“Burger is the new black by IBACS student Gabrielė Krapikaitė Americans might have invented the hamburger and might possess a greater love and sentiment for the famous meal, but here in the old continent with postcard-like streets in every other capital of culture there is high demand for a „more European” approach to a burger. Old ways of trying to “civilize” everything foreign, including fast food seems to still be very deep within the „European worldview“. But first things first: Have you ever noticed just how many burger-serving restaurants/burger joints have emerged over the past few years? And I‘m not talking about fast food chains. Hamburg, Burgertrut, BAR, Pickles (burgers & wine) in newly built Markthal as well as burger serving pop-up stores in Swan Market or Fenix Food Factory – all these places and many more manifest the newest high-end fast food – The Burger. Actually, we don‘t even have to look outside our campus - right here in Erasmus Paviljoen you can get a beef or a veggie burger. It has shifted seamlessly from a cheap and widely available takeout meal to a fancy hip restaurant “special”. From fast food to slow food. From bare hands to forks and knives. That‘s how much it takes to become a trend on the refined/urbane tables. Having said this, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to claim that the burger, with its aesthetic appearance in our minds has become the very new sushi – the new black. Whether it’s a statement about health or just clever marketing – the aestheticization of the burger has, as one blogger put it - “elevated the simplicity of eating meat in the bun” to the new heights. “Homemade” from scratch burgers served with cutlery, accompanied by hipster staff about whom one has mixed feelings sure does bring us to a better place, called burger nirvana. Much like Andy Warhol’s championed Campbell’s inspired by consumer culture, the burger is also blurring the lines between a type of food and an icon. Yet another explanation for the success of the reinvented burger might be as simple as a feeling of familiarity and convenience minus guilt over choosing unhealthy lowbrow product of the fast food giants. The bewildering variety of burgers offers us an improvisation with ingredients and flavors, and at the same time reassures that we won’t be getting anything too unexpected. Growing consumer awareness in the bigger cities is perfect soil for ethically and taste wise marketed - improved burgers. Regardless of all the possible explanations behind the newly formed fad food, everyone is upgrading their love of fast food to so-called “better burgers” and I’m no exception. What’s not to like about convenience of random fillings between assorted breads? I’ve been exploring the world of sandwiches and burgers for a while now and collected if not valuable than at least juicy information regarding this meal. Here are some of my tips when taking a bite: unless you’re very determined – don’t use a fork and a knife, you’re already most likely overpaying, so you might as well enjoy it without the extra frustration of trying to seize that burger tower. Relax, street food being brought up to the restaurants means that table manners are altered accordingly. It shouldn’t intimidate you out of enjoying your food. Most importantly, embrace the fact that it’s going to get dirty. As a non-vegetarian I must admit that veggie burgers often prove to be more delicious than the “original” meaty ones. There’s no logical explanation for this. Don’t get carried away with the entire healthy concept too much though, burgers aren’t and have never been a diet food. May I suggest a salad, then? A note-worthy place: personally I favor places where the chef puts a fried egg into my burger (that’s pretty much it). In case of widely talked about places, such as Hamburg – people usually don’t lie about these things, it’s a pretty nice place to go to, however I do encourage to find your own special burger, regardless the recommendations.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 14:36:57 +0000
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