Fast food, convenience food and food snobbery

I like to use McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning and a touch of soy sauce in my burgers. I am really a burger snob, since for the past few years I have been using filet mignon scrap from buying whole tenderloins. I used to have the butcher cut the steaks and grind it for me, but since I have been doing curbside pickup, I have been trimming my own steaks and grinding the scraps myself in my food processor (slightly frozen chunks to keep them from turning into mush when pulsed). Before I got hooked on filet mignon burgers I would just buy a chuck roast and have the butcher trim it and grind it. I have never really liked frozen beef in a burger, I prefer fresh. Frozen ground beef is fine for pasta sauce and other things, though.

I don't bother grinding (mincing) the steak.


I suppose it's just a steak sandwich.
 
And it's a beauty at that. But they are much easier to chew when ground or minced.

And that's another thing I am funny about. I love my steak to be close to medium rare (somewhere in-between medium and medium-rare) but my burger should be medium-well; a hint of pink meat is fine, but if the juices are slightly reddish pink it's very off-putting. I can't stand to have a bloody, pink tinged bun.
 
I've been craving a burger. I even thought of going to 5 guys but I'd have to go in and don't want to. There is no decent burger around here that is drive though. Maybe I'll make some next time I have a grocery pickup. At my local Kroger, I can call them and ask them to grind their "special" and give me a lb of it. Then I just make a note in the list and tell the associate to ask for the special grind and they have it ready for me.
They take all the good scraps and grind it for those of us who know to ask for that.
 
I do love 5 Guysburgers (though I dislike their fries). They have a location about 12 miles away that has a drive thru. The one that is 4 miles away does NOT. And again, I haven't eaten there since back in the day when they paid me to go. I still didn't do that evaluation that often because I don't like their fries.
 
Fast Food?

41997
 
Another semi-fast food sandwich shop I LOVE is called Pot Belly Sandwiches. I always get the Italian on white.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop

Nationwide. Anyone else been to one?

If that one is nationwide, it's never made it out this way as far as I have seen.


I do love 5 Guysburgers (though I dislike their fries). They have a location about 12 miles away that has a drive thru. The one that is 4 miles away does NOT. And again, I haven't eaten there since back in the day when they paid me to go. I still didn't do that evaluation that often because I don't like their fries.

I like their fries - they're thicker than McD's which means they're less likely to be over or under cooked, and don't get cold as fast. That being said, I prefer NOT to order fries at 5 Guys (or other burger joints) as I figure I'm already being unhealthy enough with the burgers. And in the case of 5 Guys, my typical order is quite filling enough for me. (ONE patty, cheese, bacon, whatever toppings, and a lettuce wrap is satiating enough that i don't care to have the fries - and they certainly, even with a small order, supply way too many.)

I've tried their milkshake - again, good, but way too much for me to order that again. (My beverage of choice at this chain is water.)
 
I don't mind making burgers from frozen ground beef. I had gotten a quarter of a local cow share, which came with forty pounds of ground beef. Obviously this had to be frozen (vacuum sealed). It can taste pretty dang good either as burgers or used in other ways. For instance, I threw a couple good make-your-own taco parties... (That being said, I won't be doing a beef share again. Way too intimidating! I'll stick with pork or lamb, or goat if I can find that.)
 
If that one is nationwide, it's never made it out this way as far as I have seen.
Looking at their website, the MA locations are Braintree, Boston, and Burlington.

Finding that out, I also found out they're in serious financial trouble and are considering bankruptcy just to survive.
 
Here is a question. Burgers have been dominating this thread (I seriously can't remember the last time I ate one - it must be years ago). They aren't something I ever crave or even particularly like.

The question is: why are burgers so popular?
 
Here is a question. Burgers have been dominating this thread (I seriously can't remember the last time I ate one - it must be years ago). They aren't something I ever crave or even particularly like.

The question is: why are burgers so popular?
They're fast, they're easy, they're customizable, they're good! :)

After that, and probably due to some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, they're everywhere. They're easy to lay your hands on. That drives the popularity.
 
If that one is nationwide, it's never made it out this way as far as I have seen.




I like their fries - they're thicker than McD's which means they're less likely to be over or under cooked, and don't get cold as fast. That being said, I prefer NOT to order fries at 5 Guys (or other burger joints) as I figure I'm already being unhealthy enough with the burgers. And in the case of 5 Guys, my typical order is quite filling enough for me. (ONE patty, cheese, bacon, whatever toppings, and a lettuce wrap is satiating enough that i don't care to have the fries - and they certainly, even with a small order, supply way too many.)

I've tried their milkshake - again, good, but way too much for me to order that again. (My beverage of choice at this chain is water.)
It was part of the job requirements to order fries and a drink, and sometimes a shake. It was always too much food. I don't like their fries because I like crisp fries, but I had to evaluate by their standards, not mine. They were my least favorite restaurant evaluation and I only did a handful per year.
 
It was part of the job requirements to order fries and a drink, and sometimes a shake. It was always too much food. I don't like their fries because I like crisp fries, but I had to evaluate by their standards, not mine. They were my least favorite restaurant evaluation and I only did a handful per year.

I'd agree about that being too much food!
 
They're fast, they're easy, they're customizable, they're good! :)

After that, and probably due to some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, they're everywhere. They're easy to lay your hands on. That drives the popularity.

To this I'd add, for people always on the go in their cars - relatively easy to eat while driving. (Even if I can't eat a 5 Guys burger that way.)

And you get the basic food groups: starch, fat, salt, and maybe a little iceberg lettuce crunch. (Okay, the last sentence is a bit...)
 
I could easily eat a burger a day. I could live the rest of my days on eggs for breakfast, and a burger and pizza for the other two meals. Granted, my days would likely be severely cut short, but I could do it.

I should add that when I say "burger," I specifically mean a ground beef burger, not something made from chicken or turkey or beans or anything else shaped into a patty and put on a bun. "Burger" means a hamburger, aka beef burger.
 
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