I finally hit Top Notch in Beverly today and thanks, to all of you who encouraged me to visit this place--it's the real deal. Great, fresh, beefy-tasting burgers, cooked mid-well but still very juicy. Well seasoned as well. Fries are indeed fresh-cut, fried in beef tallow, and perfectly done; cooked through nicely, browned and crispy, and still sizzling when they arrived in front of me. I also had a vanilla malt which was one of the best examples I think I've ever had.

This is certainly one to emulate. The owner told me that they use round for the ground beef, which is ground fresh on site. Kind of a unique choice.

It's a shame that more places aren't doing this as well as Top Notch.

I really appreciate this thread. I have been trying to create a fresh ground hamburger and have been playing around with chuck and sirloin mixes as well as ribeye, sirloin and chuck. No luck finding that perfect great tasting burger.

One place I highly recommend is D's Hot Dog Hut in Westchester. The 1/2 pond char burgers are fresh not frozen and char broiled to order. Extremely tasty and juicy. I have asked the owner if they grind their own beef on site and he said that they are special ordered through a local a meat purveyor. Fries are double fried and quite good.

IMO, I believe it ranks right up there with Top Notch in Beverly.


D's Hot Dog Hut
11061 W Roosevelt Rd (2 blocks east of Wolf)
Westchester, IL 60154
(708) 562-2330

I did a test recently to see if I could do a passable version of the old diner-style griddled burgers that are smashed down as they cook to produce a thin, crispy edge.

I used that "natural" beef that comes in a 3-pack of one-pound portions at Costco. Can't remember the brand name. By no means freshly ground (I don't have a grinder at home, so haven't tackled that project yet) but it's generally a pretty fresh-tasting product.

I turned out fabulously. I have a cast iron griddle that straddles two burners and all I did was get it moderately hot, portion the beef into quarter-pound balls, and toss'em on the griddle. After searing both sides of each ball for about 30 seconds, I smashed the balls down with the spatula hard, spreading them out and getting them nice and well-browned on each side.

The meat cooked through (but only just) in the amount of time it took to get a nice brown crust on either side. The finished product was a really excellent version of a burger that I've only ever eaten in restaurants. I've always been a cook-it-on-the-grill burger guy, and, for that reason, we eat burgers at home almost exclusively in the non-winter months, but no more. Don't know why it never occurred to me to try this up 'till now. Great stuff.

Now to work on the fries.

Alton Brown had a good procedure for twice fried fries. Once to cook them thru and a second to crisp them up.

I just made double fried french fries this past weekend using Anthony Bourdain's recipe. Simply amazing.

Elakin - I've done the smash-down style burger as well with my cast iron skillet and it was danergously good. One day I'm going to do both again, but I really don't deep fry at home anymore except maybe once or twice a year.

I basically followed the instructions at the Belgian Fries Website. Came out great.

Making great French fries isn't hard... it's just not convenient, which is why do many don't bother.

Has anyone here ever tried Joel Robuchon's 1-fry cold-oil method that both Jeffrey Steingarten and Cooks Illustrated seem to love? I'm awfully tempted to give it a try, because it seems like a weekday evening kind of french fry.

The basic process is:

Cut potatoes
Put in dutch oven
Cover them in peanut oil
Turn heat to high
Cook until you have delicious french fries (about 25-30 minutes, stirring for the last 10)

just received my latest issue of Cooks illustrated yesterday and it features this recipe. Didn't read the article yet but plan on giving it a shot. I did see that it uses a lot less oil.

SouthSideMike wrote:I really appreciate this thread. I have been trying to create a fresh ground hamburger and have been playing around with chuck and sirloin mixes as well as ribeye, sirloin and chuck. No luck finding that perfect great tasting burger.

One place I highly recommend is D's Hot Dog Hut in Westchester. The 1/2 pond char burgers are fresh not frozen and char broiled to order. Extremely tasty and juicy. I have asked the owner if they grind their own beef on site and he said that they are special ordered through a local a meat purveyor. Fries are double fried and quite good.

IMO, I believe it ranks right up there with Top Notch in Beverly.


D's Hot Dog Hut
11061 W Roosevelt Rd (2 blocks east of Wolf)
Westchester, IL 60154
(708) 562-2330

This was the original site of D's Diggity Dogs that relocated to the NE corner of Butterfield and Midwest Roads in Oakbrook Terrace. I was surprised to find it closed ( and now leveled) after returning from living out of state for a while as it was always packed. The signature sandwich that I enjoyed at both places was the Steak with double cheese and barbecue onions, which was basically chopped onion in BBQ Sauce. Each sandwich came with a Hot Dog Bubble Gum for dessert.

gleam wrote:Has anyone here ever tried Joel Robuchon's 1-fry cold-oil method that both Jeffrey Steingarten and Cooks Illustrated seem to love? I'm awfully tempted to give it a try, because it seems like a weekday evening kind of french fry.

