Crest Cafe's Butter Burger Redefines Gluttony in San Diego
Posted by Erin Jackson, August 27, 2010 at 2:45 PM
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/08/crest-cafes-butter-burger-review-san-diego-ca.htmlCrest Cafe
425 Robinson Avenue, San Diego CA (map); 619-295-2510; crestcafe.net
Cooking Method: Charbroiled
Short Order: Gluttony at its best: a burger stuffed with butter, then topped with cheese and spicy mayo. You won't find a juicier burger anywhere else
Want Fries With That? Go for it! All burgers come with your choice of crispy fresh cut fries, homemade potato chips, or several salads
Price: Butter Burger, $10.95; Crest Burger, $8.95
Notes: 2 for 1 burgers on Tuesday evenings, plus free delivery if you don't feel like hunting for parking in Hillcrest
If eating a burger stuffed with butter is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Crest Cafe has turned me on to a higher form of gluttony than I ever thought possible, and it feels good to be bad.
The cozy and colorful diner in Hillcrest features classic American comfort food, including their signature burger: the butter burger. This beast of a burger is made of half a pound of ground beef stuffed with garlic and herb butter. During the cooking process even more of the seasoned butter is slathered on top. And then, as if that wasn't enough, it's topped with cheese and a spicy garlic mayo.
I'm more than a little proud to say I conquered this beast and lived to tell the tale. For those of you AHT readers who can't make it to San Diego to take on the butter burger, here's the recipe.
Crest Cafe Better Butter Burger
4 servings
COMPOUND BUTTER
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
2 large garlic cloves, minced
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil
11/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
ROASTED GARLIC AIOLI
1 cup mayonnaise
11 small garlic cloves, roasted, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
BURGERS
2 pounds fresh ground beef or Angus beef
Sliced cheese
Sliced red onion
Sliced Roma tomatoes
Green leaf lettuce
4 onion hamburger buns
For the Compound Butter: Stir together all the butter ingredients, then spoon onto plastic wrap in a six-inch long mound. Fold plastic wrap over butter to enclose and roll to form a log about 21/2 inches in diameter. Chill butter until firm, about 2 hours.
For the Roasted Garlic Aioli: Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
For the Burger: Form beef into four (8-ounce) patties. Stuff a slice of the compound butter inside the middle of each patty. Broil the burgers to desired doneness, then place another slice of butter on the burger. Top burgers with sliced cheese and broil just to melt cheese. Place burgers on bun. Top with Roasted Garlic Aioli, onion, tomato and lettuce.
(From Ruben Medina and Luis Moreno of Crest Cafe.)