Pétrus, a burger, and Special Sauce...

Anyone who flies on US Air has seen in the US Air Mag the so-called ‘precious patty’. They serve it at Fleur de Lys, in Vegas. It costs $5,000, not including the tip (would you still tip 25%?) mostly because the burger comes with a bottle of 1990 Pétrus.

The hamburger is special because it’s Kobe in a brioche bun, topped with foie grass, black truffles and ‘Keller’s Special Sauce’,—Keller’s the cook. There’s also a small, neatly arranged pile of Freedom Fries on the plate, resembling a pile of small sticks about to be lit by an Indian. The bottle sits on a stainless steel, or pewter, whatchamacallit,—the saucer-like thing a bottle sits in so that it doesn’t stain the tablecloth.

Ever since I saw it I can’t get it out of my mind. I want it. It’s the first time I have seen a pairing that makes sense. Most food, IMO, because of its complexity, detracts from a fine wine. That’s why I drink all of my wine with bread and such before eating any real food. But I could sit down and eat a FleurBurger 5000 with wine.

I’ve got an idea for Thursday night, my boomer night on the road to try new things. There’s this 18th Century structure called the Norwich Inn, in Norwich, Vermont,—a stones throw from Lebanon, New Hampshire, where I stay when I am visiting the Dartmouth Medical Center. The owner is a cool lady, whose name I forgot. She prides herself on a hamburger in the direction of the FleurBurger…but it is not quite as elegant. She has elegant selections on her menu, though, so she might be able to do a little more with the giant burger. And she has Bordeaux wines.

Now, if I can find out how to make Keller’s Special Sauce, I can do one better at camp, and maybe invite Rachael Ray over—this would be perfect for her. The trick would be to serve mature La Fleur Pétrus with the carbon copy of the FleurBurger 5000. I’ll call it the FleurBurger 150. You can get 1997 La Fleur Pétrus (which is smooth and very good) for less than 100 and foie gras and truffles for probably less than $50 per hamburger. Just when you think there’s nothing left to look forward to…

Er, Jenise…you have a real bottle of Pétrus…right? Do you have any way to find out how to make the sauce?

[Jenise]

Sure, I've got a real Petrus. But if you think I'm gonna give it to you to waste on Rachel Ray....


Was bad a few weeks ago and for punishment, I made myself sit through an episode of her chintzy travel show, which that day was in eastern Canada, don't remember where. She went to a restaurant and ordered a sweet and sour asian chicken dish that stressed a heavy, heavy ginger component, and to go with that, a glass of dry red wine. Wish I could remember the exact words she used to explain why dry red wine was going to go with the vinegar and ginger, but it would have made any wine lover howl. Anything better than Yellow Tail is wasted on her, trust me.

...but I digressed. And I highly recommend the foie gras burger. It's amazing and it DOES go with great dry red wine. I'll check my Keller books for that sauce.

I didn't see the sauce recipe in my copy of Hubert Keller's cookbook, unless he calls it something else.

Wonder if this is also served at his Fleur de Lys restaurant in San Francisco...?

Well, you have one up on me; I've never seen any of her shows. Saw her once on a TV commercial. With all that money, though, don't you think she probably learned something about wine? But she does live close by, as I know you know. And if I could lure her over with some schtick like the FleurBurger, I would do it just to be able to be able to post something about her visit.

Seriously, though, thanks very much for checking into the sauce. I figured if anyone could come up with the recipe, you could. I'll be putting in an order soon for La Fleur Petrus, probably from a couple of vintages. Meant to find some a while back after being blown away by the '97.

Hi Chris,

As usual I missed my target with my reply. My other message was meant for Jenise.

Somehow I doubt that burger combo is offered in San Francisco. The SF Fleur de Lys is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. I hope it would be too classy to cater to the Las Vegas crowd. I would love the burger combo, but I wouldn't get off paying $5,000 for it, even if I had just won $100 g. That's why I am looking forward to substituting the cheaper wine.

Covert

Hi Covert,

No problem, I realized you were responding to Jenise.

I looked at the Fleur de Lys web site and the burger is not on the San Francisco menu, at least not the menu on the site. There is a $60 burger at the "Burger Bar" at the Mandalay in Las Vegas entitled "Rossini":

Kobe beef, sauteed foie gras, shaved truffles, and Madeira sauce on an onion bun.

The menu states that "the preparation always includes foie gras, truffles, and a rich brown sauce, in this case, Madeira." Sounds as though the sauce might change from time to time...?

If you go to the site, be forewarned that it includes music. I usually hear that on European web sites and may be a result of Keller's heritage.

No mention of the burger plus Petrus.

I have an old menu from Sloppy Joe's in Key West where one could order the "High Roller Joe": a Sloppy Joe (made from Black Angus beef) and a bottle of Dom Perignon for $130. That's more my style.