2009 Burger Shootout: North America Edition

4 days, 8 burger joints (in chronological order):
 
1. Eat at Ed Debevic's: cheeseburger with bacon (Chicago, IL)
2. Pie 'N Burger: cheeseburger (Pasadena, CA)
3. In-N-Out: double double (Los Angeles, CA)
4. 25 Degrees: BYO burger with ground sirloin, crescenza cheese,
bacon, and caramelized onions (Hollywood, CA)
5. The Counter: BYO burger with sirloin, Tillamook cheddar, baby
greens, grilled onions, and roasted chiles (Santa Monica, CA)
6. Apple Pan: cheeseburger (Los Angeles, CA)
7. Mom's Burgers: DCMB (Compton, CA)
8. Original Tommy’s World Famous: cheeseburger with chili (Los Angeles, CA)

Shootout winner (by a huge margin): Mom's. Runner-ups: 25 Degrees and Apple Pan.

 

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Rating: 2 stars to the DCMB at Mom's. 1 star to the BYO burger at 25 Degrees.

Old Country Buffet

Country fried chicken, no non-sense mac 'n cheese, succulent chicken
dumplings, juicy BBQ pork ribs, fresh green beans, Iowa ham, decadent
desserts. I've been dreaming about all-you-can-eat country-style
cooking for quite some time now. At $10 per person, Old Country
Buffet's deal is hard to beat.

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Food: a Bohemian feast in Chicago's Czech/Bohemian neighborhood

Czechvar, Pilser Urquell, Bohemian potato pancakes, fried pork
tenderloin, lamb leg, and apple strudel. At Czech Plaza and Bohemian
Crystal. Berwyn and Westmont, Illinois.

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Millennium Park and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Millennium Park and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Chicago.

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Food: The Gage

A quick meal at The Gage, on Michigan Avenue, Chicago. My order: Scotch
Egg (hard-boiled egg wrapped with herbed sausage and bread crumbs,
toasted to perfection and served with a spicy mustard and greens);
tomato puree soup.

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