The burger that Alejandro Peré cooked at The Beer Garden.
Alexander Pere he is a normal person. He works from Monday to Friday as a creative director in an advertising agency and, in his spare time, he likes to cook for Andrea, his wife, and his friends. But he hides a secret that haunts him, an obsession: the burgers . He lives for them, dreams of them and has been able to test some of those that, according to him, are the World's greatest . All because of that little thorn that he has had since he was a child and that, over the years and 500 hamburgers (tasted) later, have given him a gift traveler : to find the best wherever you go.
"Me hamburger obsession was born since I can remember, they were the dish with which my family crowned the return trip from the beach and had dinner at a fast food chain", he tells us. "It was the compensation for the depression of being away from the sea . Years later (and luckily) I found the prescription of the hamburger that I usually cook at home (a state secret) and that fueled that obsession even more," he explains.
He refers to the one that this December he set out to prepare in the kitchen of The Beer Garden (Juan de Austria, 23; Madrid) as part of an ephemeral event and that sold out the genre in just three hours. Almost nothing. And a milestone that we look forward to repeating again. "Documenting them (look at his Instagram) stems from a challenge we did when we lived in Austin, TX," he explains. "A restaurant chain launched six hamburgers in each of its restaurants and rewarded those who ate them in less than a week. After five days we had already eaten all of them. To celebrate, we ate a seventh and that is where the #neverendingburgerchallenge".
Alejandro Peré, Guillermo Santaisabel and Andrea Nuñez.
HOW IS THE PERFECT BURGER
"From the total subjectivity, the perfect burger it always has to leave you wanting to ask for a second one... and for this to happen it must not be too loaded with condiments", Alejandro tells us about how to recognize it. "If you can eat with one hand better than better". In terms of meat cooking, he confesses that the grill It is the best method to cook it, although not always the most reliable. "It gives wonderful results but it's also very treacherous when it comes to consistency in a recipe, it's a bit of a disproportionate effort versus reward. I'm leaning more and more towards the iron , but I understand that there are those who think otherwise, "he continues.
ODE TO NORDIC BURGERS
Alejandro and Andrea Nuñez, a freelance graphic designer and content creator, as well as an inveterate traveler and wife of Alejandro, say that Copenhagen It has been the European city where the most hamburgers have been eaten and three chains have taken the cake: jagger, Gas Grill Y Yoburger.
"The first is the creation of Rasmus Oubœk , multi-Michelin star and haute cuisine chef who took a turn towards something as simple as making hamburgers without losing his obsession with perfection. Gas Grill He has become an Instagram phenomenon for his local/gas station and has survived the hype. Klaus Wittrup , the creator of him, on a study trip to Indiana , he tasted his first burger and felt the need to recreate that flavor. And finally Yoburger , a site that follows the canons of the modern hamburger shake shack inspired , and it's nice to find something like this in Europe", reveals Alejandro.
"Copenhagen It is a city with a culture of street food very entrenched. Their hot dogs, their kebabs, their flæskesteg, their tacos! have lived under the shadow, but also under the impulse of No mom ", explains Peré. "The city has a gourmet air for tourists, but in their day-to-day life they eat on the street and it has been many ex-cooks from Nøma who have put fast food back on the map. There are groups like COFOCO that seek to bring food closer to people, taking great care in providing quality at low prices. . With that premise, the hamburger finds its place ", he concludes." And if you add to this that Rene Redzepi during the lockdown turned Nøma into a pop up of hamburgers , everything fits," Andrea tells us.
Added to the Copenhagen hits PNY in Paris; Ground Burger in Lisbon and flipping burgers in Stockholm as the couple's favorites in Europe. "Although I know that I am leaving out mythical hamburgers from London or Berlin that I want to try," Alejandro justifies himself.
THE BEST BURGERS IN SPAIN
Although it is true that Spain is not well known for its hamburgers, there is room in the praise of Peré and Nuñez to mention some very good ones, such as the MacKobe of the already disappeared To Black Fire , in San Sebastian. Or the one from Commercial Coffee , in Madrid. "I find very remarkable details in some of the ones I've tried in Spain, but they don't feel completely round. If I could build my ideal Madrid burger, it would be a mixture of meat from Juancho's, Alfredo's and Commercial Coffee; the bread of TGB , the cheese MEAT , some sauce Goiko Basics and as off the menu all the cañí stuff from a local Mr Bear".
The mini hamburger from A Fuego Negro
ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA
In Asia and Latin America It is also not very easy to find the ideal between two breads. "There is a lot of free interpretation of the hamburger and a lot of worship of gluttony. Sao Paulo perhaps it is the destination that is taking hamburgers most seriously thanks to people like Donato Galvez , of Stunt Burger, or the expansion of the mythical Burger Joint of New York to that city. Caracas, Santiago and Bogotá have their own style of 'anything goes in a hamburger' but paradoxically it has become a sign of identity worthy of study", explains Peré.
"On a couple of occasions I went to China to visit my brother and it is really difficult to find a hamburger in conditions outside the circuit of fast chains or hotels . we had to go to Hong Kong to find a good one," says Andrea. "I assume that destinations like Taiwan, Malaysia or Singapore they will have a better offer as they are more akin to western culture. And from Latin America I would also include Mexico by Mr White by Daniel Delaney , a slider venue that we want to test as soon as possible," she continues.
THE AMERICAN BURGER
Crossing the pond, straight to USA , the thing changes resoundingly with dozens of different versions of what we know as a hamburger, distinguished by its size –sliders, pub-style,smashburgers...– or by its way of cooking – gridded, charbroiled, char-grilled, steamed, **deep fried...**–, among many other variations.
One of the favorites of our burger travelers is the one that takes the style of the oklahoma fried burger and is the restaurant Ms Cheezious , in Miami, the one that executes them perfectly. For Alejandro and Ana, it is the maximum simplicity of the marriage between flesh and onion –cut very fine– the one that makes them enter a parallel universe of nuances and flavor . "With the heat, the onion releases liquid and seasons the meat. Those closest to the meat medallion are confit in the fat while the other end caramelizes quickly. In the end it is topping, seasoning and if you hurry me, one ingredient sauce . a slice of cheese and bread and to run", points out Peré.
In the United States it is Char-Grill in Raleigh, North Carolina; Town Topic in Kansas City; tripp burgers in Los Angeles; White Manna Diner in Hackensack, New Jersey; Y Small Cheval , in Chicago, which culminate as his favorites. "I've had a terrible time leaving many out... probably if you ask me this tomorrow that top 5 will change radically," jokes Peré.
And the chains of fast food ? Where do we leave them? "In Austin, P. Terry's . Y Whataburger throughout Texas. They have the best. With very fresh meat and ingredients and local pride," Andrea launches to answer. "In New York there is also a small chain with two locations in Long Island City and Astoria: Petey's ", she continues. Although Alejandro adds and continues." Culver's , who are from Wisconsin and is in twenty-five states and all of the Midwest. Its cheese is unbeatable and the detail that the pickles go outside of the burger, I think it's genius".
And take note: in January 2021 Alejandro, Andrea and their partner will return to The Beer Garden. Will yours be our new favorites in Madrid? We will have to wait to verify it.
Pickles on the outside, a hamburger genius 'made in' Culver's.
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