It's all about enjoying

Even bad burgers can be good - at times

Last week I wrote about what I ate and learned at the Drip Festival in Antwerp. It was a short analysis of my thoughts and feelings about the burgers I was served and my observations of the burger scene there. But I forgot to mention a very important part: I didn’t say anything about if I enjoyed eating all those meaty buns and not even if I enjoyed my stay in a part of the European burger scene.

Reading my last newsletter, you might think I had a immensely awful time at Drip. Eating burgers that could have been prepared better or with more love and intent, that no chef there gives a damn about in what state burgers are being sent out. Or that I’m just a party pooper and shit on every party I get to.

Maybe that last part is true, although I’ve never experienced that, but I know for a fact the rest of it is very, very wrong. Not one of the burgers ruined my stay. Not at all, they enhanced it. I wish all festivals had these burgers, even the not so good ones. I enjoyed them all.

Let me explain: I love eating burgers. I love the way they tell me more than what the chef or creator thinks. To me it’s easy to tell if there is a damn given while creating the burger I get served. And by that I mean everything from thinking about the recipe, the ingredients that should be used and where they are sourced and the preparation of the whole thing. If you pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth, you can almost taste if the chef has a good or bad day today.

Regardless of the fact if the burger is good or bad, this makes me enjoy eating most of the burgers I get in front of me, at least for a good part. I just like tasting different burgers, checking out the creativity in flavours and that of the chef that worked on it. And I know that this experience is very personal to me. You might enjoy your burgers for totally different reasons and that is perfectly fine. The enjoyment is the most important factor.

(But don’t get me wrong: if I get served a burnt piece of meat on a dry week old bun with rotting lettuce topped of with the freshest pickles imaginable, I’m going to have a very, very bad time.)

Perfection does not equal enjoyment

My last newsletter might have made you think I’m on the lookout for only the perfect burger. That everything else sucks and shouldn’t be eaten, at least not without looking at the chef with disdain while chewing. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t believe in reviews and finding the best burgers in the world at all. I do think I can have a ‘best burger’ in my mind, but that is very personal to me. And as such I think you can and maybe should have your own ‘best burger’, regardless of what I might think of it. If you enjoy eating a burnt burger with rotting lettuce and the freshest pickles imaginable, be my guest. Who am I to stop you to tell you I find that disgustingly wrong? Hell, add some ketchup to it and piss off burger legend George Motz while you’re at it. Who’s he to say ketchup is wrong if you like the taste of it?

What I’m trying to say here is that quality in a burger is only a part of the experience, an important part, but still only a part. Enjoying what you’re eating is way more important.

Let’s put it another way. Let’s say you’re on your daily commute and you’re craving for a great smashburger. You could go out of your way to that one spot a couple of towns over that you know serves the best smashburger in the world, or you could drop into that joint on your way which you know does things right and serves up a burger that just fills that burger sized hole in your soul.

You are 100% sure the best burger in the world would be amazing and that you would enjoy eating it. But the hassle of getting there and traveling for an extra hour or two ruins the experience a bit because you’re tired and on your way home. Just dipping into the smashburger joint on your way and enjoying a good burger quickly, might be more enjoyable in this very moment.

Sadly this also means people can enjoy eating that bready mess they call a hamburger at McDonalds. I don’t agree with them, you shouldn’t either, but if they enjoy it, who are we to tell them they’re wrong? Scratch that, you should absolutely tell them they’re wrong to their face. Take the buns put them on their cheeks and scream “What are you” at them until they start to cry and scream back “an idiot sandwich”. At that point be nice and educate them on where they can spend their money on a better burger, maybe even treat them to one.

Now go out and enjoy a proper hamburger, you burger-enjoyer you.

Cheers!

Uncle D