ShackBurger: American Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and ShackSauce – Single $4.75  Double $7.25

French Fries: 100%  Trans-fat free, made with Yukon Gold potatoes – $2.75

Prepare yourself for a long line at Madison Square Park Shake Shack, where the legendary burger shack that started in 2004.

Southeast corner of Madison Square Park, near Madison Ave. and East 23rd St. New York, NY
Phone: (212) 889-6600

http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/

Grilled Thracian Beef Tenderloin — TRL 50

The steak has been butterflied as it was ordered ‘well done’. It was cooked with lemon and olive oil. The steak sits upon mashed potato with spinach and spring vegetables accompanying it. A demi glace sauce is also delivered with the dish.

Suzer Plaza, Elmadag, 34367, Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 334 44 44

Saslik Kebab — TRL 20

This dish comprised of barbecued slices of specially marinated beef and onion rings. This marination is a specialty of Turkish cuisine. This restaurant was recommended as the ‘best’ for classic Turkish kebabs, however, the restaurant both tried to double the bill by both adding extra items and by increasing the quantity of drinks we ordered. The dish was, nonetheless, very seasoned and tender.

Çamlık Sokak No:15, Levent, Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 270 24 33

Iskender Stylized Beef Fillet Escalopes — TRL 34

Sitting above Istanbul with panoramic views of the mosques and skyline this restaurant offers a spin off traditional Turkish cuisine. Served with yogurt, tomato confit, and a charliston pepper. The meat has been marinated for 24 hours to offer an extremely succulent taste. Underneath the steak lie soaked bread pieces that are also very soft and add a bit of texture to the tender beef.

Istiklal Caddesi, Misir Apt, 34330, Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 251 10 42

Deluxe Burger — TRL 32

Grilled burger with swiss cheese, onion, lettuce, tomatoes and french fries.

Suzer Plaza, Elmadag, 34367, Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 334 44 44

Filet Mignon with Grenailles Potatoes – Euro 32.00

Presented at this new Parisian dining establishment is very standard menu but using the very best ingredients. This steak was extremely tender, breaking apart with the slight movement of my knife (which is also pictured above). The baby pebble like potatoes were also an excellent supplement. They were firm and did not crumble. One thing that was missing, in this reviewers opinion, was an option of sauces or mustards to accompany the dish. The sauce as shown above was merely as it seems for presentation purposes as it was stuck to the plate.

There are a list of side dishes you may choose from as well including: green salad, fries, quinoa, bushel of spinach, green beans, mashed potatoes, and grenailles potatoes. All sides were Euro 8.00.

37 Avenue de Friedland, 75008, Paris
Phone: 01 82 28 75 08

Marinated Portobello, Blue Brie, Griddled Scallions, Dijonnaise – $8.00 (additional fried egg, $2.00)

This American delicatessen is one juicy contender using grass-fed beef cooked till slightly pink core, sandwiched between two freshly toasted crunchy buns. Grass-fed beef is suppose to taste different due to the cow’s different diet compared with the typical American feedlot cows feeding on corn mill. But all that goodness from the included ingredients makes it hard to really pick out the beefier taste; however, we can take comfort in the cow’s healthy well-being before the slaughter. As for the innards of this burger, we have diced and sauteed marinated portobello mushrooms, melted blue brie cheese, griddled scallions for the herby taste and texture, and dijonnaise for the slight tang. If that mouthful of flavors isn’t enough for you, a fried egg can be added. Perfectly orchestrated fried egg with still runny yolk will end this burger on a high note.

2954 North Sheffield Avenue, Chicago 60657
Phone: (773) 360-8686

Filet Mignon – Euro 36.00

The newest edition to the Costes family of restaurants, La Societe is hidden in plain sight with no signs or mention of the restaurant. Once inside patrons must take a side door to enter the restaurant which has been designed by Christian Liaigre, and is frequented by the Fendi family as well as Domenico and Stefano Gabbana. The filet mignon steak is presented simply with a portion of sauce bearnaise. The dish is also accompanied by a portion of mashed potatoes.

