After a big day of celebratory eating, I think I need to have a light lunch today:

But I Like Bacon!

What, too much? I just thought a bacon cheeseburger would be a good way to come down from a holiday food high…although this type of thing is more akin to a food coma – maybe just a cheeseburger then…

Allright, if you think I’m going overboard, I’ll just have a hot dog:

As you can see, there will be NO relief from bacon today! It’s time for my favorite bacon, cheeseburger and hot dog abuse of all time…let’s get started!

LET’S ALL APPLAUD THE WEBSITE “A HAMBURGER TODAY!”

I love to post crazy bacon and food abuse as you know, and here is my all-time favorite, thanks to the great investigative work of “A Hamburger Today”:

Burger King Offers Bacon – And One New Organization Steps Up To The Challenge!

Burger King Japan loves to offer specials. Well, taking advantage of Burger King Japan’s “15 strips of bacon for ¥100″ deal, “AHT” linked us to the Japanese news blog RocketNews24 – which successfully ordered a Whopper with 1,050 strips of bacon!

RocketNews24 reporter Mr. Sato then went back to Burger King and ordered a Whopper with – READY FOR THIS?

1,050 strips of bacon, or ¥7,000 (about $86) worth of bacon. The burger/bacon mountain weighed 2.7 kilograms (about 5.95 pounds), contained roughly 14,300 calories, and took 2 hours to make.

What could possibly top this? Well, all you had to do was ask – Here we go!

THE 1,000-SLICE CHEESEBURGER!

Yes, hold the bacon and pile on the cheese!

From the people who brought you the Whopper topped with 1,050 strips of bacon comes a Whopper topped with 1,000 slices of cheese (aka, a bloated tower of cheese slices with Whopper ingredients on top and somewhere underneath). RocketNews24 reporter Mr. Sato ordered the burger three days in advance from a Burger King in Japan and was rewarded with a Whopper weighing in at 12.782 kilograms (28.18 pounds) and containing 45,661 calories. Thankfully, he didn’t eat the whole thing. Mr. Sato managed to finish about 350 slices before giving up, explaining: “It tastes good, but if I eat any more I won’t have room for dinner.”

And “AHT” added this fun pic from Robyn Lee, who is the editor of “A Hamburger Today” and takes many of the photos for Serious Eats. They have a link to read more from Robyn at her personal food blog, “The Girl Who Ate Everything”.

While we are discussing crazy food, let’s grab some bacon and start wrapping dinner!

“The Fred”

According to a post on reddit, “The Fred” is a bacon-wrapped, deep-fried hotdog – topped with Mac ‘n cheese on a toasted Cuban bread bun – yes, it is.

B.L.T. Dog

Again, posted on the “foodporn” area of reddit is the BLT Dog – a Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Dog with Lettuce, Tomato & Mayo – as you can see, wrapping things in bacon is catching on…

Seoul Bacon-Wrapped Dogs

When I was in South Korea, we found a bunch of street markets that sold a ton of food on a stick, including these delicious bacon-wrapped hot dogs with a spicy korean sauce…

Bacon-Wrapped Lobster Bites

I would wrap lobster in bacon any day of the week.

The Kilo Burger!

And then I found this “Kilo” burger – full of meat and bacon and bun. Yes, it weighs a kilo…you want to know how much that is, get your ass over to the metric system NOW.

And of course, Burger King had to come back with their own new idea, and it’s a Whopper – and what a Whopper!

In a country where Burger King routinely offers up items like the 5 patty Whopper, there is a singular food fanatic who has one-upped them again!

The Grilled Onion Whopper!

It begins innocently enough, with Burger King offering grilled onions on their Whoppers, and a special deal for extra onions:

Thanks to the great writers at “A Hamburger Today”, we know that Japan’s RocketNews24 Reporter Mr. Sato has struck again!

Burger King’s Onion Bomb!

Burger King Japan has just released the Bakudan Oniteri (Onion Bomb) burger – a Whopper that is topped with five slices of grilled onion and drizzled with teriyaki sauce.

Mr. Sato once again took on Burger King’s deal and decided to re-purpose the extra onion for making gyudon. But of course he did…

The video of this entire process lives here:

Thanks again to “A Hamburger Today” for finding this masterpiece of onion excess! And for the rest of us, let’s get stacked NOW!

Click here to read about the controversy surrounding Chef Grant Achatz and his tweet about having unruly infants in his restaurant….I also look at one of his tasting menus, so you have an idea of what the experience is like!

http://johnrieber.com/2013/03/13/the-hunt-menu-brilliant-next-chef-grant-achatz-alinea-life-on-the-line/

Let me know what you think!

Seattle Vs. Denver! A Tasty Super Bowl Matchup!

Being born and raised in Seattle, I am so excited for this Super Bowl matchup – in fact, it has me salivating! Here’s one reason:

Now THIS is a Super Bowl stadium I would buy a ticket for! Yes, when the world’s biggest sporting event is on TV, you have no option but to do your part to live up to the hype – and that means only one thing!

THE SUPER BOWL OF SNACKS!

I plan to make a LOT of fun Super Bowl food on Feb. 2 – it’s an American tradition that goes back to the beginning of football it seems, and since I am from Seattle, I will make something out of THIS:

Dungeness Crab Recipes!

This will be a Super Sunday filled with Dungeness crab…more on this Seattle favorite in a minute…oh, and there WILL be this as well:

Yes, with seafood comes tartar sauce, and there will be a recipe for that as well…but first, it’s
time to look at just how much we eat on Super Bowl Sunday – and of course offer up some super-sized food to dream about…with some guidance on how to make these for your friends as well!

More Cheese, Please!

And if you want to wow your Super Bowl party guests, why not offer up your own food stadium, with all the meat and cheese you can handle!

What better way to celebrate the Super Bowl than to tease you with pictures of amazing food stadiums to help us swallow the following Super Bowl Food stats! First, look at this snack stadium:

And if that doesn’t make you hungry, this one could do the trick:

And of course, you can never go wrong when you unveil a snack stadium that looks like this – all of these great pics raise a question: how much food IS eaten on Super Sunday?

HERE ARE THE STATISTICS ON SUPER BOWL SNACK FOOD!

The Super Bowl is ranked as the number two food consumption event of the year, second only to Thanksgiving! (Source: American Institute of Food Distribution)

1,200:
Average number of calories consumed during the Super Bowl. It’s the second largest day for U.S. food consumption. Only Thanksgiving day is more.

71.4 million:
Estimated pounds of Hass avocados that will be consumed for the game this year, according to the Hass Avocado Board. That’s enough to cover the Super Bowl Stadium end zone to end zone in more than 27.5 feet in avocados.

I love the way the guacamole looks like the playing field here!

90 Millions Pounds Of Wings, Please!

Hope you have enough ranch dressing and paper towels to handle this one:

1.25 billion!

Yep, that’s the number of chicken wings Americans are expected to eat on Super Bowl Sunday, according to the U.S. National Chicken Council, and why would they lie to us?

Crab Dip!

Since Seattle is in the Super Bowl, we must celebrate the fresh seafood that makes Seattle unique! Let’s begin with a great recipe for our friend the Dungeness Crab!

Hot Crab Dip!

Thanks to Scott’s in Edmonds – a great place to hang out while you wait for a ferry…have an ice cold beer or glass of Chardonnay and dig into their classic Dungeness Crab dip!

Here is the recipe:

1/2 pound fresh dungeness crab meat 60/40 mix, 60% shredded body & 40% legs

1/2 pound canned unmarinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 cups Best Food mayonnaise

4 ounces yellow onion, sliced paper thin

4 ounces freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp Italian parsley, minced

1 baguette, sliced

1 lemon cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine and mix the crab, artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, onions and cheese. Just blend evenly – do not over mix. Portion the mixture into 6 to 8 small ovenproof ramekins.

Bake the ramekins 5 to 6 minutes or until an internal temperature of 140 degrees is achieved. You just want to get the mixture warmed and the top browned. Too much heat and the mayonnaise will separate.

To serve, arrange bread slices around the crab dip and garnish with chopped parsley and a slice of lemon.

Here’s another way to do it, thanks to McCormick’s OLD BAY Seasoning for this easy to make recipe!

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons OLD BAY® Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Mustard, Ground
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Old Bay Seasoning and ground mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Add crabmeat; toss gently.

Spread in shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and additional Old Bay Seasoning, if desired.

Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with assorted crackers or sliced French bread.

Don’t Forget To Double Dip!

Be careful this Super Bowl NOT to pull a George Costanza and double dip:

We all remember the hilarious “Seinfeld” episode when George is caught double dipping…but George had it right – if the dip is good you gotta go back!

Don’t Forget The Chips!

An astounding 14,500 tons of chips and 4,000 tons of popcorn are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Calorie Control Council says we’ll also eat:
— 11.2 million pounds of potato chips.
— 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips.
— 4.3 million pounds of pretzels.
— 3.8 million pounds of popcorn.
— 2.5 million pounds of nuts during their Super Bowl parties.

32: Percentage of U.S. grill owners who will be firing up on Game Day. According to Weber, the Super Bowl ranks as one of the top 10 most popular ” holidays” to grill. And when you do grill, turn it into something amazing like this!

And Is There A Beverage?

Well, what do YOU think?

During the Super Bowl, there will be 325 million GALLONS of beer consumed. That is A LOT of beer…you might need a bit of help carrying it to your table…

Bacon Mug!

And when in doubt, just pour yourself a frosty brew in this mug and have a nice snack at the same time!

So there you have it: food, food – lots and lots of food. But I think we are missing ONE crucial ingredient: THE TWINKIE!

The TWINKIE Stadium!

Yes, this is an edible Twinkie stadium…I actually found many versions of it, but I will share what I found from Holy Taco….first, you must lay out the outline of your stadium in, of course, Twinkies…

Holy Taco’s Twinkie Stadium uses a flat aluminum pan spread with sections of salsa, queso dip, and guacamole as a base, and cheese-topped hot dog pieces as players on the field. Various snack mixes are held together by a retaining wall made of Twinkies which the site refers to as “nature’s brick.”

