MacPHEE'S - Ortenville, MI

Friday, November 30 saw a special St. Andrews Day edition of It's Hamburger Day! I have had to cut back my hamburger explorations. School and a job that has proven to be, well, unreliable at best are taking up much of my free time. However as a good Scottish boy, I could not let St. Andrews Day, the national holiday of Scotland, go by without recognition. Now while my goal is to locate the finest hamburgers, I decided to also seek out some native scottish vittles. A quick seach discoverd our target this week, MacPhee's. About 40 miles north of Detroit, MacPhees is a warm and frendly family restaurant with a bar. They have burgers and also a scottish section of the menu, which featured SCOTTISH MEAT PIES. This are Scotland's forerunner to the burger. A pastry pie shell, filled with a ground beef as well as some carrots and onions. And then drizzled with hot gravy.

Now I had a dilemma. What to do. Do I eat the meat pie, as my scottish heiritage demands, or sample the burger as you all demand. The solution was elegant in it's simplicity: get both.

Having a lunch of a delicious meat pie was just what I needed. If you do not want to drive all the way to Ortenville, you can locate meatpies near Redford/Livonia at Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery. Just try one....trust me.  As for hamburgers, I ordered one to go and had it for dinner.

NICE BUN. Soft with a good crust, without being too hard or bursting into shards of rigid crumbs. The patty is a substanial thick patty, Basic seasoning, and I got it with a slice of american cheese (though several types may be had), and some nice THICK cut bacon. I chased this down with a Belhaven Scottish Ale. Scottish Ales are dark and thick. This one had a bitterness that I was not overly fond of, but did have a foam head you could chew... atrademark of Scottish ale. It did go well with the burger as well. The service was attentive without hovering. And the food cam in a reasonable amount of time. All in all a nice time out.

Joining me was Barb Frye, and Michael Marcus. The distance was a deal breaker for most, but if you get the chance to stop in, you wont be dissapointed. I don't know if I would drive 40 miles for this burger, but I would for their scottish selections.

VINSETTA GARAGE - Royal Oak, MI

On this day, I stayed close to home. A new restaurant opened recently called Vinsetta Garage. Now Vinsetta Garage has actually been around since the 40's or 50's but during this time it was an garage. Like in auto repair. It was housed in this great deco-ish 50's style garage building. When the garage closed and the building was sold, many who lived near it, like myself, were saddened that another Woodward (as in the "Woodward Dream Cruise" Woodward Ave) were saddened that another iconic landmark building was going to be torn down. But the new owners surprised everybody by not only keeping the building, but opening a restaurant in it and keeping the name Vinsetta Garage.

The place has been very popular since opening. I had been there a few times and had their excelent mac & cheese, pasta dishes, and pizza. But on this day, we put their burget to the test. The first thing to notice is that the burgers are served on PRETZEL rolls. Which is nice. The use a smaller patty. Approx. 4 oz. patties. Overall the burger was a tad dry and overcooked. And the pretzel but is a bit heavy. But it's still decent. The place this the Garage shines in is, besides their great waitstaff & service, their FRIES and POTATO CHIPS. Top notch. Also their Mac & Cheese is wonderful. Burgers are good. Not great or incredible, but I would get another there. And portions are BIG. Overall a valiant effort. While not grabbing a spot on my top places for burgers, I would not shy away from one  their either.

We had a nice turnout also this day. Besides myself, Michael Marcos, Mike 'Freon' Andaluz, Steve Czapiewski, and Janet Powell.

THE OXFORD TAP - Oxford, MI

There were five of us on this sunny (and HOT) day. Myself, Miki Marcus, Freonn and Paul Jones with his dad, Dean. Freon and I arrived a bit early (I overestimated the driving time.) Oxford is a great town with a fantastic downtown district. We went in, go drinks and had a couple appitizers while we waited for the rest. The plase has a great 'irish pub' look to it, a great atmosphere, and is not overwhelmed with too many flat screen TVs. Out waitress was great as well. The guys showed up and we order. Nice menu with several varieties of burger. I order my usual, Freon ordered mini bar burgers, and Paul got one with a pretzel bun.
Well, my burger was a bit dry, but not bad. The bacon was think and the bun substantial (not ''wonder' bready) and with corn meal on top as opposed to sesame seeds, which I always like. But the surprise here were the fries. Excellent hand-cut fries that were perfectly cooked.

