The Experience: We became aware of Honey Hollow Wagyu when we set up our coupon code with the Wagyu beef purveyors (you can get half off ground beef by typing BURGER50 in the coupon box). And while the reputation of HH Wagyu preceded itself, we felt we should try it for ourselves to give you an idea of what to expect throughout the entire Honey Hollow process.

The Honey Hollow ranch is antibiotic and hormone-free, and uses cattle DNA-verified 100% Wagyu breed. The ranch is located in Jacksboro, Texas, and has been since 1995. The meat is dry aged for 21 days. It is shipped from their distribution center in Kansas City, Missouri in a protective box with frozen gel-packs. The box is placed into a reusable Styrofoam cooler, which is further protected by a secure shipping container for delivery. The beef was as frozen as could be when it arrived, alleviating any fears about thawing during its trip to New York.

The Taste and Verdict: We prepared our burger on a flat-top grill, seasoned simply with salt and pepper. We topped the burgers with provolone cheese, Red Chili Empire Mayonnaise, and ketchup. We sandwiched these ingredients within a Portuguese bun and took our first bite. The texture of the beef was fantastic. The simple flavoring allowed us to really enjoy the tender and juicy patties. We cooked a few burgers at differing temperatures, and were pleased with the taste, moisture, and texture of the beef at both medium rare and medium well.

You can enjoy your own Honey Hollow Wagyu experience at half price just for being a Burger Weekly reader with coupon code BURGER50. Click here to get some.

The post Honey Hollow Wagyu appeared first on Burger Weekly: Adventures for the Best Burger in NYC.

Burgers Ordered: The Buffalo Burger

The Experience: Burger Weekly’s ‘Merica Monday is typically about trying to find the best burgers in the country, but this week the Burgermeisters bring you a lesson in burger selection.  Every two-bit diner in the country serves a hamburger.  Some are great, some are serviceable, but many are downright rotten. Burger Weekly sent Burgermeister Simon to the most random, run of the mill diner they could think of; Belmont, New Jersey’s Acropolis Diner.  There are probably more diners named Acropolis than anything else, so it seemed the perfect place to sample an unknown diner commodity.  Discovering upon arrival that the breakfast sign had been misspelled “berakfast,” the Burgermeister knew he was in the right place.

The Taste: A bison burger at a diner appeared to be such a rare commodity that the Burgermeister had to order it. First he made sure that it wasn’t simple a hamburger with Buffalo sauce, the Burgermeister waited with baited breath to get his hands on some meat of American bison.  The burger arrived well done. The first bite delivered a simple combination of meat, bread, and lettuce.  The bun was fairly decent in its toasted state, but the meat was dry and flavorless. Even generous globs of ketchup only barely allowed the Burgermeister to muscle his way through this chore.

The Verdict: The buffalo burger at Acropolis Diner receives poor marks, reinforcing Burger Weekly’s warning that the Little Meisters should be careful when dining at unknown diners with a hamburger hankering.

Acropolis Diner is located at 506 Main Street in Belmar, New Jersey.

The post Acropolis Diner appeared first on Burger Weekly: Adventures for the Best Burger in NYC.

The Experience: Having already sampled the winner of City Weekend’s Best Burger in Shanghai competition (New York Style Steak & Burger), Burgermeister Josh felt it necessary to give the runner up its due taste test. So he ventured out to Bubba’s Texas-Style Bar-B-Que and Saloon. Bubba’s, a household name amongst Shanghai expats, primarily for its annual chili competition (an outrageous conclave of Shanghai’s amateur chili-making community), has three outposts in the city, none of which are particularly convenient. Josh decided to go to the original, out in the Hongqiao area of the city near the Shanghai Zoo and secondary airport.

Bubba’s is aptly named – its palpable saloon-ish feel is only diminished somewhat by the prevalence of college sports paraphernalia (primarily Texas schools, but not exclusively), which seem a bit out of place. Josh was amused to see the Golden Tee arcade game taking up a sizeable percentage of the dining area, which consisted of a relatively small number of high bar tables and stools.

The Taste: Operating with a when-in-Rome mentality, Burgermeister ordered the Longhorn Burger, which promised sautéed onions, mushrooms, and jalapeno peppers. When it arrived, however, Josh was disappointed to discover maybe 3 mushrooms and a small handful of onions and jalapenos. Before he had even sampled the Longhorn, Josh was fearing the worst – presentation counts when it comes to burgers, and this burger looked forlorn at best, as if it had been dressed simply as an afterthought.

Initial tasting confirmed Burgermeister Josh’s fears. The patty, which contributed to the Longhorn’s less-than-inspiring visual experience was bland and significantly overcooked (Josh asked for medium). The onions and mushrooms didn’t add much, probably due to the fact that there just weren’t enough of them to muster significant taste. Only the jalapenos, crisp and sharp, saved the Longhorn from being a Texas tragedy.

The side of fries which came with Burgermeister Josh’s burger were essentially just seasoned McDonald’s fries. In Josh’s book, if you’re going to serve shoestring fries, you’re going to have to do a lot to make up for the low potato-to-fry ratio. There are many places that pass this test. Bubba’s was not one of them. Burgermeister Josh is an orthodox Ketchup loyalist, but this time felt obligated to sample Bubba’s barbecue sauce (again, when-in-Rome, right?). Surprisingly, after the disappointment of the burger and fries even when ketchup-covered, the barbecue sauce was light, tangy, and playfully citrus– a small saving grace to an otherwise frustrating burger experience.