Nature’s Brick!

This particular structure is notable for its “pliable bacon wall”, which is absent from most other examples.

The real kicker is the inclusion of the football shaped blimp, which is actually a 20 oz. summer sausage – AND WE ALL KNOW HOW GOOD THAT WILL TASTE…if you pay close attention, you can see Twinkies also used as cars in the parking lot in many of the stadiums…nice touch….

I would dig into this and never stop eating…just don’t get carried away and make the dreaded:

BACON-WRAPPED TWINKIE STONEHENGE!

EDIBLE FOOD STADIUMS!

Back to the real world of crazy food…check out this super bowl food stadium…how much time do you think this takes to make?

Super Bowl Food Stadiums!

And then there are the “Super Snack Stadiums” – pages and pages of crazy snack food towers designed to look like football stadiums…

I have to tell you, this is THE ultimate way to watch the game! These food stadiums will wow your guests and feed them well! Many of them are mostly filled with pretzels, chips and dips…

As much as I love all of these, I admire the ones that find a broad color and food palate, tough to do when most snack food is brown – chips, rolls, MEAT…and most dips are green or red…here is an example of a beautiful food display!

And some look as much like Stonehenge as they do actual stadiums, but I can’t argue with anyone who takes on a challenge like this and delivers something that is close to a work of food art!

There are a multitude of websites that offer “Super Bowl Snacks” recipes and advice…the key is to plan ahead, and follow these pictures to create your own work of art!

Super Salads!

And if you really need some inspiration, look at what some crazy kids did over in Asia at a local salad bar!

Read all about this wacky trend by clicking on here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/07/29/chinas-skyscraper-salad-bars-salad-bars-as-art/

So there you go, healthy alternative to food stadiums, or better still, make it all!

Being from Seattle, I WILL be incorporating tartar sauce into my Super Sunday, probably with this burger:

Yes, it’s the best Slider recipe in the world! Top your burger with french fries, then a healthy dose of tartar sauce! Top that with a slice of your favorite cheese – mine is provolone, and you have a meal in a bun!

If that is just a “bridge too far”, then follow the example of this amazing food artist and make your own cubed stadium of edible Super Bowl fun! Good luck Seahawks!

Meet Outlaw Chef Brandon Baltzley!

Chefs have gained a reputation as being the new Rock ‘n’ Roll outlaws: culinary renegades, profane and eccentric: Everyone from Marco Pierre White to Gordon Ramsey have gained reputations for their toughness in the kitchen along with their super-sized personalities. Now, it’s time to meet a wildly creative young Chef who reveals the dark side of his life:

“Nine Lives: A Chef’s Journey from Chaos to Control”
by Brandon Baltzley

Chef Brandon Baltzley has written a rough, raw and fascinating look at his life – in kitchens, in relationships, and in a series of addictions – to drugs of all kinds – this is a compelling and unsettling memoir!

Here is what Booklist said:

“Baltzley has a clear passion for food, which will attract readers drawn to the personalities behind the dishes, but his eye-openingly honest account of drug addiction clearly separates his story from most foodie memoirs… After following Baltzley on his breakneck trip through both high-end and middle-of-the-road restaurants across the country, readers will wonder what this unusual chef’s next life will bring.”
—Booklist

But talk about polarizing! A quick glance at the reader reviews on Amazon show a surprising amount of negative reaction to the book…as one reader review stated:

This is one of the worst “memoirs” I have ever read. It doesn’t come across as honest, in the least. And you close the book (if you even finish it) hating the author, not feeling sympathetic to his plights as was intended. It’s a whiney, made-up history from someone desperately clawing his way toward his sophomoric goal of being a “celebrity chef”.

Wow! The book is full of intense stories about addiction, drug use, infidelity – and the readers shared their anger at Chef Baltzley’s story:

“If you like reading about a whining, self-pitying, self-absorbed junkie loser you’ll love this book.”

I will be honest: there are moments in the book when I am frustrated and angry at Baltzley – for throwing away great opportunities, for letting his addictions nearly destroy his life, and for hurting others – but I know all this because he was honest enough to share it! Baltzley is very candid about his drug and alcohol addction, with chilling stories of how far he let his life get out of control…

The Chef’s incendiary prose – and some of the shocking details of his actions – have clearly upset some readers – but the book is honest, candid, and ultimately a story of redemption…

Here’s a great article on Chicago Reader, that takes a great look at this talented Chef:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chef-baltzley-tribute-tmip-alinea-drug-addiction-book/Content?oid=9933952

Baltzley is clearly a talented, creative Chef. It is interesting that his story has polarized food fans – but the book is fascinating, and his current career is certainly interesting…

Here is what he is up to now….it’s called “TMIP” – the new project between Leigh Hansen and Brandon Baltzley to bring a fully sustainable farm and restaurant to a rural setting in the Midwest.

You can read all about this project, plus the myriad of other projects that he is involved with, and see some great videos as well, by clicking on his website here:

http://brandonbaltzley.com/

One of the most interesting parts of the book is related to his work at Chicago’s iconic, 3-Michelin starred Alinea restaurant….

The story of how Baltzley ended up at Alinea is fascinating, and it is equally troubling how it ended as well…here is a picture I took while Chef Achatz was “designing” dessert at the table next to us…

Chef Achatz is a brilliant Chef, and the story Baltzley tells may be one reason some readers are so angry about the book…and another reason to check out “Nine Lives”.

We loved our dinner at Alinea – and you know Alinea was recently in the news for Chef’s tweet about a couple who brought a baby to dinner:

If you want to know about this great restaurant, and see why it’s one of the world’s best restaurants, you can click on my story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2014/01/14/is-alinea-for-kids-chef-grant-achatz-life-on-the-line-a-look-at-adult-food/

And let me know what you think of Chef Brandon Baltzley’s “Nine Lives!”

Need A Drink? How About A Refreshingly Light Bloody Mary?

Let’s begin this “meat and cheese madness”

Personally, I love any drink that also covers your appetizers, main course and dessert! What a wild bloody Mary this is, and it’s just the beginning of my latest roll through the world of wild wild burgers!

Here is what I love about this burger – stuffed to the gills with meat and cheese, with some photo bombing fries alongside! And there’s more!

The “Bonger” Burger!

Thanks to “This Is Why You’re Huge” website, you can enjoy the “Bonger!” It’s a delicious blend of heritage beef burger, topped with a hunk of asian braised pork belly and finished off with a spicy kimchi. Add a big slug of Korean Soju and you are set!

Comedian’s Burger Kills Zombies!

And leave it to the brilliant website “A Hamburger Today” to find this masterpiece:

Here is how “AHT” describes this amazing pile of meat: “In honor of Jim Gaffigan’s sold-out performance in Des Moines today, Zombie Burger is rolling out a new burger called the “Undead Gaffigan.” The burger is a collaboration with the comedian, who visited visited the restaurant in 2012.”

And they are clearly:

Between two thick slices of grilled Texas toast, it features up to five patties (one for each of the comedian’s children), cheddar cheese, bacon, baconnaise, and fried jalapeños—an ingredient that Gaffigan requested because he is a “hot Latina”. The burger starts at $8.49 for a single. With five quarter-pound patties, it’s $16.49.”

All I can say is, “yes please!”

And Here’s A BIG Hello To ’5 GUYS!”

I’m very proud of the fact that, when you do a google search of “wildest burgers”, MY picture of my “5 Guys” burger shows up – and rightly so! Look at that baby! Oh, and look at this one too…

And you can read the entire post by clicking here!

http://johnrieber.com/2012/01/22/worlds-wildest-burgers/

And who can ever forget this masterpiece of “meat and bun”:

Yes, MEAT AND BUN!

I don’t think there can EVER been “too much” when it comes to burgers….but there may be “too much fun with a topping”:

Time to bite down hard!

And just in case you want to get your daily allowance of calories, here’s a burger that will give you 30,000 reasons to love it:

Let me know which one you like best!

Ever Dreamed Of Escaping To Paradise?

Who hasn’t dreamed of this kind of getaway:

Yes, it is hard to see any downside to a day spent here…the gorgeous beaches of Anguilla in the Caribbean…I could spend a lifetime or two looking at this. Maybe I would also sit down at one of Anguilla’s best restaurants – and enjoy a view like this?

Well, if you get the same kind of “wanderlust” I do, then have I found the “great escape” book for you!

A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean by Melinda Blanchard and Robert Blanchard – published in 2000.

This is a fascinating book – not only about escaping the rat race, but escaping to a oasis, and then deciding to open a restaurant there!

This is the true story of “a trip to the beach” that never ends. It’s about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise — and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. As one review put it: “It’s a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea.”

The story begins when Bob and Melinda Blanchard sell their successful Vermont food business and decide, perhaps impulsively, to get away from it all. Why not open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island?

One thing leads to another and the little grill turns into an enchanting restaurant that quickly draws four-star reviews and a celebrity-studded clientele eager for Melinda’s delectable cooking.

And yes, it exists in this paradise of Anguilla…

This great memoir covers it all: the frenetic pace of the Christmas “high season,” the Blanchards and their kitchen staff — Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian — come together like a crack drill team. And even in the midst of hilarious pandemonium, there are moments of bliss.

This book is a terrific adventure, a couple risking everything on a dream – a dream that comes true in one of the world’s most beautiful locations…

And It Tastes As Good As It Looks!

Yes, Anguilla looks like a gorgeous place to escape to, but you have to eat as well. The huge success of Blanchard’s has made their adventure even more fulfilling. Even better, the couple published a cookbook with recipes from their acclaimed restaurant!

“At Blanchard’s Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter), features a delectable combination of Caribbean creations and New England favorites. From Calypso Chicken and Jamaican Jerk Shrimp to Vermont Cheddar Soup and Balsamic-Glazed Veal Chops, the Blanchards draw on a delightful blend of culinary traditions to create truly unique fare…delicious!

