“Irish Fries” at Shake Shack. These were really the extent of my St Patrick’s Day celebration this year… Shake Shack’s regular fries with a bit of sour cream, scallions, and nice smokey bacon.
A nice hefty 50/50 short rib/ brisket burger and a perfect batch of oven fries. I kept the burger relatively simple—10 ounces of fresh ground beef, local ketchup, a thick slice of aged cheddar, heirloom tomato, and baby lettuce.
This batch of oven fries following Cooks Illustrated’s recipe came out really well, although they don’t always. This recipe is highly dependent on the quality of the potato, your oven, and flipping and rotating the fries at very precise moments which seem to have little to do with the times listed in the recipe and everything to do with how quickly and (un)evenly the potatoes feel like browning. At their best, as shown here, these fries are deep golden brown, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and not at all greasy.
I’ll also add a small note on the ketchup, First Field from New Jersey, which I discovered earlier in the day at New Amsterdam Market. This is delicious ketchup—a bit chunky and tasting of fresh harvested and roasted tomatoes. It’s on sale all summer and into early fall until supplies run out.
The squirrels in Madison Square Park eat better than any other squirrels in the world. Mmmm, Shake Shack!
Zuni Café on Market in San Francisco is a great spot for upscale casual lunch. For some reason, I’ve really been feeling the burgers on this trip, but this is a bit different. Grass-fed beef cooked medium rare with good cheddar and fresh pickles on rosemary focaccia with a side of really good shoestring potatoes. Before the burger were really fresh, perfectly shucked California oysters. Highly recommended.
Double cheeseburger and fries from Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. Sorry, Gott’s Roadside? Not a fan of the name change, but the burger is great (and the fries even better). The double is way to big for average humans though!
In-n-Out! Double double, cheeseburger, and well done fries. I hope people don’t get bored of me posting In-n-Out photos because I don’t want to stop! It’s usually the first place I go whenever I return to Cali so it’s taken on additional psychological value.
In-N-Out Double Double, homemade style. As a burger lover who has lived for years in California in the past, I am naturally a huge In-N-Out fan. It’s not the best burger in the world, but it is the best fast food burger in the world. By far. Fresh ingredients, everything made to order, and great quality control. For New Yorkers, it’s hard to imagine getting a burger *almost* as good as Shake Shack in under 10 minutes—any time of day, anywhere in the state. So naturally when I saw this post on Serious Eats with an at-home recipe for the In-N-Out Double Double, it was only a matter of time before I dove in.
Anyway, here it is. They’re (not) real, and they’re spectacular. Served with a side of Kenji fries, it’s easy to imagine sitting on the patio of my local In-N-Out smelling the Pacific Ocean. The one thing the at-home version has that the real thing doesn’t? A great Stone Cali-Belgique IPA to wash it down.
Mini lamb burgers with thrice-cooked fries.
First, the burgers: More or less the same as the Breslin knock-off lamb burgers I’ve made before. The burgers were “mini” partly for fun, and mostly because the only decent rolls I could find last minute were small Balthazar brioche rolls. Instead of leg of lamb, this time I tried shoulder—the shoulder made for a “more lamb-y” tasting burger, but was a little less tender. A reasonable trade off, and I’m not sure which I like better.
The fries were not my usual at-home french fry—Cooks Illustrated Easy Fries, but instead are a higher effort, geeky fry recipe created by Kenji at Serious Eats. I’m calling them Kenji Fries, and they are every bit as awesome as he promises. The basic method is to simmer the potatoes with vinegar, quickly fry them, then freeze them before giving them their second fry. This recipe has three great aspects to it: 1) the vinegar in the simmering step keeps the fries in good shape, even when quite tender. 2) It seems to be pretty tolerant to mistakes such as under- or over-cooking during the first fry. 3) This is the best—despite it being more net work than easy fries, you can do steps one and two way ahead of time (in large quantities if you like) and have fries on hand in the freezer always ready to go.
Burgers and fries at home. Ground short ribs, sprinkled with grey salt and cooked in a covered skillet over high heat, toasted brioche, Lincolnshire Poacher cheddar, heirloom tomato, and red leaf lettuce. Served with crispy, golden fries, prepared mostly using Cooks Illustrated’s “Easy Fries” method. Washed down with Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.
Pommes Frites in NYC. Nothing but french fries and a variety of sauces. Fries are really good, although thicker than I generally prefer. 30+ dipping sauces make this place fun.
