How to Make the Perfect Burger

Sadly, it's not as exciting as it sounds

(NEWSER) - Just in case KFC’s Double Down isn’t sufficiently artery-clogging for you, Carl’s Jr. has the solution: A footlong cheeseburger. Creatively dubbed the “Footlong Cheeseburger,” the $4 sandwich is being tested in at least one California restaurant, the Orange County Register reports. The good news: The sandwich actually sticks out of the to-go bag. The bad news: Rather than crafting an actual footlong burger, Carl's Jr. employs three normal-size patties. More»

Skip the mundane (ketchup, lettuce) and the overly fancy (brie, Kobe)

(NEWSER) - Kevin Pang sent six months eating cheeseburgers, and he's sharing his hard-earned expertise with his fellow meat-eaters. From the Chicago Tribune:

• Cheese: Just say no to feta, bleu, or brie.
• Condiments: Skip the ketchup and mustard; head directly for the mayo.
• Bun: Yes, there is a taste difference between toasted and untoasted. Opt for toasted, preferably buttered.

From onion blossoms to overhyped chefs, these things need to go away

(NEWSER) - Asked to name the decade's worst dining trends, chefs and other food experts couldn't shut up. There were too many (including "mache, water sommeliers, organ-meat entrees, unisex bathrooms, bacon tattoos on chefs, over-flaunted kitchen burns, chefs tables") for Christopher Borrelli to list them all, but he hits the top 10 in the Chicago Tribune:

• Fried onion blossoms: Too sweaty, too greasy, too little onion, and too much fried stuff.
• The $40 entree: When your neighborhood bistro has hit these heights, it's time to say enough is enough.

Calorie counts are a bummer, and unisex bathrooms are embarrassing

(NEWSER) - Why must everything, from burgers to pizza to Vietnamese street sandwiches, have a high-end gourmet version? Those three things should die, along with 9 other food trends that bug Esquire:

1. Faux speakeasies: spots with no phone number, sign
2. "Farm to table": idea is fine, but the expression must die
3. Unisex bathrooms

California chain in-N-Out Burger wins top honors

(NEWSER) - The people at Food & Wine , given the taxing task of singling out America's best burger, from roadside joints to posh restaurants serving Kobe beef burgers, have picked the top 25. First prize goes to cheeseburgers from West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger , famed for its made-to-order burgers of Harris Ranch beef—and its employee-centered personnel policies. The rest of the top 5:

• Minetta Tavern, New York City. Its Black Label Burger, made from a blend of dry-aged rib eye, skirt steak, brisket and short rib, is topped with caramelized onions.