Here is a fun, springtime recipe from the book:

Potato Salad with Lime and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Recipe from: At Blanchard’s Table
by Melinda Blanchard, Robert Blanchard

Here is what they share in the book: “We have two lime trees in front of the restaurant, and from them we often get the freshly squeezed lime juice that gives this recipe its punch. It’s good alongside simply grilled meats and barbecued chicken as well as a more elegant leg of lamb. You can also toss in a handful of pitted black olives if you like.”

Servings: 8

3 pounds small new potatoes
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped
1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lime peel
1 medium garlic clove, minced
4 drops Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot, cover the potatoes with lightly salted water and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cook just until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size. Drain and rinse under cold water for a minute or two to stop them from cooking further. Drain well again and allow to cool completely. Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and set aside.

Put the sun-dried tomatoes into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise. Lime juice. lime peel, garlic, Tabasco, salt, pepper, and parsley, and whisk to blend.

Toss the potatoes with enough dressing to coat. Serve cold or at room temperature.

I am going to make this dish and imagine that I am dining at Blanchards – and in the meantime, I’m going to plan a trip to Anguilla to see this beauty for myself!

Behold Some Of The World’s Greatest Architecture – And Art!

Yes, one of the most mesmerizing images you will ever find – staring at Anton Gaudi’s incredible artwork – located on the roof of an apartment building in downtown Barcelona!

Welcome To Barcelona!

I have posted about our food adventures in Barcelona, but there is so much more to Barcelona than food! It is a beautiful city, perched on the edge of the Mediterranean:

Exploring The Old Town…

The city has a beautifully preserved old town section, which means you can wander small alleyways that haven’t changed much since the middle ages….

These streets cut through old town Barcelona, a beautifully preserved reminder of an earlier time…we had a great time wandering through the narrow alleyways…

After wandering the city for hours, we made our way to what many feel is Barcelona’s greatest masterpiece…and it is still under construction!

Behold The Sagrada Famiglia!

Barcelona is a city full of energy – and art – and every day was a day of new discovery: but perhaps nothing was more amazing to us than the famous, massive construction project known as “Sagrada Famiglia” – under construction for more than 100 years!

Here is the view from Park Montjuic, miles away – which gives you some idea of just how massive this project is…

The “Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família” is a large Roman Catholic church that was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926).

After construction of Sagrada Família began in 1882, the famed Artchitect/Artist Anton Gaudí became involved in 1883 and devoted the rest of his life to the project – and never came CLOSE to seeing it completed!

Gaudi died in 1926 at age 73, less than a quarter of the way through the massive project. According to wikipedia, “Sagrada Família’s construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s.

As you can see, the structure is still under construction, but that doesn’t take away from its beauty. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with an anticipated completion date of 2026, the centenary of Gaudí’s death.”

It gives you an idea of just how massive it is – almost impossible to capture the size and scale when you are standing outside. Across the street is a large park for gathering and trying to get a picture that truly captures the magnitude of the structure…

What’s fantastic is that you can actually go inside and climb up it while it is being built! Here is a look inside the massive cathedral…

It is one of those buildings that is truly impossible to capture on camera – it is just too massive, but here is what you see when you look up into the cathedral ceiling:

As you can see, the cathedral floor is also massive…and there are a series of beautiful altars in the cathedral that you can walk by – and places to sit and reflect as well:

and then, there is the piece of artwork that functions as a massive religious statement:

Time to climb up into the towers – here is Alex looking out of the Sagrada – with old town Barcelona staring back…

As you climb the towers, you come across all sorts of amazing artwork and stone along the way…

And of course, you can see Barcelona through all of the construction as well…

You make your way along small walkways, high above Barcelona, until you reach the far side of the towers…

And then it is time to head back down the narrow staircase…

Did I say narrow? Well, it’s steep too!

Once you are back outside, you can really marvel at the amazing artwork on the outside of the towers…

Describing Sagrada Família, art critic Rainer Zerbst said, “It is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art”[12] and Paul Goldberger called it, “The most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages.”[13]

Back To Casa Mila!

Remember these guys?

I will be telling their story soon! We had such a great time in Spain, and one of our friends gifted us this great book called “Gaudi Pop-Ups:

It is complete with, you guessed it, pop up versions of some of his amazing work!

Remember the Sagrada Famiglia? How about “pop up” style:

And my favorite: the rooftop helmets take on a whole new dimension:

This was just one part of our incredible Spain adventure…if you missed any of those stories, here is what we did:

Check out the incredible Boqueria, Barcelona’s world famous food market…you can click on that story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/06/12/barcelonas-famous-boqueira-food-stalls-tapas-hanging-ham/

If that makes you hungry, then come along with us for some Tapas!

Here we are outside the world famous Cal Pep restaurant. You can see our entire menu by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/05/20/barcelona-tapas-cal-pep-the-battle-for-tapas-supremacy/

Many consider Cal Pep the best tapas restaurant in Barcelona – but the great Chefs at Passadis del Pep may disagree!

You can read about our food adventure at Passadis by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/05/22/passadis-del-pep-barcelonas-tapas-king-spains-tapas-battle-continues/

And of course, you can see all of our Barcelona trip by jumping on one of their high flying aerial trams!

Get the entire journey, with some fun aerial videos, by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/08/08/barcelonas-sky-high-view-flying-over-spain-by-tram/

And of course, you can read all about our adventure on the Costa Brava, especially as we searched for Salvador Dali’s house! Click here for that misadventure:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/11/02/searching-for-salvadore-dali-our-costa-brava-adventure-hello-dali/

At the end of the day, it was one of our favorite adventures ever, thanks Spain!

And thanks to Barcelona for such an amazing architectural adventure!

Tokyo! Probably the greatest city in the world for sushi, right?

Sure, But Tokyo Has Great Spam Burgers Too!

In a world where advertising is everything, how can you resist a colorful and delicious burger like this?

I love Tokyo, everyone knows that. And I love the food, especially incredibly fresh sushi like this from the Tsukiji fish market:

I ate sushi in several of the food stalls that ring the fish market, serving the freshest fish at 6a – yes, I love sushi for breakfast! Even though no one speaks a word of english, I sat down and managed to enjoy incredible yellowtail and uni first thing in the morning…

Even better, I loved wandering through the fish market, where negotiations were underway for some of the most beautiful tuna I had ever seen…

And signs were everywhere offering up an endless array of fish and sushi – but since I couldn’t understand any of it, I just had to point and pray…and it always worked out well for me…

Tokyo’s Food Ads!

I love how colorful the ad are in Japan, even if I had no idea what they said, you could tell what they were selling! And these great ads weren’t limited to just sushi…that’s right, the japanese ads for fast food hamburgers are even better!

I honestly don’t know if it’s the uniquely beautiful lettering, or the combination of japanese characters and food together, but I see ads like these and they make me hungry…

This is, without a doubt, colorful and compelling imagery – speaking the universal language of BURGER…

And as usual for Japan, even a hamburger can run off into new and – shall we say UNIQUE – directions on a moment’s notice!

Sure, I’d eat a spaghetti burger if it had cool japanese writing underneath it – wouldn’t you? You may recognize some of these ads – since I have written about the magnificent Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria, which offers up many unique burgers for Tokyo meat lovers…

Tokyo’s Amazing “Build-A-Burger”!!

Here is the greatest ad for a Lotteria burger – a burger that allows YOU to build your own burger!

Here’s the deal: Lotteria’s offering a burger that allows customers to add their own extra fixings to their burger. The ad above offers up quite the tower of great ingredients…of course, our friends at RocketNews24 got something a bit more, well, NORMAL when they ordered one…

It’s “The Zennose!”

Still, the PROMISE of the ad is inspiring – this new Lotteria burger is called “the zennose”:

According to RocketNews24, “when the chain started hanging posters in its restaurants showing something called the “zennose” burger (literally the burger with everything on it), even some employees weren’t entirely sure Lotteria was serious. ‘This isn’t really an official menu item. It’s just something we could make if customers asked us to,’ one worker commented.”

So, what if you ordered the “Zennose”? Well, here is what you would get:

Regular beef patty
Additional patty with cheese
Shrimp cutlet
Rib patty
Bacon
Sliced cheese
Spicy mayonnaise
Regular mayonnaise
Tartar sauce
Ketchup
Teriyaki sauce
One egg, soft-boiled
Cabbage
Lettuce
Pickles

Yep, that is one stacked burger!

And of course, let’s not forget this classic from the folks at Lotteria:

Yep, it’s an “Osaka Burger!” Read all about this pink-sauced delight by clicking on my story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/08/22/osaka-burgers-lotteria-okonomiyaki-burger-more-japan-burger-madness/

It’s one of many burger monstrosities I have written about – and when it comes to Lotteria, the word “monstrosity” is a compliment – I LOVE what they do to burgers!

I mean, they are the ones who started the ramen burger craze…read all about that right here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/05/16/wacky-ramen-burgers-crazy-japanese-burger-menu-east-meets-west-with-video/

And of course, you have to go to Japan if you want to bite down hard on this:

I LOVE THAT AD! Congrats once again to Lotteria for keeping our burgers stacked high!

Yes, the folks at Lotteria love to make outrageous burgers, and they love outrageous ads as well – like this one for their “Wild Burger!”

Not to be outdone, the folks at McDonald’s have done some wacky things worldwide when it comes to advertising their food, such as:

The McKroket!

That’s right: in The Netherlands, you can get a burger that swaps out the beef patty for a ground beef and potato croquette, with tartar sauce spread on top….rejoice!

And how about France:

The CroqueMcDo!

Their version of a croque monsieur, melted cheese and bread and meat…sacre bleu!

And of course, here is the greatest ad of all time for McDonald’s all-singing, all-dancing ode to:

The McDLT!

That’s right, the infamous ad that promised a burger concoction that would keep “the hot side hot, the cold side cold!”

You can see the classic ad with Jason Alexander by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/08/29/singing-about-burgers-hot-v-cold-jason-alexanders-mcdlt-blues/

I might just watch it while biting down on a Lotteria of my own creation!

