It used to be that chefs would shy away from admitting where they grabbed a late-night bite as they made their weary way home after another grueling 16-hour shift in the kitchen. Now it's almost a matter of pride.
It seems that local boy Amar Santana of Charlie Palmer isn't the only chef partial to a Double-Double, Animal-style, from In-N-Out Burger, as he revealed last month. A survey by Esquire puts the chain at the top of the list of chefs' favorite fast-food haunts.
David Myers, of Sona, Comme Ça and Pizzeria Ortica, who enjoys the same order as Santana, sums up the experience, saying: “It's fast, it's hot, there are code words–what's not to enjoy?”
Meanwhile, Alton Brown, host of Iron Chef America, goes all gooey when describing the old-fashioned shakes, claiming “they make me tear up just thinkin' about it.” Whoa, there!
National chains given the nod by chefs include Chipotle, Jack in the Box, Dairy Queen, KFC and Wendy's.
Surprisingly, perhaps, there's no mention of Fatburger, although it's probably just a coincidence that a huge recall of beef reported today includes