...every few years a famous name tries to make the ever-adaptable burger something more than what it basically is...here's the latest attempt:
Obama Burgers Battle Ralph Lauren’s Luxury Meats in Paris
By A. Craig Copetas
May 12 (Bloomberg) -- The chief burgermeister of Paris was not amused when Ralph Lauren recently started selling designer meats from his Colorado ranch in a 16th-century limestone mansion on the Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Lauren, world famous in fashion circles, makes American clothes in Indonesia. Now, he has hired a French chef to make American hamburgers in Paris.
“Ralph has no reputation in burgers,” says Jonathan Goldstein, whose 20-year-old chain of three Coffee Parisien soda-fountain-grub restaurants in 2009 served 120,000 hamburgers at 14.50 euros ($18.40) a fistful; 7,558 bottles of Heinz ketchup; 8,454 jars of Gulden’s Spicy Brown mustard and 90,000 cans of Coca-Cola.
The “fifty-something” burger king from New Hampshire points a French pickle at Ralph’s menu. “This escalates the Paris burger wars,” Goldstein says of the 27 euro Black Angus burger with “heirloom” tomato slices that Lauren offers folks shopping in his new five-floor Left Bank emporium.
Money is on the table. Coffee Parisien attracts 300,000 customers a year. The average individual tab is 25 euros, for an annual gross of 7.5 million euros.
Even by the often daft luxury standards of Paris -- where Louis Vuitton sells calf-leather diaper bags for $1,300 and around $700 buys a fourth-hand Christian Dior dog collar -- there’s something exceptionally balmy about the business of the bespoke Francoburger.
Sailors’ Snack
Historian Giovanni Ballarini, author of “The Origin of Hamburgers and Ketchup,” says ground-beef patties first appeared on the wharves of Hamburg in the 17th century. German sailors carried the longshoreman’s snack to the U.S., where Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940 opened McDonald’s Bar-B-Que in San Bernardino, California, and charged 15 cents a burger.
“The French were once ashamed to be seen eating a burger,” Goldstein recalls as a waitress pokes a paper U.S. flag on a toothpick into Coffee Parisien’s signature double- decker Obamac. “Now Ralph has joined every Michelin chef who’s trying to nobilize it.”
Goldstein says American burger joints in Paris are no longer considered “cabarets borgnes,” suspicious cafes. The city’s chefs nowadays cook up some 100 high-class hamburgers, from the 9.50 euro mushroom Swissburger at the Breakfast in America diner to three-star chef Yannick Alleno’s 35 euro French chuck-and-beef-rib smoked bacon cheeseburger in Le Dali lunchroom at the swank Hotel Le Meurice. Regional kitchens along the French-Swiss border specialize in horseburgers.
Where’s the Fat?
Yet the learning curve remains long and lean. “Many French chefs think they can just grill steak tartare,” Goldstein says, holding a lump of the ground beef served raw and infused with onions and capers. “Not enough fat here. Cooks too dry.”
There are other troubles. Spies are everywhere.
“Espionage,” says Goldstein, who spent 8 years immersing himself in eggs Benedict, coleslaw and other all-American eats while employed at the Joe Allen outlet in Les Halles. “Restaurateurs who want to sell burgers come here first. They steal our menu. They sit along the counter in front of the griddle and watch how we make them. We know who they are.”
Still, Goldstein says he was miffed that Lauren failed to infiltrate Coffee Parisien, where the French prefer their burgers rare (3 minutes on each side) with a Coke: Americans call for well done (5 minutes on each side) with a bottle of root beer. At Le Dali, the Allenoburger is seasoned with pricey fleur de sel, cooked rare on a griddle greased with virgin olive oil and mostly served with a robust Margaux.
Burger Tutors
“I’m not happy with Ralph,” says Goldstein, who says his regular customers include Michelin one-star chef Helene Darroze. “He aspires to upgrade the burger to the level of French
Classic! [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/laugh.gif]
Here's a couple of Paris burgers...
[image: http://cache.gawker.com/hollywood/paris-carlsjr.jpg]
[image: http://yalesustainablefoodproject.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/paris-hamburger.jpg]
When the economy was better and the who-can-make-the-most-obscene burger trend was hot in the states, Bon Appetit named this burger recipe (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Porcini-Gorgonzola-Burgers-with-Veal-Demi-Glace-109076) one of the best of the year. Makes for a fun weekend project, and a medium rare burger dripping with melted blue cheese and demi glace is hard to beat. Add a little chipotle for some zing.