And of course, I also posted this picture of my daughter Jessica and her reaction to a burger ad we saw on the streets of Tokyo:

Behold The Iconic Hot Dog!

It’s a weiner in a bun, that much we know…but it is also so much more…such a BLT dog…

Or perhaps a hot dog served at a McDonald’s in Asia…

And speaking of Asia, there is even a “fish” hot dog for sale there…

Yes, the world of the hot dog is full of mystery and surprise…but:

The World Of Hot Dog Cooking Is About To Change Forever!

Sure, our minds were blown when we saw a bacon-wrapped hot dog being cooked on a street corner in Seoul, South Korea:

And of course, the “spiral” dog took hot dog cookery to an entirely NEW, TWISTY level of hot doggery:

RocketNews24 Strikes AGAIN!

Leave it to the masterminds at the website “RocketNews24″ to find a new, utterly amazing hot dog cooking technique:

The Spaghetti Hot Dog!

Here is how RocketNews24 got interested in pursuing hot dog mania:

“For thousands of years the human race has been plagued by pasta toppings. Cheeses, sauces and spices were fine but bulkier toppings like mushrooms or sausage would often tumble to the bottom of the bowl or dish leaving a pile of cold mush at the end. All that time we have search for a way to achieve fusion between topping and pasta but to no avail.”

As you can see, the Writers at RocketNews24 were perplexed….until:

“But now, a daring scientist discovered that if one were to gather several dry pieces of spaghetti, they can successfully penetrate the hotdog matrix. Hotdogs have long been the first choice of fusion topping since they could cook in boiling water during the same time as the pasta!”

Ok folks, this is brilliant! Because, IF you can thread a hot dog with strand of spaghetti – and by the look from the photo – WHY CAN’T YOU? - then, you can take a hot dog and infuse it with spaghetti to come up with this!

I mean, this is GENIUS! Congrats to the RocketNews24 folks for more food greatness!

The Eternal Question: What Makes A Great Burger?

It’s a question for the ages, and guess what? There’s an amazing new webiste trying to give us the answer…answers like THIS – THE PICKLEBACK!

Just read the ingredients listed by this amazing burger portrait – a work of art. And this isn’t just for meat lovers: you will NEVER be able to turn a burger down because you are vegetarian – because look at their veggie masterpiece!

You know what, I could eat a burger for every meal of the day – and now I can…

How About THIS For Breakfast!

A breakfast burger for the ages! Here is how the website describe their breakfast masterpiece:

“If you’re anything like me, you start your weekends extremely high (…on life) and extremely hungry. Well, this morning glory combines all of my breakfast binging necessities – something sweet, something savory, caffeine… and a WHOLE lot of bacon. Sandwiched between two warm and freshly glazed apple fritters, sits a maple bacon-wrapped beef patty, draped with melty cheddar cheese, and drizzled with a caffeinated maple, espresso syrup. Munchie devils begone!”

Time to honor the masterminds at my new favorite website: “Pornburger.me!”

As you can see, that is a beautiful burger image and a memorable description of an incredible burger – all due to this burger lover’s website!

Behold Pornburgers!

I came across this amazing website with incredible burger pics and recipes like
this!

Behold The “Melon Monroe” Burger!

Talk about amazing looking burgers! This website floored me when I viewed burger after burger – I mean, who can come up with this stuff – and by “stuff”, I mean THIS!

“Cali-CORN-Ication!”

Welcome To The World Of “PornBurgers!”

Yes, there’s a food lover’s website that you have to try – “PornBurger!”

The site showcases an incredible burger, and each photo comes with a detailed explanation of the burger, plus a fun writeup that will just make you hungrier!

It’s all part of this terrific website – that you need to click on and bookmark right now:

http://pornburger.me

The site has a ton of great recipes, absolutely gorgeous photos, and fun commentary – it is one of my new favorite sites! Make sure you link to this on social media now! Congrats to the creatively amazing minds at “Pornburger!”

For those who think I’ve neglected bacon, I have a question:

“Are You Hungry? Then Bite Down Hard On This!”

Yes, I LOVE BACON! Special thanks to @melissacocomias on Twitter for sending me this picture! A bacon taco is just the way to make a day better! And it’s just the beginning of my “bacon love” special!

You Are “Bacon” Me Crazy!

In an online world full of headlines, captions, and just all around “noise”, there is something about the “purity” of bacon love that cuts through it all…I mean, how much happier would we all be going through the day like this:

“Bacon, Do You Say ‘I Do’?”

One couple showed their love of bacon the only way you can – by getting married to it!

Did you hear about the couple who got married at a “Big Bite Bacon Fest?” They walked down a bacon-printed carpet to the altar, the bride carrying a bacon bouquet and the groom wore a bacon boutonniere. And of course, the bridesmaids had bacon roses!

The wedding guests celebrated by tossing bacon bits instead of rice, and they served a bacon-themed wedding cake! Here is the happy couple cutting the cake…

Congrats to this happy couple for coming up with a unique wedding ceremony!

CLEARLY YOU LOVE BACON TOO!

C’mon, admit it, as much as I love bacon, and that couple loves bacon, you love bacon too…so let’s all grab a stack of bacon and bite down hard like this guy!!

Bacon Bacon Bacon!

To honor this iconic taste sensation, let’s look at some of the latest and most unique ways bacon is being “utilized”:

First, an instruction chart on how to use bacon properly:

See, if you follow these instructions you’ll never be unhappy again! FYI, if you google the phrase “bacon products”, you get 1.2 MILLION options.

1.2 MILLION Bacon Options!

That’s A LOT of bacon. Still, most are more traditional uses of bacon, like this bacon cheeseburger:

And some take that idea and, shall we say, “tweak it” a bit – leading to a “Bacon Cube Burger!”

But bacon can do so much more…it can take the ordinary, like meatloaf, and make it EXTRAORDINARY:

Bacon Meatloaf – With Mac’n’Cheese Filling!

It’s surprisingly easy to do: just make two small meatloafs, connect them with a center of mac ‘n’ cheese, wrap them up in bacon and bake! What you see is what you’ll eat, and how can you argue with THAT?!?!

I think I need a cup of coffee to calm myself down…

Bacon Coffee!

What better way to open your eyes in the morning! A hot fresh cup of bacon would certainly open my eyes…and if it was after a night of fun, I might need this instead:

Bacon Drink Tablets! OK, this is the way to combat a hangover – and have instant liquid bacon refreshment! I am sold on this!

But remember that bacon is more than just a meal – it’s a dessert too!

Behold A Bacon Pie!

OK, Bacon pie is not exactly a “pie” – in fact, there is no “pie” involved, only bacon. And cheese. And more bacon. The bacon pie is a giant slab of weaved bacon, a ton of cheese and bacon strips, and another giant slab of weaved bacon.

Wait, that sounds like a great dessert to me! And now, the “bacon” tributes:

The Bacon-Turtle Burger!

Thanks to our friends at GrubGrade.com, I can show you how they spent their Memorial Day – with this bacon-y masterpiece – a “bacon and hot dog” mashup that resembles a turtle!

It’s a full pound of ground beef, stuffed with hot dogs and wrapped in bacon. Yes please!

And of course, if you really want to try a unique bacon recipe:

Make Your Own Bacon Jello!

I shared this before, an incredible method of making bacon jello! I don’t know if I’ll ever try it, but if it appeals to you, then here is the step-by-twisted-step how to do this, just click on the link here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/12/09/bacon-jello-bacon-cheeseburger-cakes-boozy-bacon-and-egg-jello-darth-vader-shots/

And don’t forget, Bacon isn’t just for consuming….

Hats Off To Bacon!

Yes, I found this picture on the web, and it will always be one of my favorites…I also worked with a creative team once that was using bacon as part of their TV show, and Sara Underwood was brave enough to don a bacon bikini….

Thanks Sara for stepping up for a great cause – bacon! And since I have a mustache, there is even a bacon product for me!

I can at the very least remember these important words:

Let me know if you agree!

Here’s To A Tasty Celebration Of Mobster Meals!

Time to bite into the greatest film ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”…and it’s also time to enjoy one of Martin Scorsese’s finest achievements as well…

Aside from being two of the greatest movies ever made, they both deal with the Mob – gangsters who lived large, and ate well too!

TIME FOR SOME DINNER IN A MOVIE, MOB STYLE!

Behold Clemenza’s Meatballs!

Not only is “The Godfather” the greatest movie ever made, but it is chock full of food – family meals, wedding cakes, executions that take place in a diner that serves “the best veal”…food as part of life, and death. For example, Don Corleone’s daughter Connie makes a meal for her obnoxious husband, who announced that he’ll eat out later – you know, with his mistress…

Connie goes into a fit and flings the dinnerware around the house, causing her husband to beat her…what we find out later is that this was instigated for one reason: to lure Sonny out of his compound, and to one of the many iconic death scenes in the movie: at the toll booth.

Time To “Go To The Mattresses!”

When the five families start their mob war, they go “to the mattresses”, which means they all sleep in one place to be ready for battle at any time. Clemenza teaches Mikey how to make Sunday sauce for this house full of guys…here is the scene, and the recipe – first, the scene from the movie, courtesy of “The Godfather” blu-ray!

And here is that recipe again, courtesy of Clemenza:

“Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn’t stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh? And a little bit o’ wine. An’ a little bit o’ sugar, and that’s my trick.”

Let’s Get Cooking!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
1 (10-ounce) or 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
1 pound cooked meatballs (use your favorite recipe)
Dry red wine
¼ cup sugar
Hot cooked pasta

First, take whatever ground meat you like and add some fresh minced garlic and onion, plus some italian herbs….roll those into meatballs and sear them off in a pan…now, make the sauce.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes; do not let the garlic burn. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistency is reached.

Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar, according to taste. As you can see, Clemenza is very serious about making a good meal for his men…

Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

And whatever you do, don’t insult the head of the family when it comes time to eat:

The Godfather – “Dinner IN A Movie!”

So, make the meatballs, put in the movie’s special edition blu-ray, and enjoy!

