One of my favorite places in town to get a really good burger is at Berlin Bistro on 4th and Elm. There are two burgers on the regular menu. I’ve had both. Both fabulous. But the one I really like is the Arugula Burger. It obviously has arugula on it but it’s also dressed with bacon and crispy onion straws. Oh and cheese. Of course cheese. The burger comes with goat cheese but I always substitute havarti.
So when Kobe beef was on sale this week for $5 a pound I decided to use it to create my own arugula burger at home. And I have to tell you, it was a close substitute to Berlin’s!
While you could totally make this on the grill (and so could I), I pan fried the burger. My grill is inconveniently placed on the balcony off my second bedroom instead of the balcony off my kitchen where it was placed a few years ago. The truth is I’m just not good with the grill and I don’t know if I want to be at this point. I feel like things can go wrong very quickly when using a grill and I don’t like it when food doesn’t turn out.
I would urge you to visit Berlin if you live in the neighborhood because their arugula burgers are amazing. And so are many other items on their menu. If you’re not in the neighborhood you’ll have to settle for making this burger at home, like I did today.
ingredients.
- 1 lb Kobe beef
- one large tomato on the vine, sliced
- two or three hamburger buns
- 4 to 6 slices of havarti cheese
- 6 to 9 pieces of bacon, cooked
- bunch of arugula
- butter
- mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
directions.
- Heat a large frying pan over (just below) medium heat. Add some butter to the pan.
- Form the patties into two or three patties of even size. I measured my meat by ounces and then used a hamburger press to make sure they came out nice and round. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare your buns by cooking them in a large pan over medium-low heat with some butter (cut side down) until they have browned nicely.
- For medium-rare, cook each side for approximately 6 minutes. For the last two minutes top the burgers with two slices of cheese and three pieces of bacon a piece.
- Spread some mayonnaise on the bottom half of the bun. Top with a burger patty. Add a slice of tomato and a small handful of arugula and top with the top half of the bun.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 