The Lobster Burger

By Michel Richard of Citronelle

4 lobsters (1 pound each)

1 large tomato, cut into 4 slices

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 pound scallops

2 tablespoons milk

4 teaspoons mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon peeled and grated ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

4 brioche buns

Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Set the tomato slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with garlic and sugar, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes and cool.

When the water is boiling, cook the lobsters for 5 minutes. Transfer to cold water. When the lobsters are cool, remove meat from the claws, legs, knuckles, and tail. Cut the meat into large pieces. Set aside in a bowl.

In a food processor, puree the scallops for a few seconds until smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk. Fold the scallop mixture into the lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper. Mold into 4 lightly packed patties and keep cold.

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, soy sauce, and ginger.

In a pan over medium heat, sautee the patties in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden, about 5 minutes on each side.

Split the buns and sprinkle with the remaining olive oil. Lightly toast. Serve the burgers with a slice of tomato and the ginger mayonnaise.

Like his restaurant, Fabio Trabocchi’s extravagant headcheese burger with Osetra caviar is worthy of a celebration. Photograph by Allison Dinner

The Decadent Burger

By Fabio Trabocchi of Maestro

Headcheese terrine:

1 pig head (about 6 pounds)

3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

1 small onion, skin removed

1 celery heart

1 rosemary sprig

3 garlic cloves

3 bay leaves

3 tablespoons rock salt

2 tablespoons crushed white peppercorns

5 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons Osetra caviar (for topping)

Set the pig’s head under cold, running water for 6 hours. Cover the head in a stockpot with salted water, ice, and the white-wine vinegar. Refrigerate overnight.

Drain the water from the stockpot and set it aside. Set the head under cold running water as you prepare the rest of the ingredients or about 1 hour.

Place the head and reserved water in a pot just big enough to hold it. Set the pot over medium-low heat. Skimming the surface frequently, simmer for 20 minutes, until water is slightly cloudy. Add the onion, celery, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves, rock salt, and white pepper.

Simmer very slowly for 8 hours, skimming occasionally and making sure the water stays above the head.

When the head is cooked (its flesh falls off the bone), remove the pot from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Drain the liquid and place the head on a sheet pan. Pull all the meat from the bone and set aside.

Pull flat a piece of plastic wrap 1 foot by 2 feet across a countertop. Arrange the pieces of meat along the side of the plastic closest to you. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pull the edge of the plastic over the meat and roll into a tightly packed cylinder until all the plastic is used. Tie each end of the cylinder with kitchen string. Refrigerate overnight.

Cut the terrine into 1/2-inch slices and drizzle with olive oil. Let the slices rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Split a bun and toast lightly. Place 2 tablespoons of potato salad (recipe follows) on the bottom of the bun, then top with a slice of headcheese terrine. Finish with a quenelle of Osetra caviar. Serve immediately.

Potato salad:

3 cups canola oil

11/2 pounds small red-skin potatoes, diced

1/2 pound bacon, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 bunch of dill, leaves only

4 egg yolks

1/2 small shallot

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar

2 eggs, hard-boiled and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Place 2 cups of canola oil in a sautee pan over high heat. Heat the oil to 350 degrees temperature. Working in small batches, shallow fry the potatoes until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes each batch. Drain the potatoes on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Set a sautee pan over low heat and render the fat from the bacon. Once the bacon is crispy, discard it and add the diced onion to the fat. Sauteethe onion until soft and translucent. Strain, cool, and set aside.

In a food processor, puree the dill, egg yolks, shallot, half of the lemon juice, and the white-wine vinegar until smooth. While the processor is running, slowly add the remaining cup of canola oil. Once the mixture is blended into a smooth green mayonnaise, season to taste.

In a bowl, fold together the potatoes, sauteed onions, diced egg, and vinaigrette. Season to taste.