With that iconic “Gordfather” image in mind, let’s visit Martin Scorsese’s world of gangsters – who are just as hungry as Coppola’s boys!

“Goodfellas Garlic!”

Yes, there really is a style of cooking pasta known as “Goodfellas Garlic thin!”

“Goodfellas thin”: The unofficial measurement of a slice of garlic cut extremely thin using a razor blade.

In 1990, Scorsese teamed up with Robert DeNiro to tell the story of Henry Hill, the young kid who worked his way up through the mob hierarchy, only to see it all fall apart.

Ray Liotta is brilliant as the young mobster, and DeNiro plays James Conway, the guy who helps Hill get into the mob, only to betray him in an effort to save himself.

Joe Pesci won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of psycho gangster Tommy DeVito – I have included the infamous “but I’m funny HOW?” dialogue at the end of this post, one of the film’s many iconic moments.

Scorsese’s Mom Cooked For Them!

Scorsese’s mother, Catherine Scorsese, plays Tommy’s mother. She and the cast ad-libbed the dinner scene. Scorsese’s father, Charles Scorsese, plays the prisoner who puts too many onions in the tomato sauce…the prison scene that introduced America to the “Goodfellas thin” slicing of the garlic!

The term is a reference to the famous scene in which lead character Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) describes in detail how mob boss Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino) prepared dinner while in prison:

“In prison, dinner was always a big thing. We had a pasta course, then we had a meat or a fish. Paulie was doing a year for contempt and had a wonderful system for garlic. He used a razor and sliced it so thin it would liquefy in the pan with a little oil. It’s a very good system.”

Here is the scene:

How can you not love that?

Here is the three-meat meatball (just like Goodfellas “Veal, beef and pork… you gotta have the pork.”) recipe to try at home:

First, slice the garlic “Goodfellas thin!”

Meatballs a la Goodfellas

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic, sliced razor thin then minced
2 eggs
1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 cups stale Italian bread, crumbled
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 cup olive oil

Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold it’s shape if rolled into meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water). Shape into meatballs.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.)

Place cooked meatballs into Marinara Sauce and cook for 15 more minutes.

There you have it, Meatballs ala Goodfellas….the best “dinner in a movie” you will ever have!

Thomas Keller’s Ratatouille!

Oh, and if your movie food hunger hasn’t been satiated, try THIS!

Yep, click on my story about Chef Thomas Keller’s ‘Ratatouille” recipe!

http://johnrieber.com/2013/06/29/ratatouille-chef-thomas-kellers-recipe-for-animated-food-magic/

Let me know what you think!

Celebrate The 4th With Some Burger Fireworks In Your Mouth!

Yes, those ARE french fries wedged into this wonderful slider – and I will explain later why it was such a GREAT IDEA – because this 4th of July, it’s time to celebrate with the world’s best sliders!

If you have a taste for a “sliderific” holiday weekend, you can bite down hard right here!

Calling All Burger Lovers!

Celebrate this holiday weekend with SLIDERS!

I love holidays! Cooking burgers is one reason, grilling sliders is another. Look at how good this is, a perfectly composed slider getting a big assist from my best friend, BACON:

And this year, you can begin the day with a slider as well – that’s right, I plan to celebrate my 4th of July with sliders morning noon and night!

Sliders For Breakfast Lunch And Dinner!

I will share more of this breakfast magic in a moment, but first, let’s dive right into the delicious world of the “mini-burger” with my personal favorite:

The French Fry Burger!

That’s right, it’s a slider held together with french fries and tartar sauce!

DO NOT JUDGE UNTIL YOU’VE BITTEN DOWN ON THIS MASTERPIECE YOURSELF!

It’s so simple: just make a slider as usual, but put NOTHING on it but fries, cheese and tartar sauce – BOOM! If this is bridge too far for you, here are some of my favorite slider recipes – a classic all-american and some with an international flair!

A Worldwide Slider Celebration!

The key to an international slider is what flavors the basic hamburger patty. Your basic hamburger uses good quality ground beef with at least 15% fat content, to ensure lots of juicy flavor. I mix in raw minced onion and minced garlic, with salt, pepper as well.

That’s it for me – upon this temple of meat flavor, I add unique ingredients that give my sliders an international flavor…here are some of my favorite recipes!

Spanish Sliders – Hamburguesa!

Let’s get started with Spain, since I just got back from Barcelona…this is a great example of taking a regular burger and giving it an international feel…using some of the special spanish flavors to give the burger a catalonian flavor!

Begin by cooking the burger first with Manchego cheese (a sheep’s milk cheese from the La Mancha region in Spain) and Jamón Iberico, (Iberico ham – prosciutto-like ham that comes from Spanish black pigs). Then, top the burger with olive tapenade…you can find recipes for making it, or you can buy it in a jar, but it includes black olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Take a bite and you will wake up in Barcelona…

Korean Kimchi Barbecue Sliders

When I was in Seoul, we ate every night at a korean BBQ, where you grill your own meat and seafood on the round grill embedded in your table, then wrap the grilled food around lettuce or thinly sliced pickled vegetables. Taking that as an inspiration, Korean sliders are best when you add pickled cucumbers, a splash of rice vinegar and kimchi.

As you can see, it’s all about how you season your burger patty – and there’s a world of great flavor to enjoy!

Japanese Wasabi-Avocado Slider!

I read about this over the holidays and I made one…it was delicious! It is very simple: a slider patty topped with sliced avocado, and a heavy dose of wasabi mayonaise. Trader Joe’s sells it, or buy some great mayo and wasabi and mix it together to the strength you can handle…this is delicious with a Sapporo! One last look….trust me, MAKE THIS ONE!

The Sriracha Burger!

Wasabi not powerful enough for you? Well, THIS will do the trick:

This is a GREAT idea…the recipe is from the terrific “Serious Eats” website!

3 pounds ground beef (preferably chuck, 80/20)
1/4 cup soy sauce
10 tablespoons Sriracha
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 slices thick-cut bacon
2 large sweet onions
3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
8 sesame seed buns
8 thick slices Swiss cheese
1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
Arugula or romaine lettuce

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of the Sriracha, and the pepper.

Cook the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, peel and quarter the onions. Once the bacon is cooked through and slightly crispy, remove the slices from the pan, reserving the remaining bacon fat in the pan. Cook the sliced onions in the bacon fat over medium-low heat until they caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes.

Grill the burgers. While the burgers are cooking, in a small bowl, combine the blue cheese dressing with the remaining 5 tablespoons Sriracha. Lightly toast the buns on the grill during the last minute of cooking time.

To assemble, spread the blue cheese mixture on both halves of each hamburger bun. Stack a burger patty, Swiss cheese slice, bacon, caramelized onions, tomato slice, and a small handful of arugula between each hamburger bun.

Bam!

Australian Sliders!

I uncovered these two years ago in Melbourne. They add a slice of beetroot underneath the burger. It adds a great, slightly nutty flavor to the slider. Look at how beautiful that big chunk looks on the burger above…Everything else is the same – add cheddar cheese, tomato, lettuce if you like – and if you want to go totally Aussie, add a fried egg on top….the best!

Now, if you REALLY want to get creative, throw the concept of a slider out the window altogether!

THE CHEESEBURGER SUB!

From The White House Sub shop in Atlantic City, I got this delicious cheeseburger sub – it’s a cheeseburger on a sub sandwich roll…easy to do and a fun change of pace!

The All-American Bacon-Cheeseburger Slider!

What can you say? After a trip around the world, it’s nice to come home and have an all-american slider…made vertically like so:

Top Bun
Cheese – melted and dripping
Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!
Slider Patty
Tomato
Pickle
Mayonaise, mayonaise, mayonaise!
Bottom Bun

See that? DO NOT DEVIATE – this is perfection.

Or, if you are just in the mood for a burger that will drive you NUTS…or perhaps you don’t want a burger at all, well here’s the answer!

The Vegetarian Nut Burger!

The Nut Burger was made famous at Matt’s Place Drive-In in Butte, Montana. Matt’s Place Drive-In was established in 1930.

And, in honor of vegetarians who have chosen to read this post, there is a great “no meat” burger waiting for you!

“No Meat” Nut Burgers!

1 medium onion
1 cup walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews or other nuts, preferably raw
1 cup (raw) rolled oats or cooked short-grain white or brown rice
2 tablespoons ketchup, miso, tomato paste, nut butter or tahini
1 teaspoon chili powder or any spice mix you like
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg

2 tablespoons peanut oil, extra virgin olive oil or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn.

1. Grind onion in food processor. Add nuts and oats, and pulse to chop, but not too finely. Add remaining ingredients except oil. Process briefly; don’t grind too finely. Add a little liquid — water, stock, soy sauce, wine, whatever — if necessary; mixture should be moist but not loose.

2. Let mixture rest a few minutes, then shape it into 4 burgers. (Burger mixture or shaped burgers can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to a day. Bring back to room temperature before cooking.) Put oil in nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet and turn to medium. When oil is hot, add burgers to skillet. Cook about 5 minutes, undisturbed, until browned, then turn with spatula. Lower heat a bit and cook 3 or 4 minutes more, until firm.

This is good enough to satisfy meat eaters, too!

WHAT THE – ???!!???

What do you think of THIS? My daughter Jessica poses in front of the ad for the “Green Peas Pachislo Burger” in Tokyo…we don’t know what it was, and didn’t bother to find out, but we loved the ad!

Jessica sent me a list of sliders being made by an innovative food truck in Seattle. Look at some of these variations on a slider!

Curb Jumper Classic Cheese Slider

Certified Angus Beef, Melted Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Roma Tomato, Red Onion,
Spring Mix with Roasted Garlic Aioli.

Shrooom Slider

Certified Angus Beef, Melted Provolone Cheese, Sauted Crimini Mushrooms,
Caramelized Sweet Onions, Spring Mix, Roma Tomato and Spicy Mustard Aioli

Southwest Turkey Slider

Handmade and spiced Turkey Patties, Melted Pepper Jack Cheese, Roasted Anaheim Peppers,
Cumin- Cilantro Slaw, Frizzled Onions with a Chipotle Aioli.

