Best burger Lakeside

Best burger Lakeside

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Since we've beat the Thai/Asian thing into submission, how about burgers? The Dawg mentioned Las Miche, which has a fine burger, but one must be aware that unless you advise them there will be bbq sauce on your burger. Now I gotta say the first time it was a surprise but a good one. The second time I asked for poco menos con jalapenos and it was perfect. I'd advise y'all to discuss the burger and its preparation when ordering. It's big and good! I also am a fan of the burger at El Sarape. I know it's a Mex/Texmex place but he makes a good burger and decent fries. I had an OK burger (it's got potential) at Pepe & Aurora's a couple of weeks ago. Secretly, I'm holding out hope that BK will come to lakeside, but not much.

May 25, 2010, 4:30 PM

Post #2 of 52 (6120 views)

Re: [DavidHF] Best burger Lakeside

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Thanks for the advice David. I´ll keep that in mind when I go to Los Miches. I, too, would love to see Burger King here. We have them in San Cristóbal so I can Whopper out in San Cristóbal Centro half the year. Better than nothing.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 25, 2010, 4:31 PM)

May 25, 2010, 5:47 PM

Post #3 of 52 (6099 views)

Re: [DavidHF] Best burger Lakeside

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I had read/heard about the burger at Los Miches so we tried it a weekend or two ago. Now. We got there too early.....and the grill wasn't even fired up yet.....and then Enzo (?) arrived and got things going.....and he's very enthusiastic and friendly and....

I thought the meat was shit.

It had chopped onions, and perhaps other stuff, mixed into the ground beef and that's fine, and maybe I caught them on an off day.......but the texture of it bore no resemblance to ground sirloin, or even ground chuck for that matter.

It was even white, inside. Maybe we got a "turkey burger" by accident.

I'll try it again on a busy day when they're really up and running. A burger joint gets a second chance.....but not a third.

May 26, 2010, 8:13 AM

Post #4 of 52 (5992 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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Sorry, but when the subject of burgers comes up I cannot help but once again give you folks Dawg´s recipe for Armenian Burgers from Rastigan´s Armenian Restaurant of Fresno, California circa 1968.

RASTIGAN´S ARMENIAN BURGER
Ground lamb shoulder or leg (ground in your presence by a trusted butcher at your request only)
Chopped Italian parsley
Chopped or mashed garlic
Freshly gound black pepper
Thickly sliced red onions
Buttered toasted hamburger buns
Salt to taste

No mayo or tomatoes or any of that stuff.

Make burger patties with ground lamb, chopped or mashed garlic (lots), parsley and the freshly ground black pepper and broil (Dawg recommends rare to medium rare). After broiling, salt to taste. place on buttered, toasted hamburger buns with a thick slice of red onion.

I know I have given this recipe before but this is a unique and splendid burger straight from Armenia via Fresno with its large Armenian colony.

May 26, 2010, 8:32 AM

Post #5 of 52 (5982 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Best burger Lakeside

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Sounds delicious.
Fresno, of all places, had some really great eats.

Here's something to ponder: We all seem to want that Whopper. Now, what exactly is it about the burger that has anyone hooked? We know they can't be using the best meat; they are, after all, a fast food chain. So what is it?

(This post was edited by Gringal on May 26, 2010, 9:20 AM)

Manuel Dexterity

May 26, 2010, 8:56 AM

Post #6 of 52 (5971 views)

Re: [Gringal] Best burger Lakeside

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stevebrtx

May 26, 2010, 9:04 AM

Post #7 of 52 (5968 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Best burger Lakeside

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Glory be, 'tis a miracle on this sunny day to be sure: I actually, finally, unquestionably agree with manuel dexterity, the first and only thing since 2006.
http://www.chapalaweather.net

May 26, 2010, 9:22 AM

Post #8 of 52 (5962 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Best burger Lakeside

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Okay.......it isn't "we all". It's some folks who love that burger. I'm just wondering why.

May 26, 2010, 9:42 AM

Post #9 of 52 (5957 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Best burger Lakeside

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When you say "we all" please leave me off the list. I live in Guadalajara and simply don't frequent any of the many BK or McDonalds which litter our urban landscape. I truly find that heavily commercialized and processed food repugnant.

Well, Manuelito, you probably have a point and I do sometimes feel a little queasy after eating my requisite Cheese Whopper in San Cristóbal but the nice thing in San Cristóbal is that I can order my Cheese Whopper and enjoy it with some Herradura Blanco across the street at The Revolución Bar which makes for a fine meal in an environment extolling the virtues of Che Guevara ( I love the irony of Che and Burger King in the same room along with Cuban music) as opposed to having my whopper with a chocolate milkshake on premise among screaming kiddies.

