An Eyeful of the World's Craziest Burgers Ahead of Burger Fest
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The 2019 Beijinger Burger Festival is just around the corner which means that the city's burger makers are currently tinkering with their final recipes ahead of the thousands that will flock to Galaxy Soho on Jun 22-23.
Luckily for the less adventurous among us, burger makers on the Beijing scene mostly focus on making their entries taste delicious, with only a handful resorting to full-on gimmicks and bizarre flavor combinations over the years to pull in crowds.
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Yet... there is something weirdly compelling about some of the truly insane burgers that can be found around the world, a number of which have at one point or another actually reached our plates here in China (looking at you, foie gras burger).
Buy your early bird tickets right now and get some great burger swag via this QR code:
The beauty of burgers is their malleability (in concept and consistency). Eight patties instead of one? Done. Fried chicken on top? Easy. Donuts instead of buns? Why the hell not? There are seemingly no limits to what can be accomplished with this simple pairing of shell and fillings.
While we count down to the big weekend, take a tour with us as we visit some of the most insane burgers around the world...
Burgers and a competition? Bring it on! At Crust (ilovecrust.com) in Solihull, England, your challenge is to finish the infamous "Mr. Big" burger – all three patties, plus the mound of pulled pork, bacon, cheese, and onions that are piled on top – in under 20 minutes. If you do, it's free! But apparently, only about 10 percent of the thousands who have tried have succeeded... While both Vsports and Lakers have claimed to have the biggest burger in Beijing over the years, one thing is for certain: to flirt with eating either you have to be very hungry and a stickler for pain.
Speaking of pain, at The Heart Attack Grill (heartattackgrill.com) in Las Vegas, they fully embrace the idea of food-instigated injuries. The entire restaurant is hospital-themed, from the "nurses" (servers) who take your order, right through to the "prescriptions" (burgers) that arrive on your plate. The restaurant's best-known menu item is the "Quadruple Bypass Burger," whose four half-pound patties ring in at an impressive – and truly insane – 8,000 calories.
Japan is the place to find fast food that's right on trend, and in summer 2016, ahead of the release of the female-led remake of Ghostbusters, Tokyo's J. S. Cafe (facebook.com/jsburgers) created a full menu of ghoulish dishes. We're most intrigued by the black burger, whose bun gets its intense color from squid ink. As if that's not cool enough already, the burger itself is topped with a black olive and anchovy spread, red cabbage, cream, and onion rings. Since 2016, we too have seen black buns roll through town, either as the result of charcoal or squid ink. However, it seems to be a trend that has died down, proving that you can't beat the original, or can you...?
What do you get when you fuse together two beloved comfort foods? Rock It Burger's (rockitburgerbar.com) "Mac & Cheese Attack." But instead of stuffing the mac and cheese into the burger (or even inside the patty) like you might imagine, at Rock It, they turn the mac and cheese into mouthwatering fried "buns." Messy to eat, of course, but totally delicious.
Tucked away in a sleepy ski town near the Franco-Swiss border is one of the most unusual burgers you've ever heard of. Chalet Regain (facebook.com/pages/Chalet-Regain) has completely deconstructed the classic burger by separating all the components into something that looks more like a science project than your dinner. Last year, Regain Element in Wudaoying Hutong did something equally as experimental when they decided to serve their burgers with a wine-loaded pipette.
Umami Burger's (umamiburger.com) "truffle burger" has long been a staple on the menu and for good reason: with its truffled aioli, truffle cheese, and truffle glaze, it's a shot of pure deliciousness – and all for a very reasonable price. If the classic isn't enough truffle for you, keep your eye out for the occasional appearance of the pricier "M. N. O. (Money is No Object) burger," which adds on fresh shavings of white truffles, foie gras, and a vintage port reduction. Despite chefs across Beijing reaching for truffle as an addition to many a "gourmet" dish, very few have dabbled with it on burgers... so far.
The menu at Berlin Burger International (berlinburgerinternational.de) is largely inspired by classic American favorites, but some of their options are rather more...exotic. Take their Flash Gorgonzo, which has an intense list of toppings including gorgonzola-Riesling sauce, potato-carrot rosti, crispy fried onion strings, and sour cream aioli.
Unsurprisingly, the most high-brow burger on this list can be found in Paris. At the beloved Schwartz's Deli (schwartzsdeli.fr), you can order your burger "Rossini" style: with a slice of foie gras perched on top of the patty. Our favorite option for the same in Beijing can be found at Bistrot B.
South Korea's biggest fast-food chain, Lotteria (lotteria.com), has a lot to offer those in search of crazy burgers. While many of their menu items swap out a classic burger bun for flavored rice patties, our favorite option pairs them with a patty made from the traditional Korean dish of bulgogi beef. This one is a full-on Korean take on the American classic.
If you've ever had to make the agonizing choice between a grilled cheese and a burger, Crave Burgers (craverealburgers.com) has come to your rescue. Their famous "Fatty Melt" combines the perfect pair into one delicious meal, tucking the bacon cheeseburger and its toppings between two grilled cheese sandwiches.
We have no idea what kind of accommodations the Napier Hotel (thenapierhotel.com) has to offer because what they're best known for is their epic "Bogan Burger." The burger isn't for the faint of heart, as the steak patty is topped with pretty much everything but the kitchen sink, including fried chicken, bacon, hash browns, a fried egg, and more. Our waistlines are happy that this monstrosity isn't to be found in Beijing.
Even within Straw's (strawsf.com) unusual menu of "carnival fare," the Ringmaster Burger stands out. The ingredient list starts out pretty standard with organic ground beef and a couple of kinds of cheese, but then throws you for a loop with a homemade glazed donut bun. The only vendor to our knowledge to have utilized our favorite circular confection in their burgers is 3 Little Pigs. Come by this Burger Festival and you may be lucky enough to get your hands on one before they sell out!
Hungry? Get Your Early Bird Tickets for the 9th Beijing Burger Festival via this QR code:
This article originally appeared on gourmandize.com.
Images: mirror.co.uk, eater.com, sea.askmen.com, Mix, Tripadvisor, aht.seriouseats.com, Gourmandize
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