A better burger.

I love burgers. Yeah, I know you probably do to, but I really love hamburgers. Like women, burgers come in all shapes and sizes and I like them all equally, though some are more equal than others.

West Coast style burgers (a la Red Mill) will do in a pinch, but I'd give a kidney for a bacon cheese Whataburger, and I would most certainly do unspeakable things for a double double from In-N-Out.  I like burgers with fried eggs (of many avian species),  green chilies, peanut butter, onions of any persuasion, meat (bacon, ham, salami, etc etc etc), pickles in any guise, ripe tomatoes, and I'm not a bigot where condiments are concerned.  I even like burgers that aren't really burgers in the classic sense. Lamb, chicken, all manner of fish, pork, mushrooms, eggplant, et alia, all make for excellent burgers. 

I like thin patties fried up on the griddle, fat, juicy, and obscenely rare patties from reputable joints, and burnt hockey-pucks from the backyard grill. And don't get me started on cheese! The possibilities are endless, which is what makes the humble hamburger such an amazing thing to behold.

What the hell?

So yeah, it's been a month since I last updated. Not particularly proud of that, but you know how it goes. Things have just been crazy around Casa de la Spangler lately, and between work, traveling, being good dog parents, sinus infections, and family visits, I just haven't found the time to write. I'll try to be better about it in the future.

On the upside, I have been using my time wisely. The wife and I went to Maui for 6 fabulous days and got some much needed downtime. I won a performance award at work, so they flew us out, put us up in a kick-ass resort, fed us well, and treated us like royalty.  Resort living ain't necessarily our thing, but we rented a car for a few days and explored the island. We had lunch at one of Bev Gannon's restaurants, saw kite / wind surfers riding 30' swells at Hookipa and the best Hawaiian Ices at a little shack in Kihei.

No time for love, Dr Jones.**

So yeah, been busy. The wife and I went back to TX for a few days to help our friends' Jamie and Denny celebrate their shotgun wedding.  Saw the friends and family, drank too much, and ate some mother-loving Whataburger. I love Whataburger.

Now I don't eat fast food often, I think most of it is pretty gross in fact. There are, however,  a few places that I hold in high esteem: In-and-Out, Taco Bueno, and Whataburger. Chick-Fil-A use to be on the list; they had a mean chicken biscuit once upon a time, but not so much anymore.

Like key lime pie?

The wife and I had some friends over Saturday night for a little fish taco party. The tacos ruled (and I'll blog about that some other time), but the star of show was the key lime pie. After a gluttonous feast of fried snapper with chipotle lime mayo, this key lime pie was exactly what we needed to cool our palettes.

Every pie lives and dies by the crust, so don't wuss out and use a pre-made version . The brown sugar and cinnamon add an amazing complexity to the crust, so thanks to my Mom for that little nugget.

Jamie, this one's for you!