Salmon Slider

Handmade Salmon Patties, Frizzled Onions, Spring Mix, Roma Tomato with a Lemon Pepper Aioli

And remember, if all else fails:

White Castle To The Rescue!

And when in doubt, grab a dozen White Castle sliders and dress them up with some of the above flavors – talk about happy holidays!

MAKING THE “WHITE CASTLE BREAKFAST SLIDER!”

And now you can start your day with a great breakfast slider thanks to White Castle!

Look at how delicious this is – and it’s so so easy!

First, take two sliders out of their frozen hell and microwave them for a minute…as far as the White Castle part of this recipe is concerned, this is the toughest part of the preparation….

As your sliders are busy microwaving, put a single egg in a pan, with a bit of olive oil…adding salt and pepper to your personal taste…

Next, take your two White Castle sliders out of the microwave, open them up and lay down a line of Mayonaise…yes, it tastes great and you can buy lowfat or olive oil-based versions – remember mayo and aioli come from condiment heaven…

As the egg cooks, break the yolk and then flip the egg over…let it cook for a minute and then slit it down the middle, separate the two pieces and let both pieces finish cooking…i like mine a bit runny, so I can taste the runny yolk, but do what you need to do – it’s your egg…

CONTINUE CONSTRUCTING YOUR BREAKFAST BITES!

When your egg is finished cooking, slide those two pieces onto the top of your waiting White Castle cheeseburger sliders…breakfast is served!

“WHITE CASTLE BREAKFAST SLIDERS!”

And there you go, a 380-calorie wonder!

Once you take a bite you will understand that THIS is a great way to start the day – and not bad for you, either!

Let me know if you try any of these and how they turn out! Thanks!

A French Laundry XX Party!

Time to celebrate twenty (XX) years of greatness, thanks to Chef Thomas Keller and the legendary French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, California!

20 Years Of Incredible Food!

It began twenty years ago when a former “french laundry” in Yountville California – which had been turned into a restaurant years earlier – became the home to a food revolution…beginning with a “cone of salmon”…

And ending with a small token acknowledging your visit…a clothespin with the restaurant’s logo:

In between these two moments is a dinner that involves more than a dozen dishes – culinary “works of art” – each more beautifully presented than the one before…courtesy of a Chef who helped define “fine dining” in America in the 90′s…

Time To Celebrate The French Laundry!

Chef Thomas Keller opened The French Laundry in Yountville, California on July 6, 1994, and in the twenty years since, he has won every culinary award there is to win, including being named “The World’s Best Restaurant” in 2004 by Restaurant Magazine!

Time To Celebrate The French Laundry!

My wife Alex and I were lucky enough to spend July 4, 2014 at The French Laundry for a special 20th anniversary dinner – and we attended the huge “XX” celebration the next night!

We were greeted in the courtyard with a flute of twenty-year-old champagne – presented by an amazing staff that includes Michael, Larry, Olivia, Lauren and Gillaume among many others! And Chef Keller was there to greet everyone as well, before we were taken in for the meal of a lifetime – and Chef Keller was cooking that night alongside his team, including French Laundry’s Chef de Cuisine David Breeden…

Our Special “XX” Menu Begins!

Once seated, we are given an introduction from Chef Keller, in which he explains his philosophy behind the restaurant…

A “XX” Celebration Of The French Laundry’s Greatest Hits!

The night’s menu is a “greatest hits” collection of signature dishes that the restaurant has served at various times in its twenty year history. As always, you have a clothespin waiting for you, but tonight it has a different logo:

You are always served a gougere first: a french cheese puff filled with a warm, liquid cheese center…

Then comes the restaurant’s “signature” amuse bouche: Chef Thomas Keller’s individually wrapped cone of salmon and creme fraiche, almost like two arms welcoming you to the meal!

Next is, for me, the single greatest dish he has created:

“Oysters And Pearls”

This incredibly rich dish is a Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar…the oysters are the size of dimes and poached, with a briny smoothness that matches perfectly with the caviar…it has always been our favorite…we took a quick break to grab a picture on the terrace outside….

Next Up:

“Salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Peach Palm”

This is a salad of Brentwood Corn, Garden Radishes, Pickled Chanterelle Mushrooms and Wild Purslane – perfectly composed as a quarter moon…

The first fish course is a TFL classic:

“Atlantic Skate ‘Poelee’”

The skate has been wrapped and served with Carmelized Savoy Cabbage and Whole Grain Mustard Emulsion

Our next course is anything but:

“Peas And Carrots”

What a misnomer! A Pea Tendril salad with sweet carrot butter is joined on the plate by butter poached Maine Lobster! Sous Vide Lobster is one of Keller’s signature achievements, and the combination of pea tendril and sweet carrot butter is a knockout…

I did mention we were drinking wine the entire time, right?

Another note: the table was beautifully set, and as it grew darker outside, the setting came to life even more…

Cue The Truffles!

Dinner stops for a moment as Olivia arrives with a box – of Australian truffles…

And then you are delivered this dome…and underneath:

“Degustation De Pommes De Terre”

The dome is lifted and you get a Ragout of Garden Potatoes, Romaine Lettuce, Strauss Butter – oh, and Shaved Australian Black Winter Truffle!

Your plate is literally covered with shaved truffles…but those amazingly delicious potatoes are still underneath – with a richness almost impossible to describe…and the hits just kept on coming:

“Wildflower Honey Lacquered Liberty Farm Pekin Duck”

Yes, a honey lacquered duck breast with Poached Brooks Cherries, Garden Turnips, “foie de Canard” and Watercress – and the “foie” was shaved on like a truffle!

I apologize for the dimness of the pics, but I don’t use a flash ever inside a restaurant, and I always ask permission to photograph the dishes as well…The French Laundry has no problem with pics, just no flash…so you have to imagine just how amazing this tastes!

Time now for:

“Charcoal Grilled Snake River Farms ‘Calotte De Boeuf’”

Yes, a delicious ‘calotte de boeuf”, served with Crispy Bone Marrow that looks like a tater tot, Garden Beans, Oregon Cepes and “Blanquette de Champignons”

Time to slide into dessert mode, with a short stop for some cheese:

“Cateau De Bleu D’Auvergne”

Stewed Blueberries, English Walnuts and Cutting Celery

Next is a light palate cleansing dessert:

“Strawberries And Cream”

Mascarpone Sherbet with Tellicherry Black Peppercorn and Strawberry Syrup

Now it’s time for a gorgeous dish:

“ile Flottante”

This is a delicious Tahitian Vanilla Bean “Creme Anglaise”, Poached Swiss Merangue, Valrhona Chocolate “Cremeux” and Spun Sugar – a gilded cage of flavor!

Well, an incredible meal ends on a delicious high note…oh wait…just moments after we think we are done…one of the restaurant’s most iconic menu items arrives:

Surprise Dessert – “Coffee And Doughnuts!”

Yes, fresh warm doughnut holes are delivered, along with a cup of “Coffee” – coffee ice cream!

What a great way to end the meal – oh, then they bring around:

“Mignardises”

These incredible bites are filled with cognac, peanut butter and jelly, salted caramel – which ever ones you choose, it is a mouthful of delight!

Dinner is done – more than 3 hours after we started!

We were given a copy of our menu, signed by Chef…

And then we had the chance to step into the kitchen to see the team in action – and to have a picture taken with Chef Keller:

The French Laundry’s XX Anniversary Celebration Continues!

On July 5, the main street through Yountville was closed so that The French Laundry could celebrate with 500 of their closest friends!

Yes, a “XX” Ice Sculpture, free flowing Champagne – and cups of caviar for everyone! The sculpture not only kept the champagne cold, it held little glass bowls of caviar and custard – topped with crispy onion!

A Foodie Celebration!

Five hundred guests mingled and sampled a wide array of food – everything from sausages in pretzel rolls and homemade ketchup and mustard, with a sweet corn relish…

And continuing on to fresh crudite stands, which makes sense as the French Laundry garden is just across the street from the restaurant…

There were also charcuterie stations, as well as a raw bar with shrimp and oysters…

Yep, they had popcorn dispensers surrounding the party as well – and passed appetizers as well…including those amazing salmon cones from dinners, now in three different versions!

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches With Bacon – And Truffle!

That’s right, they set up grilled cheese stations, with one sandwich holding bacon, another truffle!

Chef Keller Speaks!

After 90 minutes of eating and sipping, it was time for Chef Keller to take the stage:

After an inspiring speech, Chef Keller mingled with guests, including famed Chef Daniel Boulud:

And then it was time to dance! The band kicked into party mode, and the rest of the night was for having more fun!

Chef Keller’s Team!

Kudos to the entire Thomas Keller restaurant group – simply the best in the business! Here is the video that Chef Keller posted to celebrate all of the incredible team members who have been part of the restaurant’s success!

What a great night of celebration, and thanks to the entire French Laundry team for a true night to remember! Here’s to twenty more years of food memories!

Cook The Laundry At Home!

And of course, if you want to take on some of these culinary challenges at home, buy the cookbook, written with terrific food Author Michael Ruhlman! Read all about it by clicking on that story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/03/01/best-books-about-food-pt-3/

Congrats to Chef Thomas Keller, and his entire French Laundry team!

It’s National Hot Dog Day 2014!

Yes, today is the day to celebrate encased meat in a bun! So, for the next 24 hours you get to dig into anything that looks like THIS:

Sure, on a national holiday like this, you will always find those who take it to the extreme…but isn’t that what food is all about?

Hot Dog Shocker!

But while most of America celebrates, there is one city that is still reeling from a hot dog shocker! Here is the “tale o’ the pup”:

Welcome to Hot Doug’s! The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium!

First, you gotta love any place that calls itself an “encased meat emporium!” It’s just one reason that Chicago’s “Hot Doug’s” is an institution…

Shocking Hot Doug’s News!

