Considering the Fast Food Strike, and Fast Food in General
Here's a story about the very best hamburger I ever ate. It qualifies as fast food, but completely unlike fast food served in this country. If US fast food restaurants did this, they could charge premium prices and pay their employees a living wage:
I was on a bus tour with an orchestra and a choir in Europe. One day, in France, the bus stopped for lunch at some Hypermart somewhere in France. I can't remember where, if I even knew at the time. Everyone trooped inside to find something to eat. There was a McDonalds inside. Oof. While they were going inside, I looked around. On the edge of the parking lot was this trailer that was clearly cooking stuff, so I walked over.
Hamburgers. OK, I thought. So I stepped up and ordered one. What happened next was amazing. The trailer had a flat-top grill in it. On the grill was a huge pile of sliced onions cooking down. He grabbed a chunk of beef out of the cooler, and then proceeded to hand-chop it with a couple of 12" chef's knives. The patty he formed was oblong in shape, about 7" long, and was at least a half pound. He slapped it down on the flat-top, after moving some of the onions aside. Then, he got a bowl, and whisked up some mayonnaise from scratch right there. Egg and lemon juice. That was it. He flipped the meat. Then, he got this beautiful roll out of the bread box and carefully cut it in half. Then, we waited a bit.
Finally, he shoveled a pile of the grilled onions, all brown and gooey over the meat, scooped it up and put it on half of the oblong roll he had sliced. He slathered the other half of the roll with the freshly-made mayo, put it in a paper box, and that was that. I had paid for the burger in advance, but I don't remember how much it was. About $US5, I think. There was a roll of brown paper toweling, so I grabbed a nice long piece and went back to the bus, just in time to board, along with a bunch of people carrying McDonald's bags.
Best hamburger I've ever eaten, and the other folks on the bus cast longing looks at it as they ate their paste burgers. That's fast food, done properly.
= new reply since forum marked as read
