
The burger: For those who tally food miles – that's the distance logged between farm and table – the journey that the burger takes at Estelle's Eatery & Bar in Harmony, Minn., is surely one of the shortest on record. And that freshness is evident in every quality-laden, deliriously delicious bite. OK, there's one hitch: Twin Cities diners will have to drive about 130 miles to enjoy it.
Outwardly, this burger could be filed under "no-nonsense," as it's little more than patty, cheese and bun. First impressions are often deceiving, because when it comes to this burger, there's a lot more going on than meets the eye.
For starters, the weighty patty – it clocks in somewhere between a third-pound and a half-pound – is the stuff that burger dreams are made of. What a spectacularly rich and flavorful grind, a well-balanced blend of sirloin, chuck and flank.
Naturally, it doesn't travel far on its journey from farm to chef/co-owner Matt Brown's kitchen. A Harmony farmer raises Black Angus cattle, and the animals are processed to Brown's specifications in nearby Eyota, Minn. What a smart food chain: diners benefit not just in terms of quality control, but also in economics.
"We're cutting out the middleman, and putting the savings right back into the burger," said Brown. (Don't believe me? See '"Price," below).
Because he cut his culinary teeth as a member of the excess-is-our-middle-name crew at Travail Kitchen & Amusements (more on that in a moment), Brown isn't content to leave well enough alone. That's why you'll find him paddling additional beef fat into that first-rate grind. Then he reaches for the salt and pepper (and hints of garlic and shallot) before forming notably thick patties that tend to hang, muffin top-style, over the bun's edges.
They're grilled on a flattop, nurtured to a just-right spot between medium and medium rare. The results are melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the patty's surfaces leave the stove with just enough sizzling, caramelized char to introduce another layer of bold, beefy flavor.
The sole embellishment is a sharp, melty Cheddar (with beef this good, nothing more is required). The whole shebang arrives on a Kaiser bun (baked to Brown's specifications at a nearby supermarket) that's sturdy enough to hold up to that juicy, heavy patty. The bun gets a little brush of olive oil and a quick toast on the stove, and it's perfectly suitable, if a little on the dull side.