Burger Tacos and Other Gems From Lucky Peach’s Burger Month
I love burgers. And I love “Lucky Peach.” We all do. So when I found out “Lucky Peach” was hosting burger month on their site throughout July, I was accordingly excited.
What’s “Lucky Peach,” you might ask? No, it’s not a magical stone fruit you rub before buying lottery tickets (though that would be cool), but rather a quarterly magazine and site dedicated to exploring food through essays, art, photography, and recipes.
The magazine was co-founded by David Chang, also known as the benevolent ruler of the famed Momofoku empire, who has slowly but surely come to be the culinary force to beat in many food spheres of New York City — from noodles, to soft serve ice cream; hot sauce, to uber-buzzy fried chicken sandwiches.
Though the imprint began publishing in 2011, the website launched in January of this year and features a mix of their print articles and original web content. Like their print issues, the website also features a unique theme month-to-month. Enter, Burger Month.
Here are some of the revelations that have come out of this glorious union so far:
David Chang is pissed about fancy burgers:
In his hilarious self-proclaimed “Burger Manifesto,” the culinary bawse lays down his personal view of what a burger should, and more importantly, shouldn’t be. Chang believes the “ideal burger is bun, cheese, burger,” with very little wiggle room. And he has some strong words about those fancy, expensive sliders that are so prevalent on modern menus: “The inventor of the kobe beef slider is right next to the inventor of aluminum siding in the Dumbest Thing I’ve Ever Seen Hall of Fame. And you know what’s even more stupid? The f*cking customer that buys it because he’s like, Oooohh, kobe, and it’s like $21. God have mercy on their souls.” So yeah, he’s pretty passionate about it. Read More.
Dunkin Donuts India’s burgers pretty much blow:
For some reason, Dunkin Donuts India serves a selection of “burgers” — all beef-free, of course — and by the sounds of this article, they’re not exactlydelectable. In the review of the “Crunchy Joe Chicken” burger, the writer says, “Advertised as ‘something that you’ll regret,’ the burger lives up to its promise.” So maybe just stick to Indian McDonalds, then. Read More.
Even ancient civilizations ate fast food, too:
Many gawk at modern fast food culture, admonishing our current civilization for our reliance on the cheap and fast — but the joke’s on those guys, because it turns out fast food has been around for a long, long time. An excavation of the ancient city of Pompeii, a resort town of sorts for wealthy Romans before its destruction in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, found a large number of cookshops, a.k.a. thermopolia, a.k.a. fast-food restaurants, ancient Italian-style. Read More.
Charcoal is way more interesting than you thought:
Ever wondered about the origin of the black bricks at the bottom of your grill?Me neither! However, this excellent in-depth look into the world of charcoal that originally ran in Lucky Peach #10: Street Food will make you never look at that Kingsford bag the same way again. Read More.
Cheeseburger Tacos are a thing:
Alex Stupak, known for his trio of Empellón restaurants in NYC, waxes on the existence of Empellón Cocina’s cheeseburger taco and shares his recipe with the world (#blessed). Stupak puts it best when he writes, “My god, cheeseburger tacos. Cheeseburger tacos. The absurdity of it can take your breath away.” Indeed, Stupak. Indeed. Read More.
The original burger comes served on white bread:
In a culinary landscape in which every other fine dining menu has some wildly priced, over-the-top, opulent Pat La Frieda beef creation topped with truffles or foie or gold leaves (probably), this article about Louis’ Lunch — the Connecticut birthplace of the hamburger — is refreshing. Louis’ is all about keeping with the classics. Their burger is still served exactly as its always has been: between two slices of white bread, no condiments. “We give you the best meat available, and we think it should be about the taste of the meat, not what you put on it or under it or in it,” Jeff Lassen, owner and heir to the restaurant, says. On top of this old-school burger approach, Louis’ still only serves four items — The Original Burger, potato salad, potato chips, and homemade pie by the slice. Read More.
The Cuban version of a burger is called a “frita” — and it sounds totally awesome:
The awesome Christina Tosi recently invited her favorite Miami burger joint, El Mago de las Fritas, to pop up outside of Milk Bar (another piece of Chang’s empire), and gave New Yorkers a taste of the frita. The frita is “a thin, heavily spiced beef patty with crispy potato shards and a tomato-based sauce” and I dare you to make it through this article about its history without craving the hell out of one. Read More.
One of the best burgers in Manhattan is from a diner:
As I mentioned before, fancy-schmancy burgers are au courant right now. And while it might be scandalously fun to treat yo’self to an indulgent $30 hamburger, sometimes what you really want is a good, old-fashioned diner burger. That’s where Joe Junior comes in. Though it may look like your average New York diner (and man-oh-man are there a lot of them), the author declares Joe Junior “the best diner in Manhattan.” The stand-out on their menu? The burger, of course. Read More.
It turns out “Burger Boyz” can be girlz too:
This weird and wonderful new column is simply dedicated to documenting two “Burger Boyz’” burger eating adventures in New York. And just to make it clear, they establish from the get-go: “we’re just guys who eat burgers… Plus we’d also eat burgers with girls, it’s just a less alliterative title. Still: girls you are welcome to be burger boyz with us.” If that’s the case, I’m making it my new mission in life to become one of the Burger Boyz, because these guys are hilarious. Read More.
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