Philadelphia, PA: P.Y.T.'s "P.Y.T. Burger"

P.Y.T.
The Piazza at Schmidt’s
1050 N Hancock St
Philadelphia, PA 19123

(215) 268-7825

A few people are talking about this place online…just a few – read here, here, here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here (the rest of the world still has Crystal Pepsi?  Seriously?  Damn!), here, here, here, here and oh, here.   Holy word of mouth!  Well, if there is one thing legendary Philly party-promoter Tommy Up knows how to do it is get people talking and with his latest venture, the uber-hip restaurant/lounge P.Y.T., it is clear another thing Up can do really well is run a burger joint.

Self-described as a California style burger bar, P.Y.T. as a concept is well thought out and its location in the middle of Bart Blatstein’s Piazza At Schmidt’s is both ideal and logical.  Indoor seating in stylish booths and at the sleek bar will be more popular in colder months, but on a gorgeous day like we had (a rare example of the idea that it is “Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) the piazza-side tables with lime green umbrellas were the place to be.

I modified my P.Y.T. Burger (toppings are key here) and was able to snap a few pics before eagerly diving in to devour  the 1/3 lb.(ish) of beef blanketed (but not buried or overpowered) with a fried egg (preparation nailed – just the slightest bit of yolk ooze), bacon, lettuce, tomato (bright red!), onions, cheese (great melt) and a devilishly sweet onion & mayo secret sauce (note to Colgate – this would make the perfect toothpaste flavor).  The burger was heavily seasoned and cooked around the range I requested, not pegged, but to the rarer which is a 1000 times better than going too far.  The completed burger stacked pretty high, but everything squished together well and was pretty manageable to eat in mixed company.

As good as the burgers are, the P.Y.T. sign also promotes two other strengths of the restaurant.  If the “T: thing” is the burger and the “Y:young” is the music (djs, Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” was playing as we were leaving – probably not stereotypical but it worked for a Sunday), then “P: pretty” is a really great way to describe the drinks.

Words Cannot Describe: The Baconzilla from Checkers

Wynnewood, PA: Elevation Burger's Cheeseburger

50 E Wynnewood Rd
Wynnewood, PA 19096-2013
(610) 645-7704

I first posted about Elevation Burger way back in February so needless to say the anticipation has been building for a while on this one…and I am happy to report that Elevation Burger did not disappoint.

With a mantra of “Ingredients Matter,” what many have dubbed the “healthy Five Guys” opened their first store here on the outskirts of Philly over the 4th of July weekend.  It took me a whole 2 days to get down there thanks to holiday festivities but lunchtime Monday was destined to be all about Elevation Burger.

Four of us from work headed over and I was not surprised to run into another burger-loving friend already waiting in the short queue ahead of us.  Word seems to have spread fast as they had a decent lunchtime crowd already for their first work-day service.

I opted for the Cheeseburger, as opposed to the Elevation Burger (1 patty vs 2 patties) and was presented with one of the best upsell attempts I have ever heard…”We find men are more satisfied with the Elevation burger (double) as opposed to just the single.” Ah-hem.  Innuendo aside, I still stuck with the single burger (a rare show of restraint) in order to justify getting a side of fries and a soda.

As you can see from the picture, the burger itself is aesthetically pleasing.  It is clear that they spend a lot of time training their staff to present the product well and I appreciate when a burger joint does that (ex: Shake Shack or In-N-Out) as opposed to just slapping together ingredients.  I ordered my burger with lettuce, tomato and “Elevation Sauce” which I was told was a creamy, light tomato sauce.  Either an homage to INO or even Big Mac sauce, I found that the sauce really didn’t add too much flavor to the package.  It didn’t distract or ruin the taste, just didn’t add that much. To be honest, that is my only complaint.  The burgers at Elevation are 100% organic, grass-fed and free range and you definitely can tell that something is different about the patties.  Well seasoned and served on a squishy bun with a nice hunk of cheddar cheese (non-processed!) my cheeseburger was a winner.  The best part may have been the complete lack of that icky, weighed down feeling (strangely enough this was a negative factor for my co-workers).  The absence of greasiness meant no strong desire for an afternoon nap which could help productivity back at the ranch.