Because Hot Doug’s is so well known in the Chicago restaurant world, and so popular among foodies, it was a shocking bit of news that was announced on May 4 – when Hot Doug’s owner Doug Sohn posted a simple announcement on his website:

Permanent Vacation begins Saturday, October 4.

Yes, Hot Doug’s is closing! Food websites jumped all over the story, and in the weeks since the announcement, there has been little shared by Doug to explain his decision. So, as of October 4, Chicago will no longer enjoy hot dogs like THIS ONE:

Owner Doug Sohn later told a Chicago food website that it was “time to do something else.” The news shocked the Chicago food community…Hot Doug’s is one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants!

Since the announcement, the restaurant has been packed every single day…they are open from 10:30a-4p daily, and when I showed up on a recent Thursday at 10a, there were already thirty people waiting ahead of me…

By the time I entered the building forty minutes later, the line was almost a hundred long…and the sign on the door explains why:

Countdown To October 3!

With the closing date looming, I headed out to Hot Doug’s to sample a few of their hot dogs…the team, led by Doug, keep things moving briskly…

There is room inside for about fifty people to sit, so it didn’t feel crowded at all. The walls are full of great hot dogs imagery and slogans…

While you are in line, you can read the menu, which is posted on the wall. Here is a look at the specials on offer…

Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel – $10.00

Well, THAT one had my name on it:

As you can see, this hot dog is loaded up with LOTS of foie – but you can see the char-grilled duck sausage underneath, along with the creamy truffle aioli…

Most noticeable is how crunchy the hot dog casing it: it really does snap between your teeth…oh, and this is a VERY RICH HOT DOG!

Two things to point out: first, this is the most expensive hot dog they have, strictly due to the exotic ingredients – so it’s not overwhelming in size. It is, however, fairly overwhelming in richness, so you could order this among a couple of people and each have a tasty bite!

Now, onto my second choice:

Hot Doug’s B.L.T.: Bacon Sausage with Avocado Mayonnaise, Iceberg Lettuce and Cherry Tomatoes – $9.00

This hot dog is made with bacon sausage – so it was a bit chewier than a normal hot dog, and the avocado mayo was very smooth and velvety…

That allows the lettuce and cherry tomato to offer a cold snap of flavor…this hot dog wasn’t nearly as rich as the foie dog, so no need to share this one!

Here are a few of the other specials:

Über Garlic Pork Sausage with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise, Carrigaline Cheese and Bacon Lardons – $9.00

Escargot and Guanciale Sausage with Parsley-Garlic Goat Butter and Double Crème Brie Cheese -$9.00

Of course, you can just look up on the wall and read about all of Doug’s regular offerings as well:

Their regular menu consists of:

The Dog
Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings: ’nuff said! $2.50

The Elvis
Polish Sausage: Smoked and savory – just like the King – $3.50

The Paul Kelly
Bratwurst: Soaked in Beer – sort of like Paul. $4.00

The Bruno Tattaglia
(formerly the Sal Tessio, the Frankie Pentangeli, the Virgil Sollozzo and the Luca Brasi) Italian Sausage: Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the sausage. $4.00

That’s right, they have a Hot Dog that honors The Godfather!

And as you can see, the price for most dogs are very reasonable…leaving you enough money for some:

Duck Fries!

That’s right, on Friday and Saturday, you can order your fries cooked in duck fat – YES, DUCK FAT!

Since I was there on Thursday, I had to settle for “cheese fries” – and yes, they are as gooey and delicious as they look:

They offer regular fries as well, but if you are going to Hot Doug’s, then you might as well go all the way…oh, and this is a SMALL order!

Doug was behind the counter to take my order, and there were plenty of seating options…and the order took less than ten minutes to deliver…a great experience in a fun, relaxed environment…

There’s Still Time To Bite Down On Hot Doug’s!

Lots of pics have been posted online of the long lines outside the restaurant every single day…but it will be Chicago’s last chance to bite into a legend!

You can also buy a T-short or cookbook to keep. So, if you are a local, or planning to be in Chicago before October 3rd, time is running out to enjoy Hot Doug’s!

So, make sure to take time to celebrate National Hog Dog Day 2014 by biting into a nice taste of encased meat!

Behold A Tasty “Trojan Horse!”

Talk about art you can bite down on! Here are some of the most amazingly beautiful works of art – and they just happen to be burgers!

Two French graphic designers have gone “burger mad!” And they are sharing that delicious madness with us right now! It’s an incredible series known as the “Fat + Furious Burger,” and my friend Deb Beckman forwarded this link to me – knowing I would LOVE it! And how could I not:

Incredible burger art like this is just too good not to share! Kudos to the great website “Brit.co” for this amazing burger art!

The entire article can be found at their website here:

http://www.brit.co/fat-furious-burger-art/

There are many great places to find cool burgers, but I love the websites that treat our burgers with dignity and respect, like this:

Behold The “Porknado!”

And of course, the website “Pornburger” is also amazing…and they continue to showcase incredibly tasty burger art as well…the “Porknado” is their latest burger masterpiece…following in such footsteps as this:

“The Horndog!”

Check out the website here:

http://pornburger.me

And read my entire article here!

http://johnrieber.com/2014/06/05/pornburgers-the-delicious-online-world-of-burger-food-porn/

Let me know what you think of this imaginative art!

Time To Rock Out With Julia Child!

First of all, when August 15th comes around, it means all foodies need to shout:

“Happy Birthday Julia!”

This iconic chef changed the way everyone thought about food, and she broke many barriers as well! Her big smile and love of food will certainly always be missed! So let’s sing a song to her!

Julia Child Remixed!

In celebration of her 100th birthday two years ago, PBS posted this: “Julia Child Remixed” by John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep, for PBS Digital Studios. Please support your local PBS station to show your support for this terrific work:

http://www.pbs.org/donate

So Let’s Celebrate Julia Just A Bit More!

Julia wrote a great memoir that details how she grew to love food, her life learning to cook in the kitchen, oh – and her time in the bathtub with her husband as well!

My Life In France – Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme.

Here is her classic book about her life in France, which led to her becoming America’s greatest cooking personality.

Here is how the book is described on Amazon: Julia Child single-handedly created a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and her television show “The French Chef”, but as she reveals in this bestselling memoir, she was not always a master chef. Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But even before she could cook, Julia knew how to shock – just look at this Valentine’s Day card she sent out one year!

Her book vividly recounts her culinary education, from taking classes at the Cordon Bleu to her struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, and a nearly fifty-year long marriage that took them across the globe. She became an icon – so much so that Dan Aykroyd parodied her on Saturday Night Live in the 70’s:

And of course, Meryl Streep portrayed her brilliantly in the movie “Julia & Julia…”

Cooking With Julia!

I never had the chance to meet this great personality, and I certainly didn’t get to cook with her – but I got close! t had the chance to actually cook on her stove…thanks to Patricia Wells!

More on cooking with Julia in a moment, but first, here is a look at the terrific memoir from Patricia Wells:

“We’ve Always Had Paris…And Provence” by Patricia and Walter Wells.

Here is the Amazon writeup of Patricia Wells and her memoir:

“Patricia Wells, long recognized as the leading American authority on French food, and her husband, Walter, live the life in France that many of us have often fantasized about. After more than a quarter century, they are as close to being accepted as “French” as any non-natives can be. In this delightful memoir they share in two voices their experiences—the good, the bad, and the funny—offering a charming and evocative account of their beloved home and some of the wonderful people they have met along the way.”

Patricia Wells has published a number of food guides and cookbooks, and they are all terrific. Here is just one of my favorites:

Patricia and Walter own a home in Provence, which they open up several weeks a year for a cooking class – one that Alex and I were able to attend in 2009 and cook with Julia!

PATRICIA WELLS COOKING CLASS IN HER KITCHEN!

We and the best time cooking with Patricia Well and her husband – a group of 12 of us – for five delicious days. Every day you plan, prepare, cook and consume a terrific series of dishes, made as a team, under Patricia’s expert direction…

Here we are with Patricia, posing in front of the Julia Child’s stove – a gift to Patricia from Julia – this is her provencal stove she cooked on for years – so, I did cook with Julia, just many years apart!

What is so much fun about the cooking class is that it takes place at their home – which they call Chanteduc – located in the shadow of the french village Vaison la Romaine, near Avignon:

Their book is full of stories of the life they have built together in Provence, and when you spend a week cooking with them, you see what a terrifically happy couple they are. Here is Alex getting some instruction from Walter:

After cooking together, you eat the food in a group setting – here we are on the veranda enjoying lunch together – a wonderful way to savor the hard work that went into the meal.

Every day another meal, another adventure – so much fun, and always with the full support and guidance of Patricia:

The twelve of us had the best time cooking with Patricia, as she guided us through an amazing array of dishes, always using the best local ingredients, many from her own garden…

OK, I mugged to the camera while Patricia did most of the work…

ALEX’S EGGPLANT DISH!

Look at how beautiful this dish is, made with eggplants you harvest from Patricia’s garden!

It was one of our favorite vacations ever, and we learned things that influence our cooking to this day. Check out Patricia’s website for a bunch of great stuff, including information on her classes:

http://patriciawells.com/

Here is our view of the town from our room…

We stayed in the small village of Vaison la Romaine, so french and perfect for a cooking adventure…the picture above is the view from our front den window, and this was our view of the town’s old fortress from our back terrace outside our room…

The medieval streets of Vaison la Romaine were so much fun to wander….

As you can tell, we loved it! Even if you can’t cook with Patricia, pick up one of her many cookbooks – and read her memoir with Walter – and live the provencal life!

And click the story below to read all about our cooking adventure with Patricia!

http://johnrieber.com/2012/06/10/tasting-provence-cooking-with-patricia-wells-food-and-travel-unite/

And happy birthday Julia!

Hungry For A FIVE POUND HAMBURGER?

Of course you are! And thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, you can see how it’s done!

RocketNews24 Bites Down Hard!

Of course, leave it to RocketNews24 to have the entire story, including lots of great pictures like this one!