4, Place de Saint-German-des-Pres, 75006, Paris
Phone: 01 53 63 60 60

Yook Hwe-$14.95 (serves four unless you know you love it, then this may be good for two)

Yook (meat) Hwe (raw and edible) [pronounced: yuqwe] is an authentic Korean appetizer. The sesame marinated beef tartar is served with thin slices of garlic, Asian pear and cucumber, and with the raw egg yolk on top, nothing is cooked in this dish.  The way to tackle this ball of thinly shredded meat is to break the yolk and mix all the ingredients really well so that each bite contains some spicy raw garlic, sweet juicy pear, crispy cucumber and of course some beef. I threw in some Kimchi and the flavors blend well. It is very raw, but with the strong flavors of the condiments and the heavy sesame oil base marinade, you cannot really taste the rawness of the beef. Though the sliminess, especially with the egg yolk mixed in, is inevitable.  Give it a try, you will be excited by the adventurous textures and flavors if the idea itself isn’t enough. Even my sashimi-intolerant  friend enjoyed multiple servings of it and said he will definitely return for more. Koreans know their meat and sauces but make sure you trust the quality and freshness, extra important when things are RAW, but from my experience, this is not something you have to worry about at Woo Lae Oak.

3201 Algonquin Road,
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008-3830
(847) 870-9910

RL Burger – $12.00 (lunch)
Addition of Mushrooms/Bacon/Cheese – $2.00

Another one of those juicy seasoned sirloin burgers brought you to by RL Restaurant. The patty comes with a sesame covered toasted challah bun, usual lettuce, and caramelized onions and mushrooms. Like most quality burgers, this one is teaming with bursting flavorful juices that inevitably cause a mess at this quality diner. And seasoned fries.

115 E Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL
Phone: (312) 475 1100

Hyugui (beef tongue)

We all know all-you-can-eat buffets don’t provide the highest quality food. It is the nature of a buffet and its business model. BBQ Hut offers the regular Korean menu, but also offer a $22.95 barbecue buffet if you decide to go with it. If you decided to go with the buffet, it is mandatory that all members of your table also choose the barbecue buffet. The buffet offers a somewhat wide range of meats from beef tongue to chicken gizzards. The one great buffet item from BBQ Hut that stands out is their Hyugui or beef tongue. The restaurant gives you thin, palm-sized cuts of the beef tongue that still maintains its large cut after shrinkage from the grill. What is great about the cut is that you can have a mouthful of chewy beef tongue where as at other Korean restaurants they give you small slices. Beef tongue by itself may not be the most appealing so there is a dipping sauce made out of sesame oil, diced black sesame, and salt. The shining aspect of this particular meal at this particular restaurant is the price. An order of beef tongue at other restaurants is comparable to a single dinner order and they give you minimal slices. At BBQ Hut, you can sit there for hours delighting in several and maybe exotic meats.

1147 N Roselle Road, Hoffman Estates, IL
Phone: (847) 882-9292

The Professor Skip Gates – $9.95

From one of the older burger establishments in the prime locale across from Harvard University, Mr. Bartley offers a variety of burgers with a variety of names featuring names of significant political individuals to references to the current popular culture. The Professor Skip Gates burger barely squeezes a marinated teriyaki patty and grilled pineapple into a sesame bun. Definitely a messy business with the accompanying fried onion rings.

1246 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA
Phone: (617) 354-6559

Three Prime Cheeseburgers – $6.00

Morton’s known for its expensive and quality beef offer a special menu during specific hours (usually between 4:00-6:00pm) at specific Morton’s. Their ‘bar bites’ menu offer several small dishes for $6.00 dollars with one of them being the Three Prime Cheeseburgers. Crisp bun, juicy USDA prime-aged beef , red onion, tomato slices, and lettuce, all attributes of a delicious burger.

2 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 526-0410

Grass-Fed Half Pound Burger Daddy – $12.50 (Bacon strips +$0.75)

A burger from cow that is only grass-fed from Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. Unable to tell the difference from other patties, but definitely reassures me that the originating cow was treated humanely in an open farm. The burger was juicy with Tremont’s somewhat sweet secret house mayonnaise. I decided to add bacon strips to personalize my burger making it little salty and cruchy. Everything with string fries on the side, of course.

647 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 266-4600

Beef Tenderloin With Gravy and Chips

The menu at this particular French brasserie changes daily, but once in awhile you may catch this delicious entree. The entree consists of beef tenderloin that is very tender at medium rare that is immersed in gravy and their special house sauce. On top of the tenderloin are puffed-up potato chips. The combination of chewy beef, crispy potato chips, and foamy potato puree is fabulous.

11, Rue Dupin, 75006 Paris, France
Phone: +33 (1) 42 22 64 56