Special burgers of the month
For December鈥檚 Burger of the Month specials I expected to see some Christmas-themed burgers, especially given the unprecedented number of Halloween- and Thanksgiving-themed specials in the past two months. But I didn鈥檛 anticipate that so many operators would be willing to turn poor Rudolph into a burger!
The Nook, in St. Paul, Minn., doesn鈥檛 mince words but does mince Rudolph. Its聽Rudolph the Randolph Reindeer Burger聽is a patty of ground beef and venison topped with pur茅ed bacon, minced onion and spices; served with saut茅ed mushroom and onions.聽The Rudolph聽burger at Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta tops a venison patty with blackberry ketchup, baby kale, pickled grape tomatoes, red-onion-juniper jam and Tomme cheese 鈥渟now.鈥� In Southern California, Slater鈥檚 50/50鈥檚聽Rudolpho Burger聽is a Cajun-spiced beef patty that鈥檚 topped with reindeer chili and coriander bacon, Cheddar, pickled jalape艌os and cilantro sour cream on brioche. The聽Reindeer Games聽burger at The Avenue in St. Petersburg, Fla., is 100% ground venison and is topped with cinnamon-spiced apples and chipotle Gouda.
More burger bars chose to go with a holiday red-and-green concept. 5 Star Burgers in Albuquerque, N.M., has a Red & Green Christmas Burger with a green-chile Cheddar crisp and Rojo Ranch Sauce. Bobby Flay is thinking red and green, too: The Bobby鈥檚 Christmas burger at his Bobby鈥檚 Burger Palace has red chile sauce and green chile salsa along with Monterey-Jack cheese. The Jingle Bell Burger at The Burger Bar in Amarillo, Texas, has peppered bacon, cream cheese, roasted jalape艌os and roasted red peppers.
Several other burger bars have opted for聽lamb burgers聽rather than reindeer as the protein of the month. Check out the Ewephoria (best name of the month) at Burger Revolution in Belleville, Ont. Three joints are featuring 50/50 lamb/beef patties: The Rail in Fairlawn, Ohio; Krazy Jake鈥檚 in Wilbraham, Mass.; and Spritz Burger in Chicago.
And then there are the duck burgers. Washington, D.C.鈥檚 Burger, Tap & Shake has aChristmas Duck Burger聽for December. The duck patty is topped with Swiss cheese, ruby red kraut and orange-marmalade a茂oli. In Ohio, Flip Side鈥檚聽Duck Burger聽has melted Brie, arugula, caramelized pickled red onion and berry chutney. At his Village Whiskey in Philadelphia, Chef Jose Garces鈥櫬燪uacked Pepper Burger聽is crispy duck topped with black-pepper foie gras mousse, pickled red onion and baby arugula.
Last week I posted聽聽to watch in 2016. I can鈥檛 help noting that two ingredients mentioned in that post as gaining in favor are represented among the December specials. Buckeye Beer Engine and Kuma鈥檚 Corner both feature burgers spiced with聽harissa. And Burger Revolution鈥檚 lamb burger gets flavor boost from 鈥楴duja聽sausage.
Finally, how would you translate the Christmas movie classic 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life鈥� into a burger? Burgerhaus in Indianapolis gives it a try with a聽Bedford Falls Burger. It鈥檚 one of many wonderful burgers for December, so聽聽of Burger of the Month specials, sponsored by聽.
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