"I believe that the great American hamburger is a thing of beauty, its simple charms noble, pristine. The basic recipe--ground beef, salt, and pepper, formed into a patty, grilled or seared on a griddle, then nestled between two halves of a bun, usually but not necessarily accompanied by lettuce, a tomato slice, and some ketchup--is, to my mind, unimprovable by man or God. A good burger can be made more complicated, even more interesting by the addition of other ingredients--like good cheese or bacon.....relish perhaps, but it will never be made better." - Anthony Bourdain, from the chapter entitled 'Meat', in his book Medium Raw.

October 22, 2010

Hudson's Hamburgers (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)

So we know it's very unlikely that we will travel all the way to Coeur d'Alene for lunch, but while there for work we stumbled across an amazing burger. And we do mean amazing.

In a little tiny shop on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene is Hudson's Hamburgers, which has been in operation there since 1907.

We liked it so much we ate there four times during the week we were in Coeur d'Alene. Yep, four times.
















Hudson's is so tiny it only has 17 seats at a counter. No tables. No servers. No hostess. But always a line up of people waiting for a burger. They have the most perfect business model. Burgers, drinks, pie, and nothing else. No chips or fries with that burger. A hamburger costs $2.20 and a double cheeseburger is less than $5.00. They take a handful of ground beef and form the patty right there at the grill. Nothing is frozen.




















They have two sauces for which they are famous. One is a spicy mustard and boy was it spicy. Too spicy for S. but V. sure enjoyed it.
















After you finished your burger they asked you if you wanted a refill. That's right, another burger. The record is nine double cheeseburgers. Where else can you get a refill on your burger?

nd the way they sliced pickles is beyond description. S. only wishes she had dared to ask them to let her videotape it.

















Burger heaven and oh so simple: beef, onion, pickle, and cheese.

October 14, 2010

Corbin's Grille (Layton, Utah)

Corbin's Grille may be famous for their steaks but their burgers are pretty darn awesome, too. They serve their burgers with steak fries topped with Parmesan cheese.

The dining room is gorgeous and they have the coolest water feature wall in the middle of the dining room.

V. had the 4-steak burger with bleu cheese.
Price: $6.95 (plus a little extra for cheese)

















S. had the Stuffed Gorgonzola Burger and thought it tasted delicious. S. likes her steaks and burgers well done and the cheese in this burger made it so it was still juicy. She couldn't even finish her fries because the burger was so big. And that's just a darn shame to leave fries unfinished.
Price: $8.95
















S. and V. highly recommend Corbin's Grille!

http://www.corbinsgrille.com/

October 10, 2010

Jim's Burgers (Ogden, Utah)

The Ranch Burger
















The Double Cheeseburger
















The Wildcat Burger
Has plum sauce, jalepenos, onions, and cheese. C. called it the perfect melody of flavors.