In the end, it was a fgood trip. I don't know if I would come out this far for their burgers alone, but may come to oxford for other things and then stop in. And if I do, it'll be on a Tuesday, as thats when they have their special of $3 burgers!

Pics to come.

We're going to The Oxford Tap! Join Us!

This blog is run in conjunction with my Facebook group, also know as "It's Hamburger Day". This Thursday, we are headed to a place I have wanted to visit for some time. We head way out to Oxford, Michigan to vist The Oxford Tap. An Oxford tradition. Their reputation preceeds them, so I have high hopes.

We will be there on Thursday, July 12 at 1:30pm. All who read this are welcome to come out and join us.

Link to The Oxford tap webpage
http://www.theoxfordtap.com/

I hope to see a good turnout. Email me if you have any questions!

ACHATZ BURGERS - St. Clair Shores.

This week we went to Achatz Burgers in St. Clair Shores. It's a small establishment with a large amount of boating decor. Of course, since  they are right on the Nautical Mile on Jefferson, thats hardly unusual. When I walked into this family owned and run place, I noted how clean it looked. This was a place where the people there take pride in their business. Thats always a good sign. And if the name Achatz seems famikliar, well thats because it's the same Achatz of Achatz Pie Company (cousins if I remember right). When you walk in, you order at the counter, and then get your table. The menu is pretty simple. Mainly burgers and dogs and fries, It's reminicent of Five Guys that way, but they manage to beat Five Guys at their own game.

The burger patties are smaller, but are handmade and the quality more than makes up for it. They also have excellent homemade buns. You can order a basic Burger, Cheeseburger, or Bacon Cheeseburger. All condiments are no extra charge. They have a few named burger combinatins on their menu, but getting a special order with their system is easy. I had a bacon doublecheese burger. In addition to their burgers, they offer fantastic hand-cut fries. Not many hand-cut fries I get tend to be a big soggy and be more baked potatoey that french fry. Not so here. Hand cut potatoes, thinner than usual hand cuts, and with skins on, were golden, brown, and crispy. And they offer several ways to get your fry on. Parmesan Fries, Brown Butter Fries, Cheese Fries, Chili-Cheese Fries and others. I ordered parmesan fries. I had a sprite to drink, but a few of my companions had the shakes. And they all were taken aback at how good they were.
Places like this are why I run It's HAMBURGER DAY. These independent places that always show that they can do what the big chains do and do it better! I will be headed back here in the future. I have a couple friends who live nearby so now I will have to visit them more often.

My cohorts this day were: Mike 'Freon' Andaluz, Mike Marcus, Terry Williams, and Trevor Bennett.

Head on out if you find yourself on the east side. You will not be dissapointed.

What goes in a burger?

I've been asked on more than one occasion about what can a hamburger be made from? Some people mix meats like lamb and pork and emu and whatever else can be ground and made into a patty. But to me the answer is simple.

A hamburger is made from BEEF! PERIOD! NO EXCEPTIONS!

Now this is not to say that some of these other concoctions are not good, because they are. I saw a post lately about a recipe for fishburgers. Patties made from ground fish. Now this sounds good, but it's not a HAMBURGER. I do think it's okay to end the name with burger. It conveys the ground meat / sandwhich nature of the food in general. Chickenburger, turkeyburger, fishburger, etc.

