a video of Dyer's excerpted from our friend George Motz's excellent burger biopic Hamburger America. I'm going to present it here. Enjoy!
Solly's Grille, located incongruously next to the Milwaukee Heart Hospital, is famous for the Wisconsin regional delight known as the butter burger. A liberal dollop of Dairy State butter is applied to the burger just after patty hits bun. How much butter? Dude. It's insane.
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 1, 2006 at 11:55 AM
Great find from an AHT reader ...
Dear AHT: Is it a sad comment on how much time I spend online that, last night, while watching this boring interview on Colbert, I thought of AHT 1:10 into this video, when he gives the reason Michael Jordon is the greatest sports figure of all time? P.M.
Not sad at all, P.M. You should see how much time we spend online. That is truly said. The Mgmt.
TRANSCRIPT Colbert: Who's the greatest sports figure of our time right now? Mike Lupica: It's either Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. Colbert: Wrong. It's Michael Jordan. Still. Lupica: But he's not playing Colbert: It doesn't matter. Him not palying is still a better sports figure than anybody else right now. And not because of his stats, which are impressive, but because of the McJordan sandwich at McDonald's. Do you remember it? Lupica: Yes, I do. Colbert: Double cheeseburger, bacon, barbecue sause. OK? He's got a lock. That's it. He gets it forever from me. Because I think part of that sandwich is still in me.
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 13, 2006 at 9:00 AM
I think this one has been floating around the web for a while, but I just now saw it. I been under a rock, yo. How to create the "most illest, futuristic sandwich ever," for $1 and half an order of fries. By dallaspenn.com and ohword.com.
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 12, 2006 at 2:52 PM
It's called the "upsell," the not-so-subtle art of prompting the customer to order additional menu items with such questions as the classic "You want fries with that?" or the less specific "Anything else?" But what happens when the customer keeps ordering? And ordering and ordering and ordering? Call it the "upbuy," counterattack to the upsell ...
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 7, 2006 at 3:20 PM
A little bitta the ol' In-N-Out for you, Paris? ...
Celebrity Paris Hilton was arrested in Hollywood early on Thursday for suspected drunk driving, but she said the incident had been blown out of proportion and that she may have been speeding to get a late-night burger....
"I had one margarita (and) was starving because I had not eaten all day," she said. "Maybe I was speeding a little bit and I got pulled over. I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out Burger."
Shouldn't she have been speeding to get a Carl's Jr.? ...
Early last month, we blogged about a family whose trip to the nearest White Castle (400 miles away) was sponsored by Globat.com as part of a promotional stunt. Conditions of the sponsorship were that the family of three had to eat 100 Slyders before leaving the restaurant. Video is now up here.
Matty's use of YouTube yesterday for featuring the Whopperettes Super Bowl commercial inspired me to do some digging. I wanted to find the Japanese hamburger magician that I sawbut didn't blogseveral months ago. As Matty told me via AIM, "EVERYTHING is on YouTube!" He's not kidding. Here's the beef: