Food.Fun.Stuff: Be My Guest

This weeks post comes from the creator of Diary of a Mad Blacktress, Naomi, who recently took a visit down under, check out this burger joint all the way from New Zealand:
I landed in Queenstown, on the south island of New Zealand on April 7 after 8 hours of driving. Known as the place where bungee jumping was invented, people come to this resort town to enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and extreme sports. If you’re me, you come to enjoy Fergburger.

Fergburger is a burger spot in the center of town on Shotover Street, and every guidebook I read recommended it. When I saw there was already a line outside the door at 6:30pm, I knew the books weren’t wrong. Me and my group squeezed our way inside and salivated–and cracked up–over the menu as we waited to order. I ended up ordering the Southern Swine, which consists of prime New Zealand beef, American streaky bacon (never heard of it, but who doesn’t love bacon?), lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli, and tomato relish. As I watched the cooks put together a line of burgers, honoring every customer’s substitutions and omissions with German efficiency I could tell by the size that I would have to skip the fries. I could barely finish the massive burger, which came on fresh toasted ciabatta bread. The tomato relish tasted like a delicious combination of ketchup and BBQ sauce, and was unlike anything I’ve ever had. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp, and if not for their tight wrapping, everything would have fallen out of my overstuffed burger.

For the few vegetarians in the room, there was the Holier Than Thou: tempura tofu topped with spicy satay, coconut, and coriander sauce, in addition to the lettuce and tomato. They also have a falafel burger I was tempted to get for the name alone–The Bun Laden.

Open from 8:30am to 5am 7 days a week, there’s no shortage of business, with hearty breakfast wraps offered (The Morning Glory has all the fixings of a burger, only with bacon and eggs) any time. The fries and onion rings are equally delicious, but it takes a huge stomach to get both a burger and fries down. Although I was only in Queenstown 72 hours, I had about 4 Fergburgers while I was there. Here’s an excerpt from an email I sent to a friend while I was away:

Subject: I’m pregnant….

Body: With a food baby. Her name is Fergburger.

If you ever find yourself on the other side of the world and are in need of sustenance, check out this place. Just make sure you don’t do it before bungee jumping.

Fergburger: 42 Shotover Street, Queenstown, New Zealand

Picture source: Copyright of Johnna Knows Good Food

Food.Fun.Stuff: Congrats and Eating Burgers

*Congrats to all those who competed in the JKGF Giveaway for $10 HomeMade Pizza Co. gift cards!! The competition was tough but we were able to narrow it down to 5 winners and the grill combinations are fantastic…we can taste them now…Stay tuned because we will be having more giveaways soon;-) Thanks for reading and participating!

*Now for something that does not come to the District often…A Burger Eating Contest! On Thursday, July 2, 2009 (12 pm), Z Burger will be hosting the “Independence Burger Eating Championship”. There will be some serious competition in the building with professional burger eaters coming in from as far as Canada. The prizes are the best part though: 1st. place=$1,500 cash, $1,000 worth of Z Burger food and a trophy, 2nd place=$750 cash and a trophy and 3rd place=$500 and a trophy. Part of the proceeds will go to the Hope House Foundation.

Want to be a contestant?? Shoot an email to zburgerdc@gmail.com.

Do you think you could eat that many burgers?? And with the size of Z Burgers, we really want to know who has a stomach that could humanly fit more than one inside? Can’t wait til Thursday;-)

Picture source: http://www.yelp.com/biz/z-burger-washington-2

Food.Fun.Stuff: President Meets Grill

President Obama learns some grill techniques:

Last week (*Really the week before last…we know, we’re late…), President Barack Obama hosted a cookout on the front lawn for young men to highlight the importance of fatherhood and mentorship to their families and communities. Chef Bobby Flay was on the scene to provide President Obama with grilling tips. Fun times.

Picture source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1632909,062109-obama-cookout-g.photogallery

Food.Fun.Stuff: Vegetarian Take Over

Tis’ the season to be…vegetarian. The District has taken a sprint in the Vegetarian menu options and many restaurants are realizing not everybody wants a big hunk of meat to be the base of a great meal. There are options out the wazoo for patrons to enjoy a seasonal, flavorful meal without having to simply resort to tofu and eggplant dishes. While dining with a vegetarian (*of 20+ years) recently, we were sad to find that the vegetarian menu option is usually only one dish (*That is on a menu that will contain fifty other non-vegetarian menu options…) and says something like “Vegetarian Platter”, which is pretty vague and usually contains some dried up vegetables accompanied by over/under cooked starches. Glad to see the areas top chefs saw a need to fix this problem.

The Source Executive Chef, Scott Drewno, has twisted his Spicy Tuna Tartare dish into seasame-miso cones with house-made vegetable tartare, avocado (*We have a thing for avocado after visiting Rosa Mexicano on the National Harbor…very weird for us…) and asparagus. Proof has created some cool meatless dishes that include Spring onion/ramp soup and Warm Hen of Woods mushroom quiche (*Watch it with quiche if you’re on a diet, it Will win the weight gain war…). The Evening Star Cafe Executive Chef Will Artley (*We love this chef, his personal style matches his cooking style: funky fresh cool) has created a delicious housemade wild mushroom ravioli served with market fresh vegetables and a brown rice and tofu burger served with a fresh herb aioli and marinated tomatoes (*If this wasn’t a creation of Chef Artley, we might question the taste of this eccentric dish…). And for vegetarian pizza options that are not just the normal Margerita style pizza’s, Rustico has a Roasted Mushroom Pizza with Swiss chard and goat cheese. What better time to be a vegetarian than now?? There are a myriad of different restaurants flooding the area with fresh, delectable vegetarian food options. Wonder if we should convert…

Picture source: http://www.avifresh.com/nutrisource/nf_veg.html

Recipe: Honolulu Bob Burgers

2 lb. ground beef

Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce

4 well-drained canned pineapple slices

4 slices Cheddar cheese

Divide the ground beef into 4 portions and shape each into a patty. Grill over hot coals until cooked on one side. Turn the patties over. Spread with the desired amount of the All Purpose Sauce and top with the pineapple slices. Grill for several minutes or until cooked through. Add the cheese slices. Grill until the cheese melts. Top with additional All Purpose Sauce and Serve.

*Johnna’s tip: Serve with potato buns. Toast the inside of the buns on the grill just until crisp and add on any other toppings you like. Keeping up with the theme of the day: Recipes for the 4th, burgers are a must have on the 4th of July. We are actively seeking out a good BBQ for the 4th, any suggestions??

Picture source: http://www.gianteagle.com/Recipes/RecipeDetails.aspx?recipeId=381