Burger Binge

When preformed patties just won’t do 

By Charlotte Libov

Executive chef Bob Mignola serves a mean bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms at Clarke’s Miami Beach. Photo by Richard M. Brooks

Most people don’t think of the hamburger as the harbinger of spring that I do. When I lived in Connecticut, I eagerly awaited the end of March, when the doors at Corey’s roadside burger joint swung open and college kids began dishing out burgers into cardboard boxes.

Now that I’m happily ensconced on South Beach, my frozen fingers don’t need to be wrapped around a warm bun to alert me that it’s safe to go outside. But I still love a good burger, so I happily embarked on a weeklong burger binge to satisfy my craving for chopped meat.

Here, we live in a veritable garden of riches, and this goes for burgers as much as anything else. Even though I ate burgers at least once a day for an entire week, I barely scratched the surface. But I did learn some interesting things about preparing them as I munched my way through the city.

Clark’s Miami Beach

First, I visited Clarke’s Miami Beach to eat a burger and chat with executive chef Bob Mignola. I’d heard good things about Clarke’s, and I was not disappointed. The burger was huge (10 ounces), juicy and perfectly grilled (I prefer my burgers only one way, medium rare; several years ago, while traveling in Oregon, I had to sign a health release to get one my way.)

Since I was not choosing the best burger in town on this trek, I decided not to be a purist and to try different burgers with different toppings.

The Clarke’s burger with bleu cheese came amply topped with tangy crumbles that melted into a yummy, cheesy layer. The lettuce was crisp, the tomato ripe, the raw onion rings fat.

Clarke’s offers a tasty burger indeed, and, according to Mignola, there are solid reasons for that.

Mignola worked at The Post House in New York City, and then spent a decade at Smith & Wollensky in South Beach before coming to Clarke’s when it opened two years ago. But, as a steak house chef, turning out the perfect burger is even more challenging than cooking the perfect steak. “It’s much easier to tell when a steak is perfectly done than a burger,” he said, because it’s more of a judgment call.

Other rules apply as well. First and foremost, always start with fresh meat — not frozen. Using frozen meat is the short cut that dooms many restaurant (and even some homemade) burgers.

“Freezing breaks down the molecules in the meat, so, when you defrost the burger, the water comes out. You’re playing around with the chemistry of the meat,” Mignola said. As for the meat, Mignola contends that ground chuck is the best — superior even to sirloin — and even though it may be impossible to be too thin, when it comes to burgers, it is possible to be too lean. At the restaurant he uses beef that is 15 percent fat, but at home, he prefers beef with 20 percent fat.

“You need the right amount of fat, otherwise it’s going to dry out when you cook it,” he said.

Clarke’s Miami Beach: 840 First St., Miami Beach; 305-538-9885.

John Martin’s Restaurant

Coincidentally, the chef/owner at the John Martin Restaurant is actually named John Clarke, and, when I visited here, the staff was busy draping the place with St. Patrick’s Day decorations, which inspired me to order the Irish Burger. It’s 8 ounces of sirloin (which tasted fine to my untutored palate) topped with hand-cut slices of Dublin white cheddar cheese and lots of thick slices of bacon. It was a masterful topping, so I asked Clarke to share some topping tips.

Although there are no hard and fast rules for topping burgers, “people like combinations, like barbecue sauce with onions,” said Clarke, who maintains a thick Irish brogue, even after being here for almost a quarter-century. “We also team up mushrooms and Swiss cheese. One time, in the past, we did a burger festival with all different types of toppings, and that was very popular.”

Although Clarke agrees with Mignola that the meat should always be fresh, he favors chopped sirloin. But, in deference to the health-conscious, a lower-in-fat bison burger has been added to the menu. That was former President Bill Clinton’s choice when he stopped by after doing a book signing at Books & Books, Clarke noted.

John Martin’s Restaurant: 53 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, 305-445-3777.

The Standard

On most Sunday nights, I can be found playing Bingo at The Standard (it’s not your grandmother’s Bingo, trust me), and my favorite snack is the trio of Mini Burgers, which are fat, juicy and (my preference) topped with cheddar. I sampled French fries with all these burgers, and, while I didn’t do it with ratings in mind, the fries here, which are served cone-like in flowerpots, are the most addictive.

The Standard: 40 Island Ave., Miami Beach, 305-673-1717.

Van Dyke Café

I visited Van Dyke’s on a recent Friday night and found the burger to be tasty, but not extraordinary. It was the largest burger I tried, but in diameter only — it’s thinner and flatter than the current fashion. Disclaimer: I ordered it medium, instead of my usual medium-rare, so, if I was rating it, I’d probably have to do a revisit. On the other hand, I ate it while listening to Nicole Henri’s voice wafting down from the upstairs jazz club, so that gave it an edge. It all probably balances out.

Van Dyke Café: 846 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach; 305-534-3600.