Summer 2012 Burger Awards

Following up on last year's Burger Awards, here is this summer's list of the best Burgers I've had.

Starting with this beautiful Bacon & Cheddar Burger with Jalapenos and Red Onion from Bill's Bar and  Burger in New York: I loved the generous amount of Jalapenos as well as the overall texture and taste of this one!

Bacon cheeseburger at The Corner Bistro: Although this burger was good, I must admit it didn't live up to the hype of being The best burger in New York City. I, later, learned that the chef that used to prepare this rumored excellent burger doesn't work at The Corner Bistro anymore which might explain my relatively disappointing experience:

My Favorite Rooftop Bar in New York: 230 Fifth

Sipping a cocktail on a sunny afternoon in New York while contemplating the skyline is an absolute delight. This is the reason why there are many rooftop bars in the city and I can only recommend any newcomer to the Big Apple to experience it. 230 Fifth is located at 230 5th Avenue (making it rather easy to remember its name/location) and it is a must-go.

Enter the building, be nice to the bouncer and head for the elevators to reach the top floor. Children are only allowed between 4 and 6pm so keep this in mind as my suggestion is to go there before sunset so as to enjoy both the daylight, sunset and night views.

More pictures after the break:

Another Secret Bar In New York: Bleecker Heights Tavern

Should you ever wander on Bleecker Street in New York after 4pm and stumble upon the Five Guys burger joint pictured above, then follow this route: head to the counter but instead of ordering food (which is something you can also do before following my instructions), follow the restrooms sign and...

WD~50 Molecular Restaurant Review (New York)

There aren't that many places in the world where one can have the opportunity to eat molecular food. As New York City is one of them, I took advantage of a recent trip there to have dinner at renowned chef Wylie Dufresne's WD~50 restaurant.

First off, let me say that I was surprised by the relatively casual setting of the restaurant which is not necessarily a negative point. If you're sitting at a table, you only have two options: the "Tasting Menu" and "From The Vault". Both are preset menus, the former representing the latest take on molecular gastronomy of the chef and the latter focusing on his all-time classics. We decided to order the tasting menu with wine pairing as it had more items and we wanted to try as many different dishes as possible.

Dinner started with a molecular Grey Goose Dirty Martini with a 2D paprika oil disk just to be in the mood for the molecular dishes to come! This 2D disk is a nice and original attempt at replacing olives with something less common. Then came the "Nigiri, Salsify, Seawed, Sesame" which I found to be tasty and interesting in structure:

A New York Secret Bar Experience (Please Don't Tell)

Secret bars are nothing new but they make for a very special and fun experience. As I had the chance to try one of them, I can only secretly share it with you. So: Please don't tell!

I can't tell you all about it but I strongly suggest you go pay a visit to Crif Dogs on your next trip to New York. If you love hot dogs, you will have the chance to taste the best hot dog in New York so don't hesitate to order one. Here's what the entrance to Crif Dogs looks like just a few steps down from the sidewalk:

                                                                

Once you're in, you will be facing the counter where you can order New York's finest hot dot. And don't get me wrong, many people come here only for hot dogs so it is usually packed and the secret bar is hidden well!

Delta Business Elite Flat-Bed Seats Review

As I recently traveled on the Frankfurt - New York JFK route with Delta, I have to share my impressions of Delta's Business Elite Flat-Bed seats. As you can see above this relatively new seat uses the "pod" design and does provide the passenger with a very wide armrest which is large enough to leave your food tray should you feel the need to get up while in the middle of your meal.

You will aslo find a regular power source as well as a USB port which should be plenty enough to charge your electronic devices while aboard. The In Flight Entertainment (IFE) system is a pleasure to use as the user interface is very responsive (compared to Air France's extremely slow IFE where there's almost a second lag after each press of a button).

Air France A380 Business Class Review: From Paris to New York

Flying aboard the A380 has finally become a reality for me and although this A380 review is not the first one in its category, the flyertalker in me had to do it! So, here is my experience flying aboard AF6 from one airport named after a French president to another airport named after an American president.

As you can see in the picture above, the A380 is huge!