As good as the burger was, I have to say the fries are even better.  Fresh cut shoestring style and crisped up perfectly in 100% olive oil (no trans or saturated fats), these were probably the best fries I’ve had in a long time and everyone in the group agreed they were the highlight of the meal.  A side order was enough for 2 of us to split, though in the future I’d easily order one side just for me because they were that good (perfectly salted, each one tasted like that idealized vision of a McDonald’s fry we conjure up but have only ever experienced maybe once or twice in our lives).

Bonus points for Pibb Xtra as a fountain selection.  Having spent time growing up in the south, seeing Pibb Xtra, which is the “new” name for “Mr. Pibb,” triggered lots of nostalgic memories.  And despite Mitch Hedberg famously maligning Pibb’s lack of advanced education (“Mr. Pibb is a poor imitation of Dr. Pepper. Dude didn’t even get his degree.”) I’d choose it every time over the much fizzier Pepper.

The menu also features fresh-scooped ice cream milk shakes made with Blue Bunny ice cream.  I didn’t have one, but they were hand-dipping a lot of them and I am sure I’ll get around to that at some point (maybe Jess @ Fries With That Shake will beat me to it).

Located half-way between my work and home I am going to have to try hard to avoid filling up one of their “7 Club” cards each week.  Congrats to the team that has been working so hard on getting this location open and good luck to them keeping the steady stream of people coming.  Keep delivering a good product and they will (and the demos of this area seem ideal with a Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in short driving distance the health-concious bent should play well).

Home Cookin': Buffalo Bill/Dabney Coleman BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger

Sunday night is burger night around the house and this weekend’s version was inspired by a viewing of a PBS The American Experience episode about Buffalo Bill Cody, which when trying to cook and tweet at the same time somehow morphed into a reference to Dabney Coleman’s early 1980’s sitcom Buffalo Bill (see tweets here – heck, sign up to follow if you wish).

What made these burgers even more special was that the beef and bacon were procured from our local farmers market.  In most parts of the North East farmer’s market season has just kicked off and that is great news.  Within walking distance of our house are a bevy of delicious, seasonal options produced and sold by the person behind the till.  Stories, suggestions, recipes and heart are all within easy reach of the consumer and we are all a bit better for taking the time to slow down and interact on a more personal level with our food and those that grow it.  Of course these markets are famous for their veggies but we have found that many offer great quality meats as well.  Whether “farm-raised,” “grass-fed,” “organic” and/or “natural” meat, options abound and include not only beef from cows, but good quality bison and small-batch bacons.

Not so much a recipe on this one…more a parts list:

85/15 all-natural ground beef

Thick-cut all-natural bacon

Ultra-sharp cheddar cheese

Onion rings

BBQ sauce

Whole-wheat Telera rolls

Bobby Flay calls his version a Cheyenne Burger.

Carl’s Jr.’s call it a Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

Dabney Coleman Fever movie on YouTube (kiss 8 1/2 minutes of your life goodbye before clicking)

Home Cookin': The Burger Explosion

More than a little hat tip to the gents over at BBQ Addicts whose invention, the “Bacon Explosion,” was the creative jumping off point for this monstrosity.

No shot of getting this thing in the New York Times, but my concerns (and those of our crew of culinarily curious friends) were in getting this in our bellies.  The idea just seemed like the logical next step and although it took about 3 hours start to finish, it is more than worthwhile trying it out at home for your next get together.  This one is guaranteed to stop people in their tracks.  As always, I will note that I am not a professional chef and though these directions worked for me, they may not work well for you.  This recipe is fairly forgiving so as long as you are certain to cook these beauties all the way through I can see little danger in making a minor misstep (and tons of upside in creating your own variations).

I actually made a Bacon Explosion alongside the Burger Explosion for comparison’s sake.  The recipe for the “Bacon Explosion” which is packed with pork sausage is best picked up at BBQ Addicts, though I will note that I tweaked that recipe a little, swapping out the bbq rub for a home spun mixture of salt, pepper and rosemary.  The rosemary worked out very well.