I will say that the Burger Kings I have visited in Chiapas, Jalisco and Michoacan are usually very busy with an almost totally Mexican clientele (and a few missionaries from Kansas) so, despite the fact that you think they are an urban blight (although architecturally in keeping with their colonial surroundings in Morelia and San Cristóbal historic centers) they do a hell of a business among locals and those burgers are rather expensive for Chiapas at about $40 Pesos each.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 26, 2010, 9:43 AM)

May 26, 2010, 10:03 AM

Post #10 of 52 (5944 views)

Re: [Hound Dog] Best burger Lakeside

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I was surprised to see, of all US-centric hamburger chains, that Carl's Jr. had a big presence in Veracruz Sate (at least in Veracruz City and Xalapa). I always thought of Carl's Jr. as almost exclusively a California thing. I remember them being decent for a fast-food joint, and I liked them better than The King.

Frankly, it surprises me that Burger King hasn't landed in the Walmart parking lot yet. The space is sitting right there and it would be the perfect complement architecurally.

But here's the better lie: When our brand new shiny supermall opens (2012?) it's going to have a Johnny Rockets. I read that in the Guadalajara Reporter back the fall right before the grand opening that never happened, so I'm sure it's true.

Damn. Now I'm craving a burger, and I still haven't found a decent one locally. ¡Qué ridículo!

May 26, 2010, 10:04 AM

Post #11 of 52 (5946 views)

Re: [Gringal] Best burger Lakeside

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Sounds delicious.
Fresno, of all places, had some really great eats.

Very true, Gringal. When I was a young man I worked the Great California Central Valley a lot even though I lved in West L.A. because my bos hated me. I got to know that valley pretty well and that is where I learned not to judge people - espacially those that appeared to be hayseeds - by the way they looked. I know this is off the subject of the thread but in the 1990s when I worked examining banks in the "you-cannot-get-hicker-than-this" Yuba City-Marysville area, I discovered that there was a very large East Indian Sikh community of farmers there and that turned out to be one of the best places in all of California to buy a complete line of East Indian ingredients for home cooking when I returned to San Francisco where East Indian stortes were - believe it or not - harder to find except in Berkeley near the UC campus or, perhaps, down in Silicon Valley.

May 26, 2010, 10:07 AM

Post #12 of 52 (5939 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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But here's the better lie: When our brand new shiny supermall opens (2012?) it's going to have a Johnny Rockets. I read that in the Guadalajara Reporter back the fall right before the grand opening that never happened, so I'm sure it's true.

God, I hope so, Tashby. Dawg LOVES Johnny Rockets. If this happens, that will be Dawg´s new Vatican. Bye-Bye Burger King. Maybe I´ll sell the house in Chiapas and just camp out at Johnny Rockets.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on May 26, 2010, 10:07 AM)

May 26, 2010, 10:07 AM

Post #13 of 52 (5938 views)

Re: [Gringal] Best burger Lakeside

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Quote

It's some folks who love that burger. I'm just wondering why

Mayonnaise. A lot of mayonnaise. Far more than anyone would consider putting on a burger if they made it themselves. That's my theory anyway.

May 26, 2010, 10:33 AM

Post #14 of 52 (5922 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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Yeah, it's gooey. But there has to be something in that Mayo besides Mayo. I used to like the burgers waay back when they really charbroiled them. Now, Johnny Rockets.......big yes.

Locally, Tony's has been putting out a pretty good burger. Better than it used to be. Maybe he's getting the meat from Costco instead of the scraps from next door. No rocks in the meat; good cheese and bacon...and really big, on a suitable bun. Served with baked potato or fries. Choice of hot sauces on the table, along with the usual mayo, etc. Good place to collapse after Superlake, once you're already parked.

May 26, 2010, 11:26 AM

Post #15 of 52 (5903 views)

Re: [Gringal] Best burger Lakeside

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Quote

there has to be something in that Mayo besides Mayo

That would be the crack.

Thanks for the tip on Tony's.

Manuel Dexterity

May 26, 2010, 11:33 AM

Post #16 of 52 (5899 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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In Reply To

Quote

there has to be something in that Mayo besides Mayo

That would be the crack.

Thanks for the tip on Tony's.

I'll bet it is that delicious aftertaste that lingers in your burps for days afterwards. Yummy.

May 26, 2010, 12:48 PM

Post #17 of 52 (5869 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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In Reply To

Quote

It's some folks who love that burger. I'm just wondering why

Mayonnaise. A lot of mayonnaise. Far more than anyone would consider putting on a burger if they made it themselves. That's my theory anyway.

I would have agreed without hesitation about Carl's Jr. before they started their "It doesn't belong in your face if it doesn't get all over the place" campaign. At that time they started overloading their burgers with way too much mayo, ketchup, and glop. If they still do them like that here in Mexico I'm sure that goes over well and would expect them to be very popular here. If they came to Morelia I would at least give them a try. Carl's Jr. and BK both are char-broiled and that would attract a number of fans. Char-broil and overload with glop is sure-fire here.

I don't know about Johnny Rocket's, never been to or heard of them. What are they like? Either they were not in my geographical area or that last decade I spent on San Nicolas Island before coming to Mexico put me way out of the loop. Talk about small towns.