“RocketNews24″ is one of my favorite websites, and you should bookmark it as well. See their entire story by clicking here!

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/18/we-take-on-thailands-five-and-a-half-pound-hamburger-and-live-to-tell-the-tale/

And of course, Thailand isn’t the only place for BIG burgers outside the US…

Welcome To Cambodia!

Now THAT is a great looking burger – and it’s from Cambodia, thanks to Mike!

Mike runs a great burger shop in Cambodia, and he likes to pile them high…check out my entire story by clicking on this link:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/01/10/yes-its-cambodias-best-burger-mikes-burger-house-stacks-them-high/

No matter how much you love Cambodia Mike’s, then wait until you see what’s going on in Brazil!

Brazil Bob’s!

Check this out – Bob’s Burgers in Brazil sells their burgers in an edible wrapper!

Read the entire story here:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/12/20/brazils-edible-burger-wrappers-go-brazil-go/

And England doesn’t want to be left out…

Behold The “Big Manc!”

Let’s stop off in England to check out this masterpiece – it’s the “Big Manc”, created to celebrate Wimbledon’s tennis champ – yes, it was!

You can read all about this masterpiece by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2013/07/16/haggis-burgers-the-big-manc-the-wimbledon-connection-match-point/

And yes, the story includes a “haggis burger” too! And England doesn’t have a lock on massive meat – let’s head to Australia to enjoy “The Queensland Burger!”

Hard to imagine they left ANYTHING off of this baby – I am a huge fan of Australia, and I love their burgers – check out more from Down Under by clicking on here:

http://johnrieber.com/2014/01/09/the-hangover-burger-the-burganator-the-roadhog-2014s-early-bacon-burger-monsters/

You can also see “The Roadhog”, which is not only delicious looking, but quite attractive as well!

So head around the world to eat the best meat you can find…and thanks again to “RocketNews24″ for sharing Thailand’s five pound masterpiece – let me know which is your favorite!

Potato Chip Lovers Rejoice!

If this picture of a massive pile of potato chips makes you happy – and hungry, then have I got a story for you! The world has gone to a whole new level of potato chip flavors, and I for one am loving it!

I mean, how can you not love THIS!

That’s right, the incredible flavor of a cheeseburger stuffed into a single chip! I love this concept, because the folks at Lay’s have really gone chip crazy!

You have to give the Lay’s Potato Chip Chefs credit: they have done a great job getting people interested in all of their new, unique potato chip flavors…

Chocolate Covered Bacon!

Yes, Lay’s has even created a “chocolate covered bacon” Cheeto!

And Lays can’t rest on their laurels, so they came back with even more unique flavors for the rest of us to enjoy, like these!

“Cheddar Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese Flavor!”

There is a ton of imagination going into a potato chip these days! Look, I almost don’t even care if they taste good, I just love the creativity of it all! And of course, with every great flavor comes an even greater parody!

The website “mandatory.com” offered up a more unique flavor:

Justin Bieber’s Plummeting Career Chip!

Yes, the time has come for this – the rancid flavor of well-deserved career ruin…long overdue for Bieber!

And that’s not all! Big thanks to the website “my bargain buddy.com” for this hilarious “rejected Lay’s flavors” parody:

Pretty funny, and many more of these parodies exist as well, but it’s tough to parody a product that already does it to itself – I mean, here’s an example:

I’m sure many people thought that was a joke: a “BLT” potato chip? But it turned out to be the first of many cool new flavors, but the US is just about the LAST country to embrace this fad…I mean, I have already shared these incredible Chinese potato chips with you:

That’s right: get ready to bite down on this:

“Hot And Sour Fish Soup Potato Chips!”

It’s clear that the potato chip is now just a conduit for unique flavors, and it has just gotten more out of control!

Feel like a chip? Feel like caviar? FEEL LIKE BOTH?

Yep, in Russia they now offer “caviar potato chips” – I for one would love these….but they are no doubt very salty, so now just add a “champagne flavored potato chip” and you’ve got my attention!

And while we always think of potato chips as just a snack, the masterminds at Lay’s wondered this: what if you add a “main course” flavor to a chip?

Salmon Teriyaki Potato Chips!

Sure, salmon flavored potato chips – why not? In fact, there seems to be a rush to have ALL kinds of salmon flavors…like in Thailand, where they now have “salmon cream cheese” flavored chips…

I’m heading to Thailand right now! Or, if you want to appeal to the Brits, why not make a potato chip – or as they call them, CRISPS – and inject the flavor of one of their mainstays:

I love the idea of a main course potato chip, but not all “protein based” chips are a good idea…to prove my point I offer you this flavor from Walkers:

Folks, this isn’t a parody! And who knows, maybe “cajun squirrel” is a good flavor! Each country has their own unique set of taste buds, and of course, China leads the way in wacky potato chip flavors….

Pepsi Chicken Potato Chips!

That’s right: “pepsi chicken” is a favorite recipe in China, so why not make it a potato chip? I actually think it sounds GOOD!

There are many others as well! See all of China’s wackiest potato chip flavors by clicking on my story:

http://johnrieber.com/2012/12/11/pepsi-chicken-potato-chips-fish-soup-chips-china-goes-chip-flavor-crazy/

Let me know if you enjoyed this look at chip mania, and to that end:

Chips ahoy!

Happy Holidays!

Yes, September 1 is “National Bacon Day”, and if there ever was a holiday that “bites”, this is it!

Yes, time to put bacon on a burger and bite down hard! The rest of the world is already doing it!

“Baconskivor” Lovers Rejoice!

Yes, the rest of the world has embraced bacon – or as it says above, “baconskivor” – and now it’s up to us to keep up….oh wait, we have:

The “ALL-Bacon Bacon Burger!”

Yes, I found this masterpiece on Facebook…and there are so many pictures of bacon all over the internet, it’s easy to take this great food for granted…but it is a day to celebrate all that bacon is, so feel free to send your loved one a dozen of these:

Or maybe you want to WEAR your love of bacon – in that case, I say it’s time to slip into this outfit…

Or, since it’s summer, you can follow Sara Underwood’s lead and head to the beach:

Wear Your Love Like Bacon!

It’s a great day of celebration ahead, and so many ways to celebrate, because there is so much bacon to enjoy!

The “Bacon Cube” Burger!

Leave it to Japan to celebrate bacon like this! A “bacon cube” burger is exactly what i’d like today, unless it’s a great “bacon-wrapped hot dog” like this one!

Of course,t here are “all bacon” hot dogs, but that seems to defeat the purpose of a hot dog – which I always thought was to take all the “excess, unloved meat” and stuff it in a casing. This hot dog would taste even better if it was slathered with:

Drink Your Bacon!

And if you are thirsty, don’t forget that bacon goes with anything!

The “All-Bacon Restaurant!

Sip on a “Bacon Martini” and read all about this incredible “all-bacon” restaurant, Brutus, in Montreal! Click below to see it!

http://johnrieber.com/2014/08/22/bacon-bowls-bacon-martinis-an-all-bacon-restaurant-brutus-in-montreal-brings-the-bacon/

Drink up! Oh, and if you don’t just eat and drink bacon but like to make it a more “all encompassing” experience, you can always put on one of these:

See more unique bacon products by clicking here:

http://johnrieber.com/2014/06/14/bacon-wedding-love-bacon-tacos-bacon-mustaches-the-latest-bacon-bacon-bacon-greatness/

But we all really just want to bite into some bacon, like this guy does so well:

bacon products

Yes, that’s my kind of dog! I found this pic online, so kudos to whoever came up with “man’s best friend”!

But if you don’t need any more bacon pictures like this one…

Bacon Helmet!

But just want pics like this to bite down on….

Well then, thanks to the Food Network website, here are ten easy bacon recipes to spice up any dish!

Ten Ways To Get Your Bacon!

Let’s get started with a favorite – now with added bacon!

1. Bacon Guacamole! Mash 2 avocados with 1/2 cup each chopped tomato and cilantro, 1/4 cup each chopped onion and crumbled cooked bacon, 1/2 minced jalapeno, some lime juice and salt.

2. Cheesy Bacon Popcorn! Drizzle 4 cups hot popcorn with 1 tablespoon bacon drippings. Toss with 3 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon and 1/4 cup each grated Parmesan and cheddar.

3. Warm Bacon Slaw! Cook 6 slices thick-cut bacon in 1 tablespoon olive oil; drain and crumble. Add 1/2 sliced red onion, 1/4 cup each cider vinegar and water, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds to the drippings. Toss with 6 cups shredded cabbage and the bacon.

4. Bacon Kraut! Cook 8 ounces diced Canadian bacon and 1 chopped onion in olive oil. Add 3/4 cup each beer and water, and 1 pound rinsed drained sauerkraut. Simmer 20 minutes.

5. Bacon Reuben! Spread Russian dressing on rye toast. Top with Bacon Kraut (No. 4) and Swiss cheese. Broil until melted.

6. Bacon-Apple Sandwiches! Spread a split baguette with honey mustard. Fill with cooked bacon, sliced Brie and apple, and lettuce; add salt and pepper. Slice.

7. Cobb Club! Spread 3 slices toast with soft blue cheese and mayonnaise. Layer with grilled chicken, cooked bacon, avocado, tomato, romaine and hard-boiled egg to make a double-decker sandwich.

8. Bacon Butter! Cook 2 slices bacon in a skillet; drain and chop. Blend 1 stick softened butter with the drippings and 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Stir in the chopped bacon.

9. PB&B Sandwich! peanut butter, banana and cooked bacon with white bread. Cook in a buttered skillet.

10. Croque Monsieur! Spread Dijon mustard on sliced challah; sandwich with Canadian bacon and shredded Gruyère. Whisk 1 egg with a bit of milk and nutmeg; dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture and fry in butter.

Thanks to the FoodNetwork website for these ideas…and they have tons more too!

Read more at:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-things-to-make-with-bacon.html?oc=linkback

I admit that I enjoy some macaroni and cheese – especially when it it topped like this:

So enjoy some bacon today!