The basic process is:

Cut potatoes
Put in dutch oven
Cover them in peanut oil
Turn heat to high
Cook until you have delicious french fries (about 25-30 minutes, stirring for the last 10)

Yes! I do this quite regularly, it's definitely worth giving a try. The results are not quite equivalent to great twice fried Belgian quality, but definitely some of the best fries I've made at home and its so easy. I usually use a sautee pan, one layer of fries and just enough oil to cover the potatoes (usually canola, or if I'm fortunate enough to have some around, half oil, half duck fat....mmmm).

I grew up down the street from Top Notch and now live not too far from Patty's so the former was a childhood hangout and the latter is a current bfast and lunch destination.

Patty's has an ok burger and I haven't witnessed the oil issue that others have posted about. But when I was a lad the owner of Top Notch tutored me about cooking burgers. They never, ever press down the burgers with the spatula. They only use the spatula to turn the burger. Patty, I noticed, continually presses (the juice out of) the burgers. Patty's burgers are ok and the homemade buns make them a bit better than ordinary, but I think they'd be better with less attention.

I like Top-Notch a lot (obviously) but it has to be admitted that it's at the wet end of the burger spectrum—and Auxen1 has explained part of the reason why. (My suspicion is that a lot of that juice also stays on the grill, so the burgers kind of saute in it.) I don't think there's anything wrong with the spatula method, if a little drier burger is what you want (my observations from Kansas, though, are that there the only flattening is done right at the beginning, so it's more a matter of shaping than of squeezing juice out).

Hopefully this won't start a big crazy burger feud like today's BBQ kerfuffle... there are lots of ways to make great burgers, really!

Mike
(who thinks Patty's burger proves that it's not as simple as just slapping a lot of meat on a grill, however...)

See, that's the thing about the smashed-on-the-griddle burgers....despite being smashed they're JUICY (when they're done right).

I think Mike G. is on the money when he speculates about the smashing being done only at the beginning. It's done for shaping purposes, and the smashing results in a high degree of crisp browning, due to the meat really making solid contact with the flat griddle surface.

Once they're smashed, they're left alone, and from what I've seen (and done myself), they're only flipped once, when the red juices start accumulating on top of the meat, and then left alone again, with the second side not being left to cook quite as long as the first.

In my experience, it results in a juicier burger than the old big thick behemoths that you get at the pricey steakhouses.

Oh, and to address the "wetness" that you alluded to, Mike, I believe that's a by product of a lower-temp griddle. It's a conscious choice. Some places (Wendy's comes to mind) opt for a lower temp griddle and then they don't scrape it down, so the burgers end up kind of "steam-griddling". This results in far less (if any) browning, and no crisping, but you get a nice, flavorful, juicy burger.

And now, from the completely-out-of-left-field department; I did griddle-smashed burgers tonight, but made them out of ground elk that I had as a result of my f-i-l's hunting trip. Not bad, but not as good as with the beef. Dryer, of course, since the meat is generally leaner, and harder to keep held together. But still pretty good.

Oh, for those that are interested, here's a link to a Wendy's training video that goes into some detail about the lower-temp griddle cooking method. It's actually pretty informative, and also HILARIOUS in it's kitschy 80's goofiness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUKDspx0LZ0

elakin wrote:See, that's the thing about the smashed-on-the-griddle burgers....despite being smashed they're JUICY (when they're done right).

I think Mike G. is on the money when he speculates about the smashing being done only at the beginning. It's done for shaping purposes, and the smashing results in a high degree of crisp browning, due to the meat really making solid contact with the flat griddle surface.

Once they're smashed, they're left alone, and from what I've seen (and done myself), they're only flipped once, when the red juices start accumulating on top of the meat, and then left alone again, with the second side not being left to cook quite as long as the first.

Yes, indeed. Smash them at the onset or not at all.

=R=

Mike G wrote:I basically followed the instructions at the Belgian Fries Website. Came out great.

belgianfries.com wrote:Never put a lid on your frying pan: this makes your fries wacky.

My curiosity is piqued. Any field reports?

(crossposted from the Pomme frites in duck fat? thread)

We used the cooks illustrated variation on the Robuchon technique I detail above tonight:





They were great! Not quite up to the level of WaSC, Hot Doug's, Top Notch, but truly excellent, with a rich flavor, while still potatoey. The method itself is very easy, and definitely something that can be done on a weeknight.

Never put a lid on your frying pan: this makes your fries wacky.

