Any other Patty Melt fans here? I actually got a great one today from a fast food joint [View all]

[Hugh_Lebowski]

Last edited Thu Jul 1, 2021, 05:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Yeah, I know, beef is evil. I try not to eat too much, but sometimes, I just need me a burger. And sometimes, I just have to have it in Patty Melt format.

Unfortunately, the fast food and chain restaurant world is rife with Patty Melt's that fail, often spectacularly, at properly creating what really should be a simple treat.

A proper Patty Melt is like this:

1) One fairly thick, or two thinner, beef patties. 1/3-1/2 lb max total.
2) Two slices of cheese ... Swiss-flavored processed cheese is my favorite, but American is passable, as are real swiss cheese slices, but in that case just one is enough. For some reason, I like the processed stuff better in this concoction. Real swiss is a little strong-tasting.
3) Grilled onion 'rings', not any diced nonsense. They should taste like they're cooked on a grill that beef has been cooked on, like they have a beef grease contingent to them. I don't mean breaded onion rings, just slices.
4) Serious RYE bread, in a CIRCULAR shape. Marbled is great, but the most important part is it should have a STRONG rye flavor. I want it to be crunchy with around 10 caraway seeds in each slice. These must also be GRILLED on a grill you've been cooking beef on, with butter or something that tastes much like it, like a buttery flavored oil.

That's it. Bun, Grilled Onions, Cheese, Patty(s), Cheese, Bun.

1000 Island (or Russian Dressing) is the only acceptable condiment, but with a good Patty Melt, there's not really a need for extra stuff.

So after trying so many of these at 'chain' types of places (Culver's has a particular insipid 'version'), I finally got one today that was MONEY.

Place: Freddy's Steakburgers, which is basically a fast-food joint.

And it was freaking damn near perfect.

Like the kind you'd get at a diner in the 1970's, made by Mel from the show "Alice". I was frankly pretty blown away.