July 19, 2005
db bistro moderne | mister hamburger
DB Bistro Moderne, 44th btwn 5th and 6th Avenues, 212.391.2400
BURGER NAME: THE ORIGINAL db BURGER - Sirloin Burger Filled with Braised Short Ribs, Foie Gras and Black Truffles Served on a Parmesan Bun with with Pommes Soufflées or Pommes Frites $29
FIRST IMPRESSION: 
One of the top five of the most beautiful things Mister Hamburger has ever seen in his whole life.
APPEARANCE: Both in summer and winter DB's hamburger, or fois gras burger as they prefer them to be known look incredible. To the untrained eye the burgers would look rather similar side by side, but to Mister Hamburger, long a fan of the best hamburger joint in the world they are echelons apart.
The difference is in the Truffles.
Obviously, truffles are far more flavorful and resonant during the winter months, when they are in season. During summer the black truffles are very weak in comparison. Mister Hamburger loves both types of truffle of course, and even more so in a hamburger, but DB bistro mostly snubs the summer variety.
Chef Daniel Boulud adds only small amounts of shaved truffle to the summer fois gras burger to "bring out and add to the flavor of the braised short ribs" as a waitress explained. These burgers are twenty nine dollars.
During winter however, Chef Boulud loses his shit.
He adds a seventy five dollar fois gras and truffle burger to the menu. Not to be outdone by other expensive burgers in a city which once boasted a $1000 cocktail, he makes sure DB Bistro has the fanciest of fancy - the jewel in his golden hamburger hat is a $125 fois gras and double truffle burger.
MEAT: top quality and tastes better than some of the American Kobe around town.
BUN: It has cheese melted onto it. How could Mister Hamburger give that anything less than five? Mister Hamburger loves to eat hamburgers, but he also loves to eat cheese.
PACKAGE:
TASTE: Just look at the ingredients. Some commentaters claim that when a burger is this fancy it is no longer a burger, but they are uneducated idiots. A patty with buns on either side is a burger, end of story.
DRIPPYNESS: Perfect. Maybe three drips of fat on the plate at the end.
MEAT TEXTURE :
MEAT COLOR:
SIZE: 
not too big, but seems to be compressed because Mister Hamburger felt really goddam full when he finished.
VALUE: It is really really expensive - Mister Hamburger has only had the twenty nine dollar and the seventy five dollar varieties, but it is strongly recommended because it will blow your mind, you'll never look at a hamburger in the same way.
COOKED TO SPECS: I guess it is really hard to cook a burger that has fois gras and braised short ribs inside, and they got damned close to medium rare. Perhaps Mister Hamburger will start asking for rare burgers in order to get medium rare.
AMOUNT OF LOVE FROM CHEF:
FROM DELIVERY PERSON/WAITER: Funny, friendly and nice. He would have gotten five hamburgers if he had been ruder to the fucking suit clad monkey show on the next table who pretended to know more than one another about the wine.
ONE HOUR LATER: 
Incredibly filling. One valentines day Mister Hamburger ventured out with Missus Hamburger-to-be to eat the three most expensive burgers in the city. Mister and Missus-to-be were defeated after DB Bistro. It looks small but the thing packs a punch, and much vodka is required to help break it down.
BELLS AND WHISTLES: See the photo. The fries are empty balloons of deep fried potatoes. If you've ever eaten a salty and lightly greased cloud, then you can imagine how damn good these things are.
FINAL IMPRESSION: Way back when, during the Les Halles review, Mister Hamburger claimed to have understood the complex rules of men not having best friends. Though only now does Mister Hamburger see the problems that have arisen by wanting to have Anthony Bourdain as his best friend. He cannot have Chef Boulud as a best friend too because one of them has to be better than the other. Mister Hamburger has decided he would like an inner circle of friends instead and both Bourdain and Boulud are in it.
july 14th 2006 | missus hamburger
franks bar and restuarant, vienna | mister hamburger
nick burns on nicks and razor burn