Let's Talk About Burgers

Greetings, Readers!

This week I figured I would do something a little different here on the blog. Something I've never done before really.

So, let's talk about burgers, shall we?

I have reviewed a lot of burgers here at The Danger Sandwich, and with it being the summer I've talked about them a lot too.

But I've never written about how I actually prefer to make my own on the grill.


I like to start by getting about a pound to a pound and a half of either ground sirloin or ground chuck. These two meats have some definite differences though.

I've been on more of a health kick lately, so I've been reaching for ground sirloin more as the fat content is a lot less. The problem with this can be a less flavorful, less juicy burger compared to the chuck, but does this in no way imply that you will have a tasteless slab of meat. Sirloin is delicious, and so is chuck. It becomes a personal preference, so test both out and decide which you like more.

I'll toss the ground beef into a mixing bowl and grab some seasoning: Kosher Sea Salt (the grains are much bigger than table salt), black pepper, garlic and a dry rub mix like Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning (totally not being paid to say that).

When the spices are fully mixed into the meat, I'll grab a canister of grated Parmesan cheese and about about a quarter to a half cup of that to meat and ground it in.

Now another option I've done with cheese in the past is making a central pocket of melted cheese. While building your patties, you can make a depression in the center, fill it with your favorite type of cheese (feta for me though it doesn't really melt) and then cover it up with more meat, making for a delicious center. The other option with I also enjoy is using your favorite cheese and mixing it in along with the Parmesan so you have cheese mixed in throughout the burger. Either way has turned out to be excellent, again it's up to you.

Lastly, something I've only done very recently employs my favorite meat of all time: Bacon.

This is something to do for those of you who are looking for a true meat bonanza. Take strips of thick cut bacon and wrap your burger patties in it.

Yes. Do it.

Just make sure that you spray down your grill or pan with a bit more non-stick spray so that the bacon doesn't stick and peel off of your burger. The bacon will help keep some of the fat of the burger from escaping, while also blending its own juices into the burger. It's really an amazing, and decadent addition.

Cook until medium-rare to medium. I prefer a little bit of pink on the inside, but you want to make sure that bacon is a little crisp so it adds some texture to the patty, especially if you've made patties nearly 1/2 pound in size.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how I make my favorite home made burger patties.  

If you try this out, let me know what you think.

But also, how do you make your favorite custom made burger patties.

And you vegetarians/vegans, do you make your own burgers too? If so, how?

Until next week, Readers...

San Diego Sandwich-Con 2012

Greetings and welcome back for another week of delicious sandwich profiling, Dear Readers.

This past week, I made a trip down to San Diego for something that I have been putting off far too long: Comic Con.

My group of comic book aficionados only had tickets for Saturday and Sunday, so having arrived on Friday evening, what could we end up doing?

For those that have not been to SD before, the Gaslamp Quarter, right next to the Convention Center where Comic Con was, is a great section of town for drinks and food, and that is where we found The Field.

This place was packed on a Friday night during one of the busiest nights of the year for the city, but it didn't take long for our drinks and food to come to us. The only thing that happened faster was my selection of a sandwich from the menu: a corned beef sandwich on rye.

Set between two slices of lightly buttered, and lighted toasted rye, this corned beef sandwich was one of the best ones I've had in a long time. It absolutely lived up to the standard that a true Irish pub should have for this kind of meal.

The corned beef was very thinly sliced, very warm, and piled very high between the slices of crisp bread. Lightly grilled onions blended in between the layers of meat along with melted Swiss cheese that permeated the sandwich a smear of dijon mustard.

Wow. Absolutely delicious. The flavors blended together to give a smoky and spiced sandwich that mellowed with every bite. The meat was tender and juicy, and overall well cooked.

An excellent way to start a fun weekend at Comic Con. For those of you who have yet to attend the event, it is an absolutely incredible time. Comics, artists, video games, movies, cosplayers, and fans all crammed into an area the size of two square miles can be a bit overwhelming, but if you have an interest in any of the things I mentioned above, it's a must see event for you.

I for one know I will be back next year...and I will have this sandwich again to kick off my weekend.

Until next week, Readers...



Corned Beef Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
The Field Irish Pub & Restaurant
544 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
http://www.thefield.com

Hot Dog Days of Summer

Greetings, Readers!

My, how fast a week does go by, and also this summer for that matter. Here we are, post-4th of July and we still have so many more sandwiches to go through before the end of summer.

