My Unoriginal Title is "Epic Burger, not so Epic"

Cross one burger of Time Out Chicago's Chicago Magazine's(did I dream this wonderful list?) 100 best burgers. I treated myself to Epic Burger for lunch and did not find it worthy of top 100. Really it should only be on such a list because the writer could only find 90-some burgers in the city. Then it'd be fine with me to have some duplicities.

Epic Burger can't decided what it is, is it a nice burger place with chef's who take time to prepare the meat right, or is it a fast food joint with plastic chairs. It took me two seconds to order and 10 minutes to get. (Ten minutes might be a bit of an over exaggeration, but it was long enough for me to notice.)

They say their buns are baked daily. I do appreciate a burger place respecting the bun, but I don't think the bun's are well enough prepared. It was still a bit gluten-y and bland. It tasted like a normal grocery store bun with oats sprinkled on top. The meat was pretty tasty, but hard to find under the "special sauce," my guess is mayonnaise mixed with paprika for color. A good burger is flavored by it's own sauce, it should not be hidden.

Maybe I bought the wrong burger. Maybe I was led astray by all the options. It just wasn't that good. And if it was on this mysterious "list" it should be redacted. Is that too harsh?

Bulls Testicles and Pig Blood

I assume the title will make everyone dry heave. I'll give you a moment.

. . .

Done? Good.

I'm interested in why most people would have such a problem eating this type of food. There are cultures who don't see a problem with eating the balls of a male cow. A few generations ago, you would have seen nothing wrong with it ether. Something has changed to make parts of the animal like blood a taboo.

I think it comes from our gradual movement to an urban society. We rely on other people to deal with our food. In the past, people who wanted to eat some bacon had to go out and kill the pig first. Now people who want bacon just have to cross the street and pick up shrink-wrapped and precut bacon.

Now, people are soft (a phrase I would rather not use, but just might have to). The idea of killing an animal is so disturbing because it has been bred out. When it was second nature, we didn't waste any part of the animal. Blood and organs were not offensive like they are now.

I have never been one to become nostalgic for a bygone day, and I'm not doing so right now. I am more arguing for new experiences. I'm not talking from experience, myself. I have not killed my own animal; seen an animal slaughtered; or even gotten to know an animal and found it on my dinner table. But It seems like a more healthy life. Perhaps watching death would make us think twice about what we eat.

The Reader has a great article in this weeks paper, kind of about this issue.

I'd like to be able to experience this for myself. It's sounds like a of part of the slow food movement, which is something I've been skeptical about. Maybe I'm changing my mind.