Introductions

Not too long ago, Orlando found itself caught up in a phenomenon that was already months in the making. It was an invasion of sorts, but one that Orlando embraced with open arms and open mouths. 

The burger phenomena. 

Who knows how it started, where it came from, or why, but Orlando residents found themselves wanting more than an Quarter Pounder with cheese and a large fries. And thus, when people called, restaurants answered. Establishments solely devoted to providing the heartiest, juiciest and an overall better tasting burger began showing up in places such as Winter Park, Downtown Orlando and even close to the Millenia Area. While many can overlook restaurants that boast a bigger, badder, better burger, I, myself, cannot.

In light of starting this blog off in complete honesty, I will admit: I am not a foodie. I've never been one to take pictures of my dinner and post it places, bragging that it is the best meal you’ve never eaten. But food has always been a passion for me. I enjoy it, as do most. And I enjoy good food. Food that is seasoned correctly (or, for the love of God, seasoned at all), food that is hot and spicy, food that is unique and unusual, food that fills me up but leaves me wanting more. I enjoy it all. 

But since a young age, that infamous question of 'what's your favorite food' has always turned out the same answer: Hamburgers. I love them. They are entire meals in one; placed in between two sesame seed, focaccia, potato, plain white bread, garlic bread or whatever else someone would want to put a hamburger in, buns. The versatility of it, the authenticity of it, no burger should ever taste alike, to me. Even fast food burgers, it would be a shame if McDonald’s Big N' Tasty tasted like a Whopper, but goodness, they are essentially the same thing, right?

The burger gives it’s cooker a creative license to do whatever he chooses with the meat, the bread and anything else lying around his kitchen, as long as it tastes amazing at the end.

And so what is the point of all this? Did I make a blog just to boast my eternal love for the beauty and simplicity that is ground beef and bread? 

Well, yes. I did.

See, I've seen this Orlando phenomenon. I've drove past it, I've walked past it, I've stumbled past it, I've stopped to admire it, I've made plans with it for the future, I've even dined in with it. But there are still places I've overlooked and even places I've yet to discover (some that are outside of Orlando and some that have recently opened).

I want to find what this phenomenon has brought to my doorstep. I want to taste every burger I can get my little hands on and enjoy it the way I did when my grandmother used to take us to McDonalds after church on Sundays ("Nothing like a double cheeseburger after praising the Lord, eh, Merlaine?").

And so that's exactly what I plan to do. 

I will visit a restaurant in Orlando and try a burger on the menu. I will, to the best of my ability, give a breakdown on the burger, deciding if it was worth my time, money, wait, drive, and effort it took in chewing.

What do I hope to accomplish at the end of this? Not sure. Perhaps, I will find my burger soul mate; that one burger where I can boast and say, these burgers are the best I've ever tasted. Or perhaps, I will not and, subsequently, I will have to continue my search elsewhere. 

Who can know? But I look forward to revisiting some old flames of mine and also trying some new burgers that have slipped under my radar in the Orlando area.

Until next time...