Some independent spots have made decent burgers but it really is more a burger-chain phenomenon, they do it best. I am willing to try any new burger chain. Fries are something that is really hard to get right, just cutting them into strips and deep-frying doesn't do it. Last time I saw a certain ex-pat friend he was telling me he was on to the secret of making perfect fries, burger-stand style. I'm hoping to see him today to get some tips.

I'm not wild about the Mexican hamburguesa, just too much stuff. I already make some of the best burgers, burger-stand style, at home and everyone here loves them and tells me I ought to open a stand. I might think about doing that after I become inmigrado. Of course I would ever consider opening a burger stand until I could produce fries to my standard.

May 26, 2010, 12:55 PM

Post #18 of 52 (5868 views)

Re: [Peter] Best burger Lakeside

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Fries: Pork grease. Or whatever they made MacDonalds stop using that made their fries tasty.

May 26, 2010, 1:04 PM

Post #19 of 52 (5862 views)

Re: [Gringal] Best burger Lakeside

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In Reply To

Fries: Pork grease. Or whatever they made MacDonalds stop using that made their fries tasty.

That too, grease is the word, but there's a lot more to it than that. Not sure if placing in cold water after cutting or if they need to be frozen. Removing excess starch is a big part of it. I figured out hash browns some time back. I think some of the same secrets apply. Part of the process for hash browns is to be partly pre-cooked. Perfect fries still elude me but I will get it eventually.

Manuel Dexterity

May 26, 2010, 1:14 PM

Post #20 of 52 (5855 views)

Re: [Peter] Best burger Lakeside

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They market papas her called papa dore or papa para dorar. They have the right starch content. They don't absorb too much grease and fry crispy and golden. They also make the best hash browns and potato pancakes.

We get them at the mercado de abastos in Guadalajara. You might want to check your abastos there.

chinagringo

May 26, 2010, 1:41 PM

Post #21 of 52 (5844 views)

Re: [Peter] Best burger Lakeside

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http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx
In this backwater food town, we recently had one of the above open and I have to say that it offers really good burgers and fries. They don't even have a freezer on the premises - so nothing is ever frozen. Bags of Idaho spuds are part of the decor and they are cut in the store. You have a choice of about 15 different toppings to choose from when placing the order.

One of these would set the world on fire at the Lake!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

May 26, 2010, 2:05 PM

Post #22 of 52 (5833 views)

Re: [Manuel Dexterity] Best burger Lakeside

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In Reply To

Thanks, I'll look for those. I see many vendors selling home-made potato chips, some really great ones.

Perfect french fries are a very subjective thing. Some like limp shoestring fries, others thick steak fries, others yet that prefer stiffer medium fries. I like them all when done correctly. The right potato with the wrong method can still have horrendous results.

Some claim to get better "puff" when pre-cooked and finished just before serving. Others say you can get that with ice-cold fries put into the deep-fryer. I have a lot of experimenting to do.

May 26, 2010, 2:06 PM

Post #23 of 52 (5833 views)

Re: [DavidHF] Best burger Lakeside

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Not surprisingly, all this talk sent me on a burger run today. I remembered that I liked the one I had a few months ago at Cafe Magaña in beautiful downtown Riberas del Pilar, so we headed over there.

This is now my benchmark burger in the Lake Chapala area. Way better than the vast majority available around here, and I don't know anybody making a better one right now. (But that search will continue, and I will give Los Miches another shot.) The patty was good (6 ounces it says on the menu), plus gouda and bacon if you want it, plus tomatos, lettuce, pickles, onion (even sauteed if you prefer), all the liquid condiments brought, etc. Jalapeños also offered. And since his real specialty there is fish and chips, he definitely knows how to make french fries. 69 pesos for the entire plate, so it's not a bargain burger by any stretch, but it's a good fix. In fact, I couldn't eat it all, but I'm a bit of a whimp.

Peter: Johnny Rockets opened its first location in the '80s on Melrose Ave. in swanky West Hollywood/Los Angeles. It's a fake, cutesy 1950's-'60s burger joint Americana/nostalgia thing. Became wildly successful and then they started cloning them and opening spots in other large cities. I avoided them for a long time because the concept was such a cliche, but once someone finally dragged me into one, I had to admit they make a fine burger.

http://www.johnnyrockets.com/index2.php

Of course, we can't talk burger chains without at least mentioning In 'n Out, and my all-time favorite FATBURGER in Los Angeles. (The FATBURGER fetish may have something to do with college days and 3 a.m. post-night-club runs, I admit.)

(This post was edited by tashby on May 26, 2010, 2:14 PM)

May 26, 2010, 2:30 PM

Post #24 of 52 (5820 views)

Re: [tashby] Best burger Lakeside

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That burger talk is contagious, and I'll take your word for it re Cafe Magana.

Next question is: Whatever happened to the Thirsty Turtle? Anybody know if he got a new location opened? That was definitely a righteous burger.

May 26, 2010, 2:32 PM

Post #25 of 52 (5816 views)