By some miracle, my girlfriend and I have recently moved into a beautiful, spacious, freshly painted apartment with a backyard, a washer/dryer, and a dishwasher: three luxuries that most New Yorkers offer up onto the pyre of compromise very early on. It’s simply assumed: you won’t have those things. You live in the city because the people that live here are interesting, and there are opportunities, and it’s constantly stimulating. And to make it work you give up things, like the ability to own a car, access to basic household appliances, and room to breathe. In New York, routine things become a hassle, like when buying an air conditioner you have to borrow a car or hope a cab drives by J & R when you come out the door. It’s the balance of these two concepts—the hassle and the elation of New York—that convinces people to stay or leave. Eventually, the hassle might win, and you move away.
In Brooklyn the hassle is lighter—there’s room, people are nicer, there’s potential for a good deal. We got lucky and found a family who owns a brownstone in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn, who were renting the first floor apartment. They asked us to choose colors for the walls. The above picture is of the roses that began blooming yesterday outside our kitchen window. They have two kids, a dog, and a beautifully maintained backyard (we share it). They’re a band.
All this to say that this year we were able to celebrate Memorial Day in proper style: with a bunch of friends and a grill. We made the lime zest potato salad, Nick concocted an incredibly good Sangria, we stood around rolling up newspaper trying to get the coals lit. All this probably sounds pretty normal for most people. But when you’re deprived of these basic pleasures and they’re suddenly returned to you, you’ll understand.
There’s always the question of what to do with all the leftover food after a barbecue, not to mention the fridge door full of beer. I’ve been eating potato and pasta salad steadily all week. But with a few extra burger patties lying around, I was looking for a culinary adventure. Enter the “Aussie” burger.
My girlfriend Elin clued me in to this phenomenon. When she was studying in England and hung out with people from South Africa to Australia, there were a few culinary tricks she learned. There was the British Lasagna. Once we made proper bangers and mash, which someday will get posted to this blog. This time around, it was a modification of the American hamburger tradition that her Australian friends taught her—which involves, in various permutations, sliced beets, fried egg, bacon, avocado, and sometimes pineapple.
Perhaps you’re excusing yourself politely after hearing that list. I, too, was skeptical. But, minus the pineapple, this is actually quite worth trying the next time you’re making burgers. Especially because you can now buy beets that are prepared and shrink-wrapped, saving you from having to choose between roasting fresh beets (time-consuming) and pickled in jars (an awful memory from childhood I’d never like to revisit). Those pickled varieties are, I think, why most people don’t like beets. But fresh beets or the shrink-wrapped kind are earthy, meaty, and very sweet. With a well-salted hamburger they are a quite an inspired combination.
Admittedly, this is quite a cholesterol fest, especially when the soft
yolk on the egg breaks and drips all over everything. Keep in mind
that with all these condiments, you should go for a rather thin burger
patty, or else you won’t be able to get your hands around the thing (I
made this mistake). There’s much discussion about what an Aussie
burger really is, but across the board it’s agreed that you need sliced
beets and a fried egg.
The Aussie Burger
½ pound ground sirloin
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
Sliced fresh beets (look for the shrink-wrapped kind—not pickled)
2 fried eggs, yolk still soft.
½ avocado, sliced.
2 slices American cheese
2 slices bacon (optional)
Other condiments as desired (sliced tomato, pickles, etc.)
Salt and pepper
Not much to this recipe, really. Mix the parsley, garlic, and
salt/pepper with the beef. Try to do a minimal amount of mixing the
meat, as it can get tough. Grill the hamburgers to medium-rare, and
start frying the egg after you flip them. Top with condiments, and
serve.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Blake–Congrats to you and Elin on the lovely new apartment and all its amenities. Great insight into New York life. Living in Chicago, I know the balance between the excitement and aggravation of urban life–and I'll choose urban every time. But while you talk about the ability to own a car, I think of New York as offering the ability to get around without one. Whenever I'm in New York, even for extended visits, I revel in getting everywhere by subway or on foot. Sure, we have decent mass transit in Chicago, but life without a car here would still be pretty miserable. And really, how often do you buy an air conditioner or something else big and heavy enough to need a car there?
Oh. And the burgers sound excellent!
It's true–not very often do I need a new air conditioner (i.e., once). And I'm with you, I love public transportation, and my life is simpler without a car, and cheaper, and I'm not polluting. I also forgot to mention that the new apartment is very close to 11 subway lines. That little detail that has indeed made life easier.
The New York system is old, decaying, hot, smelly, etc. But it's also unbelievably extensive and, call me an optimist, pretty reliable (and 24/7 operational). You can always count on being able to get wherever you want to go by bus or train, in fact it's assumed that most people don't have a car, so directions to parties and events are always described in terms of public transportation. It's a mindset that makes it possible to exist without a car and be fine, which isn't usually the case in other cities.
That said, the grass is always "greener" (no pun intended with the green=environmentally sound), and sometimes I wish I didn't have to spend 45 minutes getting somewhere by bus and train when it's a 10 minute drive otherwise. That's why it's important to always have reading material on hand when you're going anywhere in New York! Plus, you do get your exercise walking.
The Chicago system is kind of a disaster, right? I think it takes 2 hours to travel from the airport to the city, and it seems to have lots of delays when I'm home. But the wooden platforms are very charming.
Chicago's isn't too bad–our subways and els just don't go absolutely everywhere like the NYC subway system does. And the buses don't run frequently enough. Regarding "greener," there was an excellent article in the New Yorker a couple of years ago that argued [quite convincingly] that New York is the greenest city in America. Here's a link to the story:
http://www.walkablestreets.com/manhattan.htm
From an Aussie point of view – you got the burger quite right – yes, beets and the fried egg are truly the essentials.
But being a Queenslander originally, I support the avocado and especially the pineapple additions.
For extra tropical-feel you can even go with some mango chutney (which sounds odd, fair enough, but it's good).
You guys have a great site btw. And I do kind of envy the NY transport – here in Canberra our public transport system is rubbish.
you could try walking
Ruby: ouch.
Well, as much as I'd like to walk/ride the 35kms from where I live to where I work, I think I'll give it a miss.
hey Blake, congrats!!! What an awesome turn of events! I'm jealous about the backyard. Do you think people in brooklyn mind if you grill on your stoop?
I love the idea of these burgers and could only do it on the sidewalk, which is cool and de rigeur in the LES, but I'm still new to this Brooklyn livin'.
Congrats on the new digs.
Let's get to this burger "thing".
I have done the rare meat, the over easy egg, the avocado, cheddar, bacon, tomato, onion, and some boston bibb, but the addition of that beet slice makes me swoon. I love beets. I'd have never thunk to put a slice on.
I seriously just ran out and fired up the grill (even in this wet mess).
I know what I am doing with the leftover meat from yesterday's bbq. I even have beets and a very ripe avocado on hand, as well as leftover vidalia and heirloom tomato slices.
Thanks, and good luck in your new place.
PS: you forgot the mayo.
Give the sunburnt cow a try, its in the east village. They have a great brunch that serves the burgers you describe and all you can drink bloody mary's and mimosa's…for $15. Australian beer on tap, a great way to spend a lazy sunday. i am a recent transplant from chicago and all i can say is the "EL" is too loud to talk on, i'll take the heat in the nyc subway any day