JosephB

why would i be joking? i wasn't claiming it's the best burger in new york. but it is very delicious and everyone i know likes them. the meat is good and they're only $2. don't knock it till you try it. not destination food, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood... a mere five or six blocks from peter lugers. sorry, thought this was a more general thread about good burgers in new york and didn't fully realize the steingarten-esque nature of the quest. Sorry, bpearis, it does sound lovely and affordable and all, but it's just not what we're going for in the BC. We're doing the burger as a burger, not as a concoction. I mean, I might want to try a charcoal cheddar burger smothered in onions with a molten chocolate center, but it's just not right for here. (That is actually sounding tempting to me right now.) That lets me off the hook.

I didn't have the heart to tell her; she was soooo adamant about it.

why would i be joking? i wasn't claiming it's the best burger in new york. but it is very delicious and everyone i know likes them. the meat is good and they're only $2. don't knock it till you try it. not destination food, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood... a mere five or six blocks from peter lugers. sorry, thought this was a more general thread about good burgers in new york and didn't fully realize the steingarten-esque nature of the quest. You're absolutely right; I shouldn't knock until I try it. O.K. I'll tell you what. Why don't we combine a pilgrimage to Luger's with a visit to Snacky's. Whataya say?

Please tell me you're joking! For the love of . . . . !!! Please!

Thanks Bill. I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Too late. Soba Not exactly a glowing review.

Bill, I was told that IL Centro is booked months in advance. Any insight into this?

We are staying in Villa La Favorita in Alba. I have been corresponding by e-mail with the proprietor, Roberta, who is delightful. We're looking forward to our stay there. I'll try to post from the road and let you know about our experience there. We're booked for three nights from 10/28 - 10/31

I'm going to miss this one. We'll be in gay Paris on that day.

Thanks Bill. I've been keeping my eye on all the Piemonte threads, but I thought that Pongi may have something to add.

We eat only beef burgers.

Pongi, Do you have any other restaurant recommendations in Piemonte? Grazie. -Joe

In my experience, of the places you've mentioned only Balducci's is exorbitant for items which it is does not uniquely carry - which aren't many any more. Instead, I have found the Food Emporium and A&P in my neighborhood to be the over priced culprits. A couple of weeks ago I was making dinner for some family when I realized that one little girl would not eat what I was making. My wife ran to the A&P on West End and 70th and bought a package of chicken breast. The best quality they had was something called "Perdue Natural." The price was $6.99 per pound! The stuff was truly horrible. Afterwards, I felt violated.

Thanks for the very useful information.

I thought Elyse was president. BTW, when does BC hold elections?

I think the point is simply being made that the BC as it is currently operating is really a social gathering more than anything -- which seems to be what you're saying too -- and that perhaps we should give up the facade of a systematic evaluation and do away with laborious rating systems, spreadsheets, taking temperatures, weighing burgers and whatnot. If we're going to get together informally to try out some good burgers, discuss and post our impressions, why not just leave it at that? If other people have an interest in doing a more rigorous survey in parallel (and I am certainly interested in doing both) that's cool too. But one shouldn't confuse one with the other -- a sentiment that I see echoed in some of the other comments in re to the rating system and composite score. If people really love the forms and the thermometers and stuff, of course there's no reason not to continue with them... I certainly regard the BC as a social thing. Last week's attempt to rate the burgers beyond "I like this one" was cute, but not particularly interesting or meaningful. Indeed, I found rating the burgers to be a tedious exercise, especially because I had a hard time reading the small print in the dark!

It makes no sense to equate quality with size (Haven't you heard this before?). While the PM burger is not gargantuan (I think it it is appropriately sized.), it is made with high quality meat. I order it rare. My wife orders it medium rare. Try doing that with a fast food burger! You get it one of two ways: cooked or uncooked. That said, I will concede that PM's presentation is akin to fast food. There's one line to order and pick up. Condiments are applied by the grill man. The burgers are delivered in paper wrappers; the fries in a paper bag. OK, it's a truck stop. But if you're looking for high quality meat at a fair price, this is your place. By the way, PJ Clarke's serves the same size burger as PM ($8.50), except instead of grilling it, it's cooked on a griddle in butter, and instead of a paper wrapper, it's served on a paper plate. Onion? Look under the bun; you'll find it there. (Disclaimer: Clarke's recently changed hands. Although the new owners promised to keep the product and atmosphere as is, only a personal inspection would satisfy me.)

I agee with you with respect to meat, but not with respect to fish with low fat content. Spinkle good quality sea salt on the fish after cooking.

I have never ordered fresh food online. We usually plan our meals on a daily basis. In any event, I just looked at the Niman site and was surprised to see that the same chops that I bought at Fairway are apparently more expensive from Niman online. I didn't even get to the issue of shipping costs. Fairway must be getting quite a hefty discount from the the Ranch. Hey Sam, does your butcher carry any of the other cuts available directly from the Ranch? I would love to try their bone-in shoulder.

I bought 3 Niman Ranch bone-in Pork Rib Chops at Fairway at 74th and Broadway today. They averaged 10 oz. each, and cost $8.99 per pound. I brined the chops for 2 hours and pan fried them to a pale pink. I deglazed the pan with little water. That's it. I am very excited to report that the chops were outstanding. They were thick, tender, and juicy, with a delicious pork flavor. I can't wait to have these chops again!

I thought the burgers were very mediocre. The meat was fresh in the sense that I felt secure in eating it very rare, but not in the sense that it was freshly ground. The flavor was neutral. The burgers were also ridiculously oversized -- 9.5 oz. of cooked meat! It was great having lunch with you guys, and hanging out afterwards with some of you at the greenmarket. Looking forward to the Parker Meridian. Should we make it Black tie?

I wish we could bring our little Westie with us. Anyway, Donna and I would be delighted if we could meet some of the egullet contigent in Paris. We'll be in town from Oct. 22 to Oct. 26. Salut!

The Times reporeted today that Bar Demi is also gone.

I had a burger at Fairway on Saturday, and for the first time it was substandard. I ordered it rare. It arrived looking greyish on the outside and pink on the inside. Apparently, the burger was cooked over too low a flame. I'll have another sample before the Club makes the effort to go there.

JosephB and I were just talking last night about what a huge difference grinding your own meat can make. Really, I think this is one element that can't be over estimated -- especially if the meat is ground a relatively short time before it is cooked. I imagine it has something to do with the fact that freshly ground meat is significantly less oxidized than ground meat that has sat around for a while. I would add that one must eat a hamburger rare, or no more cooked than medium rare, to appreciate the added value of freshly ground meat.