October 9th Part 2: Burgers/Monster B's Party Bus

Previously, on Food Plus Beer:
Uh…just read the post below this one. That should provide adequate summation.

Anyway, with the rapture of Stew Leonard’s still fresh in our minds, Food Plus Beer decided it was time for…

Food and Beer. What, are you surprised?

In my case, it was more like Food Plus Beer Plus Rum. Always ends well. We threw back a few while watching UConn football build up an impressive lead against Pittsburgh and then throw it away in vulgarity-inducing, heartbreaking fashion. It was the type of sports-related tragedy that only meat can fix.

Now; there are burgers, and there are blog burgers. And we’re not going to bore you with the former.

It's common knowledge that everything is better when it's wrapped in bacon. In this case we decided to wrap it around a pair of massive beef patties. Here's how we did it:



Start with some fatty ground chuck (80/20). Make sure you have enough for at least two-third pounds per burger (otherwise you'll have wimpy burgers). 


Season your meat as desired then make two one-third pound, flat patties of equal size.
Put a slice of cheese on top of one, and then put the other patty on top.


Pinch the sides together so that you have one large burger stuffed with cheese. (make it a little thinner in the middle so you don't end up with a meatball)


Lay out 4 slices of bacon in a weave formation:

Center the burger on the bacon weave and fold the strips over the burger.
Grill on high heat on both sides for 2 minutes to start in order to sear the bacon and have it properly stick to the burger.


Cook as desired and add more cheese to the top during the last minute.

How was it you ask? Well, it was awesome. With bacon drippings getting absorbed by the burger as the fat renders, and a slice of cheese in the center, this might just be the juiciest burger you'll ever have. You'll have a hard time burning this one. Although the burger was full of delicious bacon flavor, the only problem I had was that the bacon didn't get crispy. I enjoy a bit of crunch when I'm eating my burger. Solution: cook more crispy bacon in the traditional way and throw it on top!

-Kyle

After dinner, we were joined by several more friends of Food Plus Beer, and the thought of going to a bar arose. I was indifferent at first…there were drinks where we were that weren’t 5 bucks. But then someone said something that woke up megabuzzed One-Track-Mind Ryan: “Monster B’s Party Bus.” You may remember a brief mention of this magical service in our initial Monster B’s writeup.

It was over. This was happening. Even if no one else wanted to go, we still would have gone. But as it turned out, everyone seemed pretty thrilled about this magical idea, and so we called. There were 9 people in our party, and they said we needed 15. We pulled the old “Well, I suppose I’ll just take my business elsewhere” routine, and before long, the bus was picking us up.

There’s just something surreal about an actual bus that brings you to and from the bar free of charge. I’m still not sure whether or not that happened. We didn’t stay long, and our time there was a bit hazy, but one thing is for damn sure – we haven’t ridden the party bus for the last time. Also, smart business plan. Seriously. That bus provided them with 9 customers who otherwise certainly wouldn’t have gone to Monster B’s – and there was a cover charge. (The one bummer about the whole thing – there was some cover band there that night).

So the bus brings us back to our downtown location, and drops us off in the middle of the road. As we’re walking away, the bus gets pulled over. Kind of funny, but mostly, it’s a shame. Anything that disturbs the Monster B’s Party Bus in the performance of its duties is ill-advised in my book.

October 9th. Nice day to be alive.

One more thing...Stop by your local delicious Taco Bell on Halloween and pick up a free Black Taco! 6 pm to midnight.

-Ryan