A Morning Menu of Stories We Think You’ll Find Interesting

New Zagat Survey: Luger Burger Best in NYC

For the first time, Zagat surveyed NYC diners to find out where the best burgers in the city can be found, and Peter Luger came out on top. At about $13, the chopped dry-aged prime beef is really quite a bargain, too. The one catch: it’s lunch only. No burgers at dinner. We’re not sure, though: can you get one at the bar at night? We’ve been to Luger multiple times but have never tried the burger, because how can we pass up the steak? Yes, we could always order a burger as an appetizer, but doesn’t that really cross the line of indulgence? Perhaps one day. Here’s the Zagat top NYC burgers list.

Bagel vs. Bagel

Montreal bagels - better than NYC bagels?

Montreal bagels – better than NYC bagels?

Munchies presents The Battle of the Bagels, as David Heti presents his point of view that Montreal bagels are real bagels, and New York City bagels are bogus. The next day, Joshua David Stein presents his vehement defense of New York bagels. Read them both and decide for yourself.

Willie Mae’s Chicken Coming to Uptown New Orleans

Some of the best fried chicken we’ve ever had was from Willie Mae’s Scotch House in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. The only problem for tourists is that you need a car or a cab to get there. That problem disappears next Friday when Willie Mae’s Grocery and Deli opens in Uptown New Orleans. They’ll serve the same chicken, but now visitors staying in the French Quarter can take the St. Charles streetcar right to the restaurant, about six blocks before you reach Camellia Grill. Unlike the Treme restaurant, the St. Charles spot will stay open till 9 p.m.

Primanti by Mail


Hey, for only $109, which includes shipping, you can now have four Primanti Bros. sandwiches delivered to you or the Pittsburgh expatriate of your choice! Choose capicola or pastrami (or both). Here’s what you get in the box:

1 Loaf of Primanti’s Italian Bread
Primanti’s fresh cut Pastrami and/or Capicola
Primanti’s Cheese
Primanti’s French Fries
Primanti’s Cole Slaw
Tomato
Red Devil Hot Sauce
Tee Shirt

Might be fun for someone who has been away for a long time. Us, we’ll wait for our next visit to the Steel City.

“Who Would Come to Lexington for a Festival about Barbecue?”

Lexington, NC is known for chopped barbecued pork shoulder with vinegar sauce.

Lexington, NC is known for chopped barbecued pork shoulder with vinegar sauce.

We’re especially fond of this story in the Lexington, NC paper The Dispatch, written by Sharon Myers, because it illustrates some of the philosophy of the kind of food tourism we like to do. When the Lexington Barbecue Festival (the 31st edition happens today) was first proposed, the writer was in high school, and her reaction is contained in the title of this post. There’s nothing special about Lexington barbecue if you grow up in Lexington. And that’s exactly what, as visitors, we’re looking for: the things the local people think of as “normal” food, nothing special, everybody eats that. Yes! Of course, her lack of teenage enthusiasm may also have been due, in part, to those pig ears she had to wear as part of the marching band that performed at that first festival.