daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Who doesn’t love a homemade burger? They aren’t difficult to make, but good fries are such a challenge! Tonight’s wedges were probably a 5 out of 10… Oh well. Still searching for a good fry recipe!
The second meal I prepared on the new barbeque grill was hamburgers. Actually, I would have thought burgers would be the first meal, but steaks aren’t a bad choice either.
Anyway, the burgers turned out great. As usual, I used 80-20 ground chuck, but this time I added Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard to the mix. I think I did that last time too. This time, though, I used a fork to mix it all up before dividing the meat and forming the patties. I think this makes a huge difference because the ground beef doesn’t get as compressed so the cooked burgers have a nicer, coarser texture. And maybe they stay juicier too? I don’t know, but these were certainly moist!
Mariko made homemade buns, which were fantastic. Natural ingredients and no preservatives are healthier than store-bought, of course, and the taste of the freshly-baked, homemade buns cannot be beaten.
To round out the burger, the toppings were lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, jalapeños, mayo, ketchup, and mustard. Can’t go wrong with the classics for toppings!
I sometimes like to make simple burgers using just salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but the family really enjoys the Worcestershire/Dijon version so I’ll probably keep making those. Purists say that adding anything more than simple seasonings turns a burger into meatloaf, but hey, we like meatloaf too!
I’m wondering if there are any other things people like to add to the meat before grilling… I must do more research.
I hope you had a nice day!
またね～
Tonight my family and I tried a new burger restaurant that opened near our house. It’s called BurgerIM, and the special thing about this chain is twofold. First, their burgers are sliders, which means they are smaller than normal, perhaps half the size of a normal burger. Secondly, you can choose from several different types of meats and topping combinations. This is really what I found interesting at BurgerIM. For instance, there’s Wagyu beef, Marguez beef, dry-aged beef, lamb, etc. The website also lists fish, but I don’t think they have added it to the local menu just yet because this location is so new.
I got the Wagyu beef and the Marguez beef, and both were tasty, but the Wagyu was definitely better. I also tried the dry-aged which was yummy as well. Next time, I’ll go for the lamb and something else since there are so many choices to try!
Besides the patty, you can choose from several topping combinations, including a traditional American style, a “California” style with avocado, of course, a spicy style, etc. I thought the variety was pretty good and varied. We also tried the fries and onion rings. The fries were the coin-shaped style and yummy, while the onion rings were nothing special, but not disappointing.
While the food is good, the prices are a bit on the high side for burgers, but probably typical for gourmet burgers. It was $6.99 for the two slider option and $9.99 for three slider option. Add another $3 for fries and a drink (or $3 for a side of fries), and the bill adds up quickly. Also, for the Wagyu beef and a couple of the topping combos, an additional $0.79 is added. When the cashier rang it all up and I saw the total, I was honestly a little shocked. I suppose it was because the restaurant looks like a fast-food place so I was expecting fast-food prices.
Once I got past the sticker shock, I enjoyed the food (and they have beer on tap!) and spending time trying a new restaurant with the family. I also have to add that although these were sliders, two of them left me with a surprisingly full stomach.
We have plenty of burger options near our house, ranging from the higher-end Hopdoddy to the wallet-friendly In N Out, and BurgerIM fits in right below Hopdoddy. It’s nice to have another option rather than a third McDonalds or Wendy’s.
I hope you had a nice day!
またね～
She’s back! (Get off my burger, will ya?) 😝
こんばんは。How’s it going?
This morning I went to an event at Precision Camera here in Austin. They have a it a couple times a year and I usually head down there with some friends who are into photography to check out some of the free seminars, shop, and have lunch.
The store gives away gift certificates ranging from $10 – $100 to the first 51 people so we arrive early to get our space in line. Unfortunately, I only got a $10 certificate (the 3rd time) but my friend won $50 (his second time!) so that was pretty cool. I ended up buying a non-photography-related item: a combo bottle-opener/flashlight for $9. Not bad, and I appreciate the freebie!
As has become a tradition, we went for a burger at Hopdoddy, and that was super-tasty. 🍔 Add an egg for $1? 🍳 Of course!
I hope you had a nice Saturday.
おやすみ
