The Burger Dilemma

I’ll admit it...I am a foodie. I care more about what type of aoli (a fancy word for mayonnaise) is on my cheeseburger than most. In fact I would go so far to say that I am the “Alton Brown” of my family. On any given day on the week most often you’ll find me watching shows like Man VS Food, Iron Chef America or Barefoot Contessa thinking up ways to turn the contents of my college budget refrigerator into a meal that could cause Hubert Keller to bow down in worship the wake that is my culinary greatness.

So when on a trip home to Des Moines I discovered the existence of a hamburger named “The Luther” I had to check it out, just for my own geeky sanity. Supposedly it is named after the departed R & B star Luther Vandross consisting of a ¼ lb. hamburger patty between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a slice of cheddar cheese and strips of bacon. There is a version in Des Moines that you buy for 5 dollars at The Iowa Machine Shed. At a whopping 1,500 calories per burger, eating it could possibly induce a coma.Wanting my curiosity satisfied I performed the dreaded Google search and discovered even more; regional varieties including fried eggs and chocolate covered bacon. Among the results was also a cartoon series named "The Boondocks" by Aaron McGruder which features the now famous burger in an episode titled “The Itis.” (the video clip is hyper-linked to the title)

What is it about the discovery of hot new food items that causes it to be linked high calorie, high fat yet oh so delicious is taking this to the extreme. For those of you who don’t know 2000 calories is daily requirement for most human beings….DAILY. So imagine having 3 of these one for breakfast lunch and dinner...Whoa boy! I am all for trying new things but not if it causes a heart attack. I am a wimp that way, but at least I’ll be standing after all the eating is done.

-Brittany Hall