A few weeks ago, I was able to visit the Let's Be Frank Hot Dog and Sausage truck here in Los Angeles. It's one I had frankly (get it?) not heard of before, but was very interested in trying since my mind is in summer sandwich mode.

One of the first things seen on the menu of Let's Be Frank is their statement of commitment to using meat from sustainable farms and that the meat they use contains no nitrates, nitrites, or hormones. So if you've ever been wary about what's going into the sausages and hot dogs you pick up at a ballpark or for your summer barbecue, consider these ones to be significantly safer for you.

All of the options at Let's Be Frank are delicious, but I decided to go with the "Hot" Dog this time. This option is made with spicy heritage pork italian-style sausage. I also decided to add on the spicy devil's sauce and grilled onions on a toasted bun. 


The hot dog itself has a little bit of pop to it, more like an actual sausage. The spices inside of it kicked up the heat a little bit, but the main source of heat came from the appropriately titled devil's sauce. It's something I didn't notice on my first bite, but by the time I had finished my sandwich, there was at least a two alarm fire going on in my mouth. 


Despite the heat, the spicy-ness had good flavor which is one of my requirements in adding heat to any dish: it has to have flavor. Heat for heat's sake is a waste, and an exercise in masochism. 


Let's enjoy our food, not treat it like a death sentence. 


The pork hot dog tasted excellent, and actually was one of the best pork sausages/hotdogs i have had in a very long time, and it's nothing like the store bought "pork" types. 


The onions were still crisp after being grilled and and the grilled bun added a bit of smoky flavor to the entire sandwich. Overall, this may be one of the best hot dogs I've had in a long time.


Sorry, Dodger Stadium. 


Well that's it for this week, readers. How was your 4th of July? Did you grill all day, or just enjoy the fruits of your friend's/family's labors?

Until next week...



Let's Be Frank
Trucks servicing both Los Angeles and San Francisco
http://www.letsbefrankdogs.com/products_dogs.php
Follow at: @letsbefrank

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July Readers!

Hopefully you will be enjoying numerous barbecued items today in celebration of this fine country's independence!

Continuing in the theme of burgers for this sumptuous summer season, I hit up The Corner Door with Charlene and her family in Culver City (a neighborhood I have no written about at all yet).

This dark little pub on a corner of Washington Blvd. is a great spot for good eats and great craft beers. The taps include a lot of excellent beers including one of my favorites, Green Flash IPA.

The menu may seem kind of small, but its selection of entrees and starters are all to die for. You'd think with only a few options in each course it would be easy to make a decision on what to get, but you would definitely be surprised how many times you will second guess your decision.

Going with the summer theme here at The Danger Sandwich of burgers, I decided on the TCD Burger:  a burger stacked high with a grilled patty, aged cheddar cheese, pickle aioli, roasted tomatoes and arugula on top of a grilled bun.

The patty was slightly charred on the outside, but this flavor, combined with light pink and savory inside of the meat was a powerful flavor combination. The aged cheddar and roasted tomatoes brought out more smoky flavor in the sandwich when combined with the charred outside of the burger patty.

The pickle aioli added some tangy contrast to the smoky flavors and the fresh arugula added some crispy crunch. Overall, the flavors here worked very well together in creating a delicious craft-styled burger.

It was delicious, and definitely worthy of adding to the summer burger canon.

So, Dear Readers, what will you eat on this wonderful Independence Day? What are your favorite BBQ eats?

Until next week...


TCD Burger
**** Stars
The Corner Door
12477 W. Washington Blvd,
Culver City, CA 90066
http://www.thecornerdoorla.com/

America, The Delicious

 Greetings, Readers!

Let it be known to all, that I am a huge fun of the summer: sun, fun, and American-style food on a hot barbecue grill.

Well here we are, closing in on the biggest summer holiday so it seems only fitting that I should tackle American-style pub food in honor of it.

I have passed Tinhorn Flats in Burbank an innumerable amount of times over my tenure here in Los Angeles, but prior to this past week had never felt the urge to stop in and have a drink or meal. Going on a recommendation, I stopped by this past week after hearing how great their burgers are.

The menu at Tinhorn Flats looks delicious all around, offering a wide variety of American style favorites, but being here for a burger, I settled upon the Bacon Blue Burger.

Bacon is delicious. You all know that. It's usually a deal closer for me and this situation was no different.

A thick beef patty topped with two thick-cut sliced of bacon, a healthy handful of blue cheese, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes topped on a sesame seed bun, this burger was delicious.

The beef patty was thick, juicy and just a little bit greasy, adding some great flavor to the beef. The bacon even overpowered the flavorful beef by adding its own distinct flavor with the blue cheese contributing its contrasting pungent and dry flavor.


