Savory, not sweet, Victory

As every good, down home American is apt to do from time to time I made a bet on a sports game a little while back.  It was a bet between two cooks and over a meal.  And the bet?  The loser had to cook the other a victory meal over the LSU/Alabama game on November 5th.  We weren't going to make the other cook foie gras, lobster, P&J oysters, or anything else of the sort because, well, ...we are just working cooks.

As history--and the previous post--will tell you I am the Alabama fan and I lost. Painfully.  My counterpart actually made it pretty easy for me.  He wanted a home-cooked, made-from-scratch grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Easy and simple.

However, as the time for the National Championship crept increasing closer I was pondering, rematch?  We did not make it a double-or-nothing bet--after all I wanted SOME sort of compensation--and so we simply made the bet over again.

And here is what I have to say about burgers.

Burgers are part of that American spirit.  The type that makes silly bets over football games and should be as glorious as the game and victory itself.  I, however, have never found the "perfect" burger in New Orleans.  The two best burgers I have ever bought were from The Oasis in Cottondale, AL and Pirates Cove in Josephine, AL.  The Oasis is the joint you go to wearing blue jeans and a hangover and you can't be intimidated when you waitress serves you while smoking her Virginia Slims.  Pirates Cove is very much on the same level as The Oasis except instead of parking your car, ordering a beer, and listening to people talk about Bear Bryant you dock your boat, order a bushwacker, and wait for you number to be called while dogs and children run around the sand covered deck.  To most people these are not the places you want to search for their health code grades or pay too much attention to clientele, but for me they symbolize childhood and a damn good burger.

So that was what was on the line for me the night of January 9th.  A burger that takes 12 napkins to eat because of the mess and makes you hide in a corner while you devour it so no one else will talk to you.

And last night my friend and I converge in my kitchen with three packages of cheese, buns, sandwich bread, ground meat, two onions, two packages of bacon, six tomatoes, a head of lettuce, a jar of pickles, and beer.

His victory dinner crafted by yours truly: a grilled cheese supreme with curried tomato soup.

My victory dinner crafted by an actual cook: a  1 lb burger patty dressed with a pickle spear side.

It was magnificent and a dinner worthy of the great football season that has just passed.  And until I find the next burger that takes me 12 napkins and a moment of silence to consume I will dream of this one.

Grilled Cheese Supreme:  6 oz Grilled Onions, 4 slices tomatoes, 3 strips of bacon, 4 oz Pepperjack Cheese, 4 oz Cheddar Cheese, Dijon Mustard, Rye Bread

Delicious Burger:  1 lb burger patty nestled between two strips of bacon, tomato slice, two iceberg lettuce leaves, ketchup, mustard, bun. Done.