I don't know about wacky, but it'd probably steam them and make them soft, no?

I went out and bought one of these which is a nice device although a bit low capacity-- at parties where I fry stuff (goose lard fries, pickles, whatever), I seem to spend a LOT of time at the fryer.

Remember, the Belgian Frites guy's first language is not English

(I suspect he was referring to the fact that putting a lid on traps steam in there)

Had an opportunity to try...

Top-Notch Beefburgers
2116 W 95th St, Chicago
(773) 445-7218

... carryout yesterday and they were awesome!

I had the half pound King Size with everything (cheese and grilled onions) and it was a massive and juicy thing of beauty. The patty was formed but fresh and not strongly charred. The meat and the cheese were delicious and had a prominent flavor.

The fries were not piping hot (from travel) but still very good with a good crunch and a strong potato flavor. A lot of fries in the order, enough for two.

Oh Boy! Another goto spot when I am in that area.

auxen1 wrote:I grew up down the street from Top Notch and now live not too far from Patty's so the former was a childhood hangout and the latter is a current bfast and lunch destination.

Patty's has an ok burger and I haven't witnessed the oil issue that others have posted about. But when I was a lad the owner of Top Notch tutored me about cooking burgers. They never, ever press down the burgers with the spatula. They only use the spatula to turn the burger. Patty, I noticed, continually presses (the juice out of) the burgers. Patty's burgers are ok and the homemade buns make them a bit better than ordinary, but I think they'd be better with less attention.

That's interesting - I've eaten maybe half a dozen of her burgers and never noticed her toil with them other than to flip them. . but then again, I havent been watching her the whole time. As it stands, however, I always find her burgers to be incredibly juicy. Last Saturday's patty melt was an exercise in juicy perfection.

Ghazi wrote:

auxen1 wrote:I grew up down the street from Top Notch and now live not too far from Patty's so the former was a childhood hangout and the latter is a current bfast and lunch destination.

Patty's has an ok burger and I haven't witnessed the oil issue that others have posted about. But when I was a lad the owner of Top Notch tutored me about cooking burgers. They never, ever press down the burgers with the spatula. They only use the spatula to turn the burger. Patty, I noticed, continually presses (the juice out of) the burgers. Patty's burgers are ok and the homemade buns make them a bit better than ordinary, but I think they'd be better with less attention.

That's interesting - I've eaten maybe half a dozen of her burgers and never noticed her toil with them other than to flip them. . but then again, I havent been watching her the whole time. As it stands, however, I always find her burgers to be incredibly juicy. Last Saturday's patty melt was an exercise in juicy perfection.

Lat time I was at Patty's I sat right by the grill and did watch the entire time and all she did was flip. Actually I was getting concerned that the burger might slip past medium rare but she was on the ball and it came out perfect and juicy.

I did a quick search of the forums and was surprised that no one's mentioned Chicago's Busy Burger on Taylor (or maybe I just couldn't find the relevant postings).

Anyway, I have a good friend who's in the hospital at Rush and he requested that I bring him GOOD cheese fries and burgers when I visited him today. When I asked him what he meant by GOOD cheese fries, he specified that he wanted "the ones with that gloppy cheese, like you get at Wiener's Circle."

We talked about me just picking up WC and bringing it in, but decided that the trip down to the hospital, through the parking garage, and through the hospital to his room would yield an unsatisfactory result.

Then I remembered Busy Burger from my days living down on Taylor and Racine when my first wife was going to UIC (long ago). I recalled really good, beefy-tasting thin burgers, double stacked with melty American cheese, topped with grilled onions, and hoped that they were still putting together this highly successful gloppy mess version of the form.

They were. They are.

So, what I did was I stopped at WC, and ordered two cups of just the cheese sauce to go ($3.13), and then drove down to Taylor Street, got a couple double cheeseburgers and some fries from Busy Burger, and headed over to the hospital so we could eat and watch the Cubs/Sox game.

Which turned out to be a perfect plan. The cheese sauce was still warm (the friendly WC ladies gave it to me in small styrofoam drink cups) and the burgers from BB were all that I remembered. I chatted up the guy a bit and asked him about their meat. They don't grind their own, but they do source it specifically to their specs and patty it in house, which is obvious when you see the random, uneven shape of their burger.

Their fries are forgettable, even with the WC cheese sauce. Standard-issue freezer fodder.

But it's a really good burger. Don't go if having it cooked med. rare or whatever is a deal-breaker for you, like most "thin" burgers, they're cooked through as a matter of course. But still very juicy, very flavorful, lots of grill char, and a great overall package.

Chicago's Busy Burger
1120 W Taylor St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226-7760
Open Mon-Sat 9am-8pm