The Verdict: Bubba’s reputation as a popular expat hangout precedes itself here in Shanghai, and Burgermeister Josh’s initial impression, affected perhaps by the schlep out to Hongqiao, was to wonder exactly whence the reputation derived.

Bubba’s is located at 2262 Hongqiao Road in Shanghai, China.

The post Bubba’s Texas BBQ appeared first on Burger Weekly: Adventures for the Best Burger in NYC.

The Experience: In May of 2012, Serendipity 3 was recognized as the Guinness World Record holder for serving the world’s most expensive hamburger, the $295 Le Burger Extravagant. It was not the first Guinness World Record that Serendipity 3 received, as they also created the world’s largest wedding cake and milk shake, and served the world’s most expensive hot chocolate ($1,000) and hot dog ($65), though they have since been ousted as the world’s most expensive hotdog server. All profits from the extravagant items are donated to the Bowery Mission, which has served the homeless and hungry in New York for over 100 years. So what makes a hamburger cost so $295, especially considering that the next most expensive hamburgers on Serendipity 3’s menu are the Caviar Burger and the Bacon Cheddar Chili Burger, at $18.50 a piece?

At $300, Le Burger Extravagant is a ten-ounce Wagyu beef patty infused with 10-herb white truffle butter, seasoned with Alderwood smoked sea salt, topped with Montgomery cheddar cheese, shaved black truffles, and a fried quail egg, served on a white truffle buttered 24K gold flecked Campagna roll, which is topped with a blini crème fraiche and Kaluga caviar. Those ingredients add up to a lot of scratch, and they must be assembled 48 hours in advance of being served, so this burger cannot be ordered on the spot. The real cost of the burger however, comes in the solid gold toothpick with a diamond tip, furnished by Euphoria. In its first year of existence, Le Burger Extravagant has been served about three dozen times, to area regulars and tourists alike.

Hamburger Ordered: Le Burger Extravagant

The Taste: This burger was so intense, and the topic of a hamburger so expensive is so contentious, that I decided to dispense with the detached third person Burgermeister perspective, and speak more intimately about this Burger Adventure. The first thing that I noticed when biting into this burger was that the patty essentially defied me to bite all the way through it. The Wagyu beef was packed tightly, and while it tasted fantastic, I became aware that I was in for a multi-tiered endurance experience.

The next sensation that hit me was a massive wall of truffle flavor. Read the above description, provided by Serendipity 3, and you’ll notice that truffle is mentioned three times. Black truffle butter packs the center of the burger, white truffle butter coats the bun, and shaved black truffles blanket the patty’s surface. I dare say, there might be such a thing as too much truffle, though I didn’t feel that way until long after my meal, when food the following day didn’t taste quite the same as it had the day before (this sensation has since subsided). To speak about it critically, the truffle flavor on the bun and on the surface of the patty were both lovely, while the truffle within the burger was incredibly intense.

The quail egg added a fun dimension to the burger. The caviar, blini crème fraiche, and gold flakes serve to remind you that you are eating something opulent far more than they add any particular flavor to the burger, though their texture was certainly noted and made this a truly unique undertaking. And though this hamburger is indeed extravagant, it is not for the dainty and proper; a hamburger’s essence is most present in this burger’s juicy messiness.

Rationalizing the Purchase: Rather than simply sum up Le Burger Extravagant, I want to take this space to list reasons why burger-lovers might splurge on this beast. 1) This burger is hefty and incredibly rich. I was very full after finishing, and wished I had shared it with someone else. Splitting that bill equally would certainly help. 2) You can’t experience a burger like this without visiting Serendipity 3 and ordering this burger. You might even get a chance to see first-hand the certificate from Guinness. 3) If you feel really poor after buying it, one could throw sentiment out the window and hock the gold-and-diamond toothpick (I was able to see said toothpick, but as a guest of Serendipity I was not able to take it home at a profit). And finally, how else will you end up with gold specks all over your hands and camera case?

Serendipity 3 is located at 225 East 60th Street in Manhattan, New York

The post Serendipity 3 appeared first on Burger Weekly: Adventures for the Best Burger in NYC.

Everyone knows the deal here. In-N-Out is California’s burger chain pride and joy. Its customers are fiercely loyal and very satisfied. It’s secret menu “animal style” offerings allows for customers to get even more heart-clogging and delicious burgers if they want, while the traditional hamburger is also on the menu. Reports say that the burger chain will never come farther west than Texas, so I had to travel to California to get my hands on it.

Burgers Ordered: The Cheeseburger and the Double Double Animal Style

The Taste: As with all popular burgers, there are those who try In-N-Out Burger and come away disappointed. True, the burger on its own is hardly different than a hamburger at Steak N’ Shake. However, at the In-N-Out in Glendale, California, I could taste the extra care and attention that goes into these burgers. Perhaps it’s the pressure of being such a popular institution, but the meat, bun, and rabbit food on the Double Double tasted more fresh and full of flavor than any other roadside burger chain I’ve tried. The cheeseburger was well received as well.

The Verdict: Though it was devoured entirely too quickly, the Animal Style Double Double was a huge hit for Burger Weekly. If you’ve tried In-N-Out then you’ve already made up your mind about it, but for those who haven’t, know that it gets the Burger Weekly seal of approval.

In-N-Out Burger is located at 310 Harvey Drive in Glendale, California, and at 284 other locations in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Texas (with more on the way).

The post In-N-Out Burger appeared first on Burger Weekly: Adventures for the Best Burger in NYC.