Can a Burger kick the January Blues?

January is a dull month.  Cash is tight, your jeans are tighter, everyone is in detox mode and then there’s black Monday, scientifically the most miserable day of the year.  Well screw that, it’s now Friday 29^th and there’s only two more days of the month to go and what better way to round it out than tucking into a nice juicy burger?  Think about it – tasty, well priced and a treat, something not to be had too often but utterly delicious when you do have it.  The Super Bowl is also just around the corner and a burger, a beer and the big game are as about as American as it gets!  So stick a feather in your cap and whistle Yankee Doodle Dandy as we get the burgers on. 

I’ll be honest, January has been a good month for me, the sun is out, family and friends have visited, life has been non-stop entertaining and I’m only just getting around to my first blog of the year.  Things, however, are tight in the jeans department and it may be the three burgers I’ve “tested” (for research purposes): 1, the fast food burger, 2, the mid-price restaurant burger, 3, the more expensive, gastropub, grass fed organic burger.  The quality of the meat in burger 3 far outstripped the others, however they were all excellent in their own way.  Sure burger 1 was quick and cheap and somehow felt a bit dirty but it was exactly what I’d wanted in that moment in time.  Burger 2 was consumed at an outdoor music bar, the warm evening air, a few cold beers and some ideal fodder.  Burger 3 was shared over a cocktail in a hip NYC gastropub and it was undeniably excellent, hearty and tasty and not too fancy which is good because there’s a trend in burger world to elevate them to haute cuisine status. 

Look no further than Burger King to pull off such a “stunt” and create the worlds most expensive hamburger – sold at only one West London outlet and in aid of Help a London Child – Wagyu beef, onions marinated in Cristal Champagne, white truffles, bla bla bla.  World Renowned chef, Daniel Boulud has been offering up over-priced hamburgers since 1994, his DB Double Truffle Burger sold for $130 but in a telling sign of Wall Street crashes his signature burger can now be enjoyed without the truffles for a don’t-have-corporate-expenses-anymore $32. For those with less cash and a strong stomach, Dyer’s Burgers in Memphis Tennessee have been frying their patties in the same oil since 1912 for a “truly unique flavor”.  Or maybe big is your thing, if so, head to Pennsylvania for a burger that’s mammoth enough to feed 200 people. 

For the majority of those in America, I’m certain that burgers will be on the menu next weekend at the Super Bowl but if you have no desire to follow big men running around a field, then think of sitting down to a burger as a way of showing the diet who’s boss, as a celebration for having made it through January, or a chance to catch up with friends over a cold drink, a hot hamburger and your favourite bar.  

Burger Kings charity burger