Burger Explosion (serves 8-10)

1lb 80/20 ground beef

4 slices of white American cheese

9 slices thick cut bacon

3 slices of regular bacon

1 butt of whole grain bread – toasted

1 large egg

2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce

1/3 cup BBQ sauce (any kind will do)

Step 1 – Fry up the 3 slices of regular bacon on a griddle as you would for morning breakfast, when done remove from griddle and pat dry (don’t worry about getting too much grease off, this ain’t health food!)

Step 2 – Take the butt end of the whole grain bread and sop up the rendered bacon fat from the griddle.

Step 3 – Place the bread into a food processor and whir it up for a few seconds to make breadcrumbs (yes, even the breadcrumbs are gonna taste like bacon!).

Step 4 – Put your ground beef, egg, oyster sauce and 3 tablespoons of the bacon-y breadcrumbs into a bowl and mix thoroughly by hand.

Step 5 – Make a 4×5 lattice pattern with the bacon (this may be the most fun part of the recipe)

Bryn Mawr, PA: Hospital Cafeteria Cheeseburger

Bryn Mawr Hospital Cafeteria

130 S Bryn Mawr Ave

Bryn Mawr, PA

.

Babies don’t come out in real life as fast as they do on TV, so with a few minutes of time on my hands in between contractions, an epidural and the blessed event I figured I’d post about the cuisine here at Bryn Mawr Hospital.  This being a hospital and all I was a wee bit concerned about the offerings in the cafeteria (would it be nothing but healthy stuff?), but clearly they are catering to a wide audience with their extensive offerings (salad bar ->nachos bar -> deli sandwiches -> pastries).

Was very happy to see (4) burger options on the menu, advertised as fresh from the grille sirloin.  I opted for the cheeseburger (white American), and as you can see from the above it came wrapped a la your typical fast food burger.  A self-serve toppings bar was available with some bright red tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced onions, pickles and bacon as options.  I actually skipped over the bacon (just seemed odd in a hospital – bacon will probably bring me back here sometime soon enough) and loaded up with a few tomato slices.

End product was about 1/3 lb (maybe even closer to 1/2 lb) cooked medium + all the way through and was served on a decent quality kaiser roll.  With some ketchup and mustard this baby doctored up to be pretty decent with a very strong beef taste.   No doubt this was a Sysco or similar food service burger, frozen until just recently but prepared well for the lunch time rush.

Wife can’t eat anything but ice chips and freeze pops (and nurse wondered what the smell was in the room in a manner that clearly said “who the heck is eating fast food in here!”) so I couldn’t get another opinion on this but it might be the real deal.  Not sure how many folks would stop by here for a casual lunch, but if this labor continues any longer (nurse mentioned someone in labor for 3 days…) I might convene a meeting of other burger lovers for further sampling.

Thanks for all of the well wishes to date (have been posting some on Twitter though promised wife I would not “live Tweet” the birth).  The world will welcome another burger lover very soon.

UPDATE:  More burgers will have to wait…he’s here!

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Home Cookin': Burger Topping Game Changer

Almost a year ago I gave up watching TV.  With only minor exceptions I have avoided the giant glowing orb in our living room, having instead spent my time in other more high-brow pursuits (like writing a burger blog).  But when I do break down and turn on the tube I tend to gravitate towards the lowest common denominator (i.e. Cheaters).  These forays back into TV land never go well and I always end up redoubling my resolve, having decided that all programs must be this bad (especially since Joey Grecco replaced Tommy Grand as Cheaters host/staff psychologist, but I digress).  After tonight, however, my mind has been changed.

Last week while watching an episode of Man Vs Food (yes, it’s come to this…) I caught a glimpse of a burger whose toppings I have never seen nor imagined.  Toppings that conveniently exist in my refrigerator 365 days a year, but whose combination and placement on ground beef has never even been considered.