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Melbourne’s a stunning city and there burgers are world-class

It started the way these things always do. All I said was, “I wonder who makes the best burger in Victoria?” The next thing you know, my inbox is way over allocation, Telstra is sending those whiny emails and I’m struggling with more suggestions than a drunk blonde on Derby night.

Of the 70-plus great hamburger joints nominated by more than 200 Epicure readers, from humble roadhouses on dusty highways to gourmet hamburger operations, Danny’s in North Fitzroy was the most popular, collecting 30 per cent more nominations than anyone else.

Andrew’s Burgers take some beating

The strong performance of Kermond’s was, however, the real surprise. Especially as Lava Street, Warrnambool, is hardly a high-traffic location - unless you are comparing it to the Oodnadatta Track. Still, they collected more nominations than the next two country places (the Igloo Roadhouse in Buxton and Stella’s at Seymour) combined and came second only to Danny’s.

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The cheese at The Fifties is certainly new Millenium

WGH found this blog on The Fifties. We can’t verify the contents so we would be mighty glad for some feedback. Anyway, here it is verbatim:

As you walk into any of three The Fifties locations in Sao Paulo, you are greeted with alternating black and white tiles, marble counters and tabletops, and the most delicious mixture of smells. This amazing place is any food-lover’s wet dream. Service is always impeccable, as the waiters quickly and efficiently jot your order down into their wireless IPAQs. Nothing I’ve ever ordered here has been disappointing. Keeping in line with the fifties malt shop that it emulates, the strongest candidates on the menu are the burgers, fries, and variants thereof. However, I’ve seen people happily sitting down to a plate of carpaccio or pasta. Suffice it to say, when these guys do delicious, they don’t mess around.

A few of the most popular menu items after the jump.

The Pic Burger (pictured above, with more photos here) arrives at your table cozily resting in its protective paper bag. This bag helps to keep the defenseless burger from being gobbled whole, for who can resist the sliced lettuce, diced onions, melted cheese, and special sauce. The flavor party reaches its crescendo in the beef, which exists in the form of ground picanha — the most delicious beef in Brazil. Similar in quality to filet mignon and revered by all Brazilians as the ultimate cut, picanha is a must for any barbecue, lest ye be cast out into the darkness. This almost sacrosanct piece of cow is lovingly ground up, perfectly cooked by the master grill men, and deposited onto your tastebuds. Truly this burger is the pinnacle of gastronomy as relates to the manipulation of ground beef, bread, and fixins.

Next up is the establishment’s eponymous superstar sandwich, The Fifties. Over time this particular delight has become my personal favorite, outpacing even the illustrious Pic Burger. I guess it’s a matter of personal taste, but when I imagine the ciabatta bread, the tender thin filet mignon, melted cheese, bacon, and green herb mayo — well, words alone cannot communicate the satisfaction which is yours upon first biting into this masterpiece. Subsequent bites serve only to reinforce your initial impression, and when you find yourself staring an empty plate, gluttonous visions of a second helping will flit through your mind.

While there, do not neglect the fries. These little beauties are not the frozen precut crap that you might have become accustomed to in other less discriminating establishments. They are freshly cut on-site every day and fried to a crispy state which will leave you delirious. I’ve been known to stop by there just for an order of fries (although upon arrival I can never resist sampling more selections).

Last but certainly not least is the petit gateau. This Brazilian variation of the dessert features a mini chocolate cake filled with liquid chocolate. This is heated, then topped with more liquid chocolate and surrounded by ripe mango slices. A scoop of amazing vanilla ice cream completes the construction of this climactic meal-ending treat.

A final recommendation: have an espresso and a glass of sparkling water with a twist of lime. It will cleanse your palate and help you digest the prodigious quantities of excellent food nestled comfortably in your stomach. If you find yourself in Sao Paulo, this place shouldn’t be skipped for any reason whatsoever.

The Fifties - Sao Paulo, Brazil - January 2006 [Flickr]
The Fifties [Official site, in Portuguese]

[Daniel Juliano]

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