Sweets & Savories: Foie Gras Burger

Either view Sweets & Savories' take on the humble burger as so wildly indulgent and pretentious that you can practically hear Frenchy counting his euros (it's a $17 burger). Or, and I would suggest this route, suspend judgment and consider this purely on taste, in which case, it's among the greatest pleasures that will ever wash over your palate. 

Let us begin with 10 ounces of "American Kobe" beef. Although fattier than your standard patty, it's also less savory from a meat-protein standpoint. It makes up for this with an astoundingly tender texture, biting through is as easy as closing your lips. 

The foie gras pate is placed atop the beef and then thrown into the oven as one, with the rich, livery oil melting into the burger. A brioche bun is brushed with olive oil and toasted on a griddle top, until it achieves a crunchy-then-soft texture. A bed of arugula is placed on top of the bottom bun, the beef above, the foie gras above that, a drizzle of white truffle oil on top of everything. And, just because, a dollop of mayonnaise with bits of black truffle is plopped to the side. 

So you stare at this and wonder: Is this necessary? Some child in South Asia is eating gruel and I've got foie gras and truffle oil over Kobe beef? 

Mute the buyer's remorse, and take a bite. What a pleasure. It's lavish and buttery, extravagant in the way whole cream is rich, earthy from the truffles, a hint of iron from the foie gras in each bite. At some point (probably around the black truffle mayo), this burger ceased to be just a burger and became a Maserati between two buns.