Secrets don’t make friends.
Permit me to be real: I hesitated to post this meal. Not because it wasn’t good enough, and not because we’d had it before, but because I wasn’t sure I wanted you to know about it. Because I get DEVASTATED when this super secret, not-on-the-menu burger gets sold out before I can get to it on a Wednesday night. But I love you, readers. I had to let you know (also very few of you live in Madison and are no threat to me, hehe).
Behold, the secret burger at Estrellon (http://www.estrellonrestaurant.com). It couldn’t be a farther cry from the usual upscale Spanish fare (exhibit a: http://omnomwithrob.tumblr.com/post/131987727862/you-know-i-dont-speak-spanish), but I do not care. I just feel privileged to know about it - I’m not sure I ever would have known about it if Rob hadn’t worked there.
Oh my gosh this burger. The not-too-thick patty is 100% BRISKET (what!), so I mean, you could eat it off a shoe and it would still taste good. But it’s not on a shoe - it’s on a delicious challah bun, smushed between layers of pickles, red onions, American cheese, and shredded iceberg lettuce. The sauce on top is a Thai chili thousand island “special sauce,” and it’s incredible. The crunchy shreds of lettuce are what really make it for me - it adds so much freshness and texture the rich, meaty/cheesy/saucey perfection and the sharpness of the onion and pickle. In essence, imagine a Big Mac. Made with the freshest, locally sourced ingredients. Made by a James Beard Award-winning chef. YAS.
You can’t have a burger without fries, and Chef Tory, no surprise, goes big. The burger comes with a cute little basket of fries that have been covered in a green, chimichurri-esque sauce, a red, enchilada-esque sauce, and some plain ol’ aioli. And then, and THEN they’re sprinkled with queso fresco. These little papas are totally beautiful to look at, and the sauces and cheese are very nice, but the fries are just too darn thick for me and lack crispiness. Rob thinks I’m nuts, but I think the fries fall short in the wake of such a standout burger.
Rob and I have had conversations about this - there are classic, all-American burgers, and there are artisanal burgers. Might as well be apples and oranges, but this secret burger walks the perfect line between the two. While it doesn’t give me quite the spiritual experience I had with the mind-blowing Juicy Lucy at Matt’s in Minneapolis (http://omnomwithrob.tumblr.com/post/133370505422/twin-studies), I am happy to consider the two to be in qualitatively different categories. I’m telling you, when I get home after a long Wednesday at work, I am tempted every time by this burger, waiting for me only a little over a block away from our apartment. We’ve had it probably four or five times since Estrellon opened in August, and I’m sure we’ll have it four or five times yet, making it a likely contender for our highest frequency meal during our time in Madison. And I’m not mad about it. The secret’s out - best burger in town.
Caroline