Host Adam Richman dropped by Duffy’s Cherry Cricket, winner of Best Burger Bar in Denver (2008), and among the 21 different toppings (and myriad of combinations) we catch a glimpse of what I am calling a “Game Changer” for burgers (at least in our house because I swear I have never seen cream cheese offered as a topping at any burger joint anywhere).

What stared back at me from the screen was a humongous burger topped with a thick slab of cream cheese and a handful of chopped jalapenos.

Oh yes, cream cheese and jalapenos on a burger! Where have you been my whole life?

Cream cheese, like burgatory.com’s reigning best friend bacon, has the innate ability to “make anything better” and in this application is the perfect foil providing a critical antidote to the overbearing hotness of the jalapenos. 

We grilled our burgers inside and once we broke through the seared  crust the cheese commingled with the loose meat, filling pockets of empty space with a blast of dairy to offset the beefiness of our 93/7 grind.  As if that weren’t enough, the cheese hit the trifecta by matching the pillowiness of the Martin’s Potato Rolls.

Denver natives have known about this topping combo for some time and according to the Cherry Cricket’s website, the cream cheese/jalapeno combo is the # 1 burger topping by a whopping margin.  80% of respondents called it their favorite, easily distancing such mundane fare as smoked cheddar and bacon or swiss and mushrooms.  I worked briefly in the Denver metro and have extreme remorse recollecting that the only burgers I ever ate in the Mile High City were from Red Robin.  But I can’t dwell on the past, especially because this one is so easy to recreate.

I’d provide a recipe, but it is too simple to get technical.  Just do what we did and open the fridge, pull out the slab o’ cream cheese buried in there, chop up your jalapenos and when the time is right, apply generously and consider the game changed.

Burger News You Can't Use: Checkers Raises The Roast Beef Bar on Arby's

Not ones to sit idly by and let other fast food chains monkey around with their (and our) beloved burger, the fine folks at Checkers (my vote for best guilty pleasure burger joint) have introduced the Prime Rib Burger, thus raising the ante on Arby’s recently launched RoastBurger line by doing the unthinkable – adding an actual burger to a roast beef sandwich.  We probably could have seen this coming.
Where Arby’s RoastBurger is a roast beef sandwich flavored and topped to taste like a burger, Checkers’ Prime Rib Burger takes sliced prime rib and, well…having not eaten it yet I’ll just have to trust the marketing spin from their website:

We’re talking about authentic, tender prime rib sliced right off the roast. Piled high on our big and juicy, hand-seared and seasoned burger. With grilled onions, Swiss cheese, and peppercorn mayonnaise between hot and toasted sourdough bread. It’s prime rib done delicious.

As stated previously on this website, (more) meat really is the best burger topping.  Fancy sounding peppercorn mayonnaise is intriguing, too.  If my travels take me past one of our local double drive-thru’s I’ll update with a picture and a field report.

Bonus: More news on my recent encounter with a Checkers’ Baconzilla! coming later this week.

Burger Toys: Melissa & Doug Will Turn Your 3 Year Old Into A Burger Snob

Found this in my daughter’s play kitchen the other day…as best I can tell it is a double burger with tomato and egg (with the tomato in between two burger patties…pretty revolutionary!).  If this were available in a restaurant, I would order it!  Can you say “proud poppa”?

A few month’s back my daughter received the Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Sandwich Making Kit, which features a myriad of sandwich making options.  The folks at M&D must be burger fans because one of the “meat” options is clearly a hamburger (it even comes with a seeded burger bun) and most of the toppings work perfectly on burgers (in the real world).  Tomatoes, lettuce and pickles are joined by ham, egg and two different types of cheese to offer hundreds of options for imaginary play.

At 3 years old my daughter has already carved out some fairly sophisticated burger tastes, having been dragged (along with mom) to joints up and down the east coast.  From Shady Glen Dairy to Monk’s, Ted’s Steamed Cheeseburgers to Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage, she’s seen and sampled some of the best burgers around, so watching her play with this set and create her own “dream burgers” gives me a bizarre sense of pride.  Thankfully mom is around to ply her with vegan/vegetarian food most of the time to avoid her truly taking after dad.

