The post COVID-19 world has not been kind to people who love to eat outside and explore new food, cuisine or culture. If someone asks me, what's your hobby? I would probably reply by posing a question, 'does eating out at new places count?'. That part of the life has been taken away from us and we are left with things like - pantry, uncooked vegetables, raw meat, utensils and something called a kitchen! which apparently came along with my apartment but weirdly never did I notice it before.
The only way to start developing a burger from the deep trenches of your brain is by picking up the pen and breaking down your bun enclosed desires on a paper for you to replicate till the end of time.
How It All Started
I was taking a nap and had a vivid dream. In my dream, I was watching the 5th season of Mentalist and suddenly I transported inside the show. I was hanging out with Patrick Jane, the CBI consultant/ ex-con with observation skills synonymous to Jerry Seinfeld of 90’s. I remember solving the murder mystery of a race car driver. To my intrigue, the race car driver was poisoned via his Vietnamese spring rolls. I got up in a daze while contemplating what was real and what wasn’t. Five minutes later, all I could think of was the peanut sauce that was served with the roll. I love burger and I wanted peanut sauce. Now, I had a goal in life.
When I started sketching up the anatomy of my burger, the main plan was to have complimentary taste palates and texture profile. Peanut sauce was going to have the spicy creamy feel. Comeback coleslaw was to give the tangy crunchy texture. American cheese is a classic burger cheese. Pickled carrots (Banh Mi Style) is the Bo Jackson of pickled vegetable. They go well with everything specially the greasy burger. Never have a burger without the sweetness of caramelized onion and spiciness of jalapeno. Fried Egg is the crown jewel, you don't always need it but when you have it, you know what's up. Visual hungry is a relevant tangible. The better your food looks, the more you would appreciate eating it. Mozzarella is that visual power-move.
Naming The Monster
The first thing I thought after deciding everything I wanted on my burger was I need to go for a run after I eat this. Thus, I call it the 'Next Day Cardio' burger. The other options were 'Dr. Overload' and 'More is Good'.
The Main Event
The photo doesn't do the burger justice. This burger is the opposite of online dating. The burger was so good that I tipped myself and my roommate afterwards.