The vegetables on this sandwich not only provide a good crunch (the bacon wasn't really crispy as it was so thick), but they are also effective in offsetting the strong flavors provided by the bacon and blue cheese.

The bun was a fairly standard sesame seed bun. Not too much in the way of flavor, but definitely up to task of holding together until the end.

Overall, a very delicious and stand-out burger.

The only negative thing about my experience at Tinhorn Flats was sitting outside on the back patio. The atmosphere was fun at first. A bit secluded and with one of the Heat/Thunder games on TV, but that quickly changed when I realized that people were allowed to smoke there.

By the time I left, there was a very noticeable smoke haze. If second hand smoke isn't your thing, definitely avoid coming here, or at the very least, avoid sitting outside.

So, as July 4th is only one week away, what are you planning on eating/cooking for this year's Independence day parties?

Until next week, Readers!



Bacon Blue Burger
**** 1/2 stars
Tinhorn Flats
2623 W. Magnolia Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91505
http://www.tinhornflats.com/index.html

Home Again, Pt. 2

Greetings, Readers!

I was wondering this week, what is your favorite local place for eating? Sandwiches or not, I imagined all of my dear Readers showing me their favorite restaurants and imagining it would take years to visit them all.

Three Monkeys Cafe has become a bit of a favorite place away from home (although it's technically home since I am from Philadelphia).

Visiting this place three times in a long weekend probably could solidify that statement.

On the Sunday that I was heading back to Los Angeles, I sat down at the cafe and perused the specials menu. Today something definitely caught my eye: The Caribbean Pork Sandwich.

The sandwich consisted of a slap of roasted pork topped with a healthy dose of sweet mango salsa. The pork and mango pair incredibly well, and this sandwich is no exception. My only problem with it was that the pork wasn't as tender as I would have liked. It wasn't exactly tough, but a longer roasting/marinating time could have made the pork a more standout component.

The roll was a lightly toasted sesame seed roll that didn't add too much to the mix, but wasn't bad either. I definitely preferred the Blackened Tuna Steak sandwich from their regular menu, which is also much more frequently available. If you make your way to Three Monkeys sometime, I can highly recommend that sandwich instead.

Despite this sandwich not living up to the promise of their other offerings, It is very easy to see that the standards that Three Monkeys' menu lives up to a very high, and delicious standard. It is absolutely worth the visit the next time you are in the Philadelphia area.

Until next week, Dear Readers...


Caribbean Pork Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
Three Monkeys Cafe
9645 James Street
Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://www.3monkeyscafe.com/index.php

Home Again

Greetings Readers!

I recently headed back east to Philadelphia for my brother's wedding this past weekend, and what a whirlwind tour it was.

When I usually head back home, I tend to have ideas of places to visit, like a massive list of places, but I never really get to many of them because of time constraints.

One day, I'll spend two weeks back home eating sandwiches. Followed by three months in cardiac arrest.

So to keep it simple on a great, but thoroughly busy weekend, I met with my brother and his friend Nick for lunch at Northeast Philly hotspot Three Monkeys.

I haven't been to this place in years, and when I was there, I don't think they had an outside eating area nor a decent sized food menu. But much has changed over the years.

Enjoying the slightly humid June afternoon, I ordered the Blackened Tuna Steak sandwich, a good change of pace from the copious amounts of red meat I've been eating lately for the blog.

Topped with a spicy remoulade, lettuce and tomato on a lightly toasted Le Bus roll, this sandwich delivers.

The tuna steak was thick and juicy, full of flavor but not too 'fishy'. The spicy remoulade added a nice spicy cream flavor to the sandwich while the lettuce added a crispness to the sandwich. Though the name 'blackened' seems a little misleading, as you can see in the photo. When I hear that term used in a sandwich I usually think some sort of Caribbean influenced cooking that chars the outside. Sadly, not the case in this sandwich.

While it didn't disappoint in flavor, I was disappointed that it was not the flavor I was expecting.

Regardless, finish this plate off with old bay shoestring fries and you have an excellent choice for lunch.

If you live in the Philadelphia area and you haven't been to Three Monkeys, you should definitely make your way there. Even if you're not interested in food, their beer selection is pretty decent to enjoy on a hot and humid summer afternoon.

Until next week, Readers...


Blackened Tuna Steak sandwich
**** Stars
Three Monkeys Cafe
9645 James Street
Philadelphia, PA 19114
http://3monkeyscafe.com/