Anyone else wondering why all the burger mania?
Posted Thursday, July 30th, 2009, By: Lisa
The New York Times, Saveur, Portland Monthly, Forkfly — Burgers are apparently as newsworthy today as saying someone’s actions
A creation from Mother's Bistro & Bar's new Burger Bar
are stupid despite the fact that you’re the head of the free world.
Why burgers? Why now?
When my friend Kate Krader from Food & Wine Magazine was in town a few months ago she explained it this way. Â ”People are super interested in cooking and food, they want to become authorities on cuisines and dishes but when the economy’s down, they can’t afford to obsess on super high-end ingredients or become experts at something that’s a luxury item. Â However, it’s easy to become a burger or pizza afficianado.”
Good editorial instincts Kate, it’s no wonder you’re one of America’s top culinary trend forecasters.
My question though, is the obvious conflict between conventional vs. natural beef. Â Anyone who’s read a Michael Pollan book or seen Food Inc. is most likely verging on becoming a vegetarian if not at the very least considering giving up all conventionally raised meats. So, how do food-loving passionate burger fans indulge in burger mania when most offerings are patties made from grain fed, hormone filled, inhumanely treated animals?
We say, think local now more than ever when it comes to your burger cravings.  Develop a solid understanding of where your beef comes from so you can eat with wild abandon.  Here are our top 3 local, grass-fed beef ranchers and/or Co-ops we want to support: Painted Hills Natural Beef, Highland Oak Farm and Ford Farms. Please consider doing the same.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
With all due respect to your pal Kate’s views, I think she’s over-thinking/trendspotting on this one. There was also a burger craze going on for the last few years when we were all in our warm, fuzzy housing bubble inflated prosperity cocoons. The whole “foodies love burgers” I think speaks more to the tastes and comfort flavors we all grew up with as children. And as we burger loving kids grew up and learned how to cook and cared more about where our food comes from, we naturally would want to see just how good that burger could get, and how exactly did that cow grow up?
July 30th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I think there’s something beyond a natural generational interest in burgers for nostalgic reasons and/or a new interest in the source of our food. I do agree with you that this is part of a general cultural appreciation of taste memory and the provenance of our food but I think the recent burger trend is similar to the increased sales in expensive lipsticks — accessible connoisseurship, if you will — brought on by a slimming of the pocket book.
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:26 am
Burgers sell magazines. Put a burger on the cover, and your sales will soar. It’s just that simple.