A Farmer's Burger in Paris

   

The people of Paris go crazy for burgers. During the 6 years that I've lived here, I've seen a steady stream of new burger spots open around the city.  Some are pretty good, some are super 'outsider' style, and then a few get it right. This is one of them. Le Burger Fermier des Enfants Rouges, a stand inside the Marché des Enfants Rouges ( the oldest covered market in Paris), is a sweet little gem tucked in the back row of the market. They use lovingly raised beef and bacon from a farm called Les Viandes du Châteauneuf, in the Pas-de Calais region in the north of France. They also sell terrines, sausages, duck confit and other charcuterie from La Ferme de Messenguy , a farm in the Picardie region along with lots of other various edible farm sourced goodness like jams, yogurts, creme fraiche, craft beers, ciders... the list goes on.

They make the buns inside the stand and also make the frites on site using potatoes from Picardie. All wrapped up in a little sweet package for 10 Euros. If you add bacon, its 1 Euro extra. They are a warm crew and the service is fast... which is rare considering the popularity of this market. On the tables are squeeze bottles of their homemade special sauce, which tastes like a winning combination of ( I'm guessing) mayonnaise, ketchup, dill and a touch of piment d'espelette...I think. There must be some secret ingredients in there too. When you order your burger you have a choice between 4 types of cheese: Cantal, Blue, Tomme au Cidre or Cheddar. A straight up good quality cheeseburger experience. The other outstanding feature of this burger is that I didn't see anyone eating it with a knife and fork, which is the only one of the bizarro ways I've seen french people eat burgers.

 

 

Le Burger Fermier des Enfants Rouges
Inside the Marché des Enfants Rouges, 39 Rue de Bretagne, Paris 3.
Hours: 9am – 6pm, closed Monday and Tuesday.
Metro: Arts et Metiers, Temple, République, Filles du Calvaire

Époisses Cheeseburger at Home in Oakland

Direct from Oakland, CA, here is Simone Rubi's second post on TofC ( mmmmmmmmm ) :

To keep in rhythm to company that is kept on TofC, I thought I'd post about yet another cheeseburger. This burger is inspired by an off-menu cheeseburger I had at one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, Heirloom Cafe. The cheese is Époisses. A deliciously stinky washed rind cheese from the Burgundy region of France. The method? Work the cheese, shallot, egg, garlic, into the meat. The cheese isn't stacked and melted on top of the meat later. Unreal. Each bite is filled with the essence of Époisses. It also makes the patty unbelievably juicy. Make the patty by forming the freshly ground meat gently into a log and wrap it up tight with parchment paper. Chill the meat for a a few hours then cut into thick cylinders. The result is the ultimate, bottom line, fantastical, dream of a burger. We didn't eat them on buns like a lot of cutting-down-on-flour folks these days but I imagine a soft brioche bun would be sublime. We had the burger with an arugula salad with a touch of fleur verte cheese and a glass of 2008 Vincent Raimbault Vouvray Demi-sec. We also lucked out and found some fresh Chanterelle mushrooms, wait, no, the mushrooms lucked out to find us and a home at $30. a pound (!) at market hall in Rockridge. Still, we took them home because the idea of sauteing them in butter and fresh thyme then putting them on the burger was too spectacular of a mind movie. So the burger ended up with Chanterelles, carmelized onions, and homemade mustard. A friend, artist Nathaniel Russell, visited Oakland and this is how we did and continue to do.

All photos and text: Simone Rubi