There are three jetways for boarding: two for the lower deck and one for the upper deck. The one closest to the cockpit is for First Class passengers. The configuration is as follows:

- Lower deck: First class in the front and then Economy all the way to the back of the plane
- Upper deck: Business Class in the front and Economy all the way to the back of the plane

This is a view from the jetway to the upper deck:

View from the upper deck business class cabin:

View of the inside of the business class cabin. Nothing new in the implementation of this business class compared to other planes besides the change from the color blue to brown for the seats. The A380 doesn't feature the latest business class seats introduced by Air France last year.

Note sure if the colors are accurate on this picture: the seats are brown instead of the usual blue:

Champagne as a preflight drink. Why can't they fill the glasses a bit more?

Starters: foie gras & shrimps

 

Main course: chicken fillet. This was good but my first choice of main course was Truffle Taglioni. They had unfortunately run out of them when they got to my seat.

The Mezzanine: located all the way in the front of the upper deck. This is a huge waste of space in my opinion. Three screens where you can view artwork or whatever the inflight entertainment system is showing whenever/if it is actually working. Why don't they make it a full bar?

Staircase to the lower deck at the back of the upper deck:

Inflight Entertainment System: in addition to the usual audio/video offerings, you can see live videos from the plane with three different cameras: one in the front, another one in the tail and the last one underneath this big bird! However, the system had to be rebooted for the first three hours of my flight before it finally worked. Nothing was available until then: no movies, no music. In general, the system offers many choices of on-demand videos but it is very slow and feels unresponsive. The old Inflight Entertainment System on Delta, though less sophisticated, is at least snappy which feels great in terms of user experience.

All in all, I was amazed by the quietness of the A380 even during take-off and landing. The downside to it is that you can hear passengers snoring two rows behind you and you realize how noisy business class seats can be when electric motors are in action. Another issue was service. Although the crew was very nice and attentive, it seemed they were overwhelmed by the amount of passengers in the business class cabin. It took more than an hour and half for service to begin. If you add that to the two hour delay before take-off on this particular day, I ended up eating lunch at 5:30pm after feeling famished for almost an hour!

Carnegie Deli's Hot Pastrami Sandwich Review

This Hot Pastrami Sandwich is, without a doubt, the best I've had. Granted I only had 3 in my entire life but still! The juiciness of the Pastrami combined with mayo (yes I love mayo) made this the quintessential sandwich. Carnegie Deli in New York boasts being Woody Allen's favorite sandwich joint and I must say my taste buds seem to agree with his! The place is full of tourists but the Pastrami is worth the hassle! So, next time you're in New York, just go there!

How To Never Experience Grief Ever Again And Become Superhuman

One of the worst feelings that one can experience is grief. Mourning the loss of a loved one or of an ability is a painful process that, unfortunately, most human beings have to go through at one point or another in their life.

An easy way to avoid this is to become a geek and heavily involve yourself in all matters related to computers, technologies and the Internet in general. By looking forward to the next gadget release, you will lose touch with reality, become oblivious to your surroundings and effectively early-adopt the next gizmo on the very first day it becomes available. You will then throw away the tool it replaced without feeling the least bit of sadness. This whole process will enable you to become Superhuman and never have to experience grief ever again for your entire life will only be about gadgets.

Don't thank me for this awesome tip. It is provided as a courtesy of my benevolent personality. And remember that donating money to this blog is heavily discouraged and not welcome at all. In fact, if you try send me money, I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger (specially if you attempt to poison and destroy my brothers).

Note: This tip does not apply to the mourning of the Wicked since "No one mourns the Wicked".

I Like To Shave My Balls And Wiener

My passion for food isn't limited to hamburgers! I also love Italian food. For most people, Italian food and pizzas might be synonym. But there is a lot more to Italian food than pizzas! As a matter of fact, I recently sampled some delicious meatballs and sausages (pictured above) at Tony's Di Napoli in New York - Times Square. The way I like to eat them is to shave off all the tomato sauce of the sausages (wieners) and meatballs, then add an onion with my fork and a tiny little bit of the aforementioned sauce before eating them! Believe me, the best way to enjoy them is to shave the tomato sauce off!