But HAMBURGERS are beef. This goes back to the original ground beef sandwhich that was concieved in a diner on the docks of Hamburg, Germany. It was a ground beef patty, on buttered bread and topped with a butter-fried egg. This would eventually become the hamburger we know and love (thats another post for another day)

So what do I like in my hamburgers that I make? Well, everybody should feel free to experiment and find what they like. I like to use a 50/50 mix of sirloin and chuck. I prefer to grind my own beef. Patties are 4oz. and I do use a burger form. I find one of the best ones you can get is a lid from a jar of JIF peanut butter. Holds a perfect 4oz of beef and creates a nice 1 inch thick patty.

I season the freshly ground beef with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Old Bay. This mix has never failed me before and I just eyeball the seasonings. Again...find what works for you.

With summer about to start, this should help you all find a perfect burger for your grilling needs. Feel free to post what you like to do for your burgers below.

O'TOOLES - Royal Oak, MI

Well, I was laid off last week. Hamburger Day took a hit while I was working since we were pretty busy at the time, but now with some unexpected free time and the need to drown my sorrows, I threw together a last minute HAMBURGER DAY. This time we braved the wilds of my backyard and ventured out to O'Tooles in Royal Oak.

Richard & Terry showed up as well as Freon. We had a nice time. And they were haveing a $3 special for burger and fries. The $3 burger was a bit small and a bit dry, but still very edible. Also I had an ulterior motive for O'Tooles. You see, I have been there several times, but never gotten a burger there. They have a good corned beef sandwich and very good fish & chips. But my favorite thing they have are the PEPPERJACK CHEESE CUBES! Spiced, deep fried chees balls. MUCH better than bland mozzerella sticks. These used to be available year ago at Mr. B's in Royal Oak, but they stopped serving them, much to the chagrin of their patrons. O'Tooles has them, but they are not ON the menu. But if you can ask for them.

We'll have to go back for their standard burger in the future. The $3 was okay...not great, but for $3 I'm not really complaining. And theiur sides are great. So go on out and check them out. They also throw a great St. Patty's Day bash and have a nice beer selection.

And a PS: If you opt for their cobb salad, as Richard did, they will warn you it's very large. Well thay ain't layin'! It's huge! You have practically ordered an old-frowth forest...with cheese.

RED'S DAIRY BAR - Rochester, MI

Well, this post is a bit late. On March 8th we went to Red's Dairy bar. This place has the look of an old 50's diner/malt shoppe, and thats no accident. It opened in 1950 and is still owned by the same family. This is a small place, and while there are three or four small tables, the majority of seats are at the counter on stools. We had a good turnout. Myself as well as The Steins (Dave, Diana & Sabrina), Richard, Terry, and I know I'm forgetting somebody. Sorry...

The burgers. The burgers were interesting. They were like a cross between a slider and a thicker burger. They were wide though, and there were a good choice of toppings as well as your choice of a number of cheeses. The diners who ordered lettuce and tomato seemd pleased with the freshness of the vegetation. I got my usual bacon & cheese. Good bacon...nice thick strips. The surprise here was the buds. Not your typical burger bun, this was a dense and thin, bready bun. I didn't know if I would like it, but it was surprisingly good. I need to find out if they make these inhouse, which would not surprise me. The only part I had issue with was the patty. Don't get me wrong though since it was good, if a tad dry. I have had better burgers, but on the other hand I have had FAR, FAR worse. If I were in Rochester and wanted a burger, I would surely consider stopping here again, but don't know how far out of my way I would go. Below is a pic of Terry's burger, showing the unusual yet great bun.

However, their malts? Those I would drive across the county for. I guess I should not be surprised that a 'dairy bar' that has been thriving since 1950 has incredible shakes and malteds. If you like a burger and a shake? Then you won't go wrong here.

HAMBURGER MAKING TIP OF THE DAY - PATTY MASHING!

HAMBURGER MAKING TIP OF THE DAY!
When you are making your burger, remember - NO PATTY MASHING! It does not make it cook significantly faster and it squeezes the moisture out, resulting in a dry & crumbly patty. I don't care how many times you see it in a movie with a diner chef doing it. Just let it cook and it will be fine.