I can just see the Juno-inspired Hamburger Phone in her room when she is a teenager (if phones even exist by then).

If you have a little burger lover at your house, they might like this book.

Burger Boy by Alan Durant

It is one of our favorites and gets quoted at least once a week…”I’m not a burger, I’m a boy!”

I Ate It (So You Don't Have To!): Arby's All-American RoastBurger

Survey Says: American’s are bored with burgers.

The quick service industry’s forgotten step-child, Arby’s, commissioned a survey and found that American’s are bored with fast food burgers.  They are too greasy (55% agreed), too dry (40%) and the quality of meat is poor (45%).

Enter “RoastBurgers,” the newest sandwich additions to the Arby’s menu.

via QSR Magazine

“Roastburgers offer a tasty new way for burger lovers to satisfy their cravings while avoiding burger boredom,” says Steve Davis, Arby’s Chief Marketing Officer. “

So basically what Arby’s has done is swapped out ho-hum ground beef for the taste sensation that is their trademark roast beef.

The results…well…ummm, how do I say this…not as bad as I thought it would be.

The All-American Roast Burger I had for lunch, and it’s relatives the Bacon & Bleu Cheese and Bacon & Cheddar RoastBurgers, clearly benefit from some super-secret chemistry straight out of the flavor labs of New Jersey, because darnit…the RoastBurger actually tastes like a fast food hamburger.  Again, I am left completely frustrated by how easily my taste buds can be tricked by science, but I guess that is the point with modern day fast food.  The Oxford University Museum of Natural History bails me out a little here noting that the taste buds are easily tricked (in general, not specifically by this sandwich, but someone should definitely take this back into a lab and experiment).

More from an Arby’s Press Release:

All-American Roastburger – Features Arby’s thinly sliced, oven-roasted roast beef with fresh lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, ketchup, mustard, and a secret sauce served on a specialty roll

Here is the skinny on this “burger.”  Easily 1/4 lb of roast beef which because of its shape/folding meant the sandwich stands pretty tall and seems substantial.  Any hint of that special sauce, which someone on these here Interwebs actually compared to IN-N-OUT‘s secret sauce (?), was completely overpowered by the beef flavorings sprinkled on the sandwich (the Arby’s website even features an eerie animation showing the beef fleck coating process).  Ketchup and mustard, the tried and true burger toppings, along with lettuce, tomato (very red – not always the case at fast food joints), raw onion and pickle were all present.   Even the bun was better than your average fast food vessel.  I’d compare it (favorably) to a BK Whopper.

That said, the whole concept just seems wrong to me.  A roast beef sandwich shouldn’t have to aspire to be anything more than a roast beef sandwich and a burger by its nature has no equal in the world of meat-on-bun concoctions.  But of course this is all about marketing and market share and so Arby’s, known as the #2 franchise sandwich chain in the country (behind Subway), has dipped their toes in the ultra-lucrative burger pool in launching this line.  Interestingly, they could potentially steal market share from their sister restaurant, Wendy’s, by offering a burger experience which caters to a more high-end fast food eater.

RoastBurger Pros:

• Close your eyes and it tastes like a pretty darn good fast food burger
• Really red tomato, crispy lettuce and tasty raw onions – all fine toppings which would be well placed on a burger
• Price – Arby’s is offering a free RoastBurger (with the purchase of a drink) via a coupon on their website (exp. 2/9/09)

Cons:

• Mouth-feel: The meat just disappears in your mouth, like cotton candy or those weird Japanese shrimp chips.
• The whole “better living through chemistry” vibe you get when seeing the flavor flecks and tasting the overpowering beefiness of this sandwich.

Stats:

420 calories

170 calories from fat

18g of fat

6g of saturated fat

1g of trans fat (oddly present here…Arby’s was the first chain to introduce trans-fat free fries)

40mg of cholesterol

1390mg sodium

46g carbs

2g fiber

15% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C (!)

Bonus feature:  Recipe to make your own Jamocha Shakes…previously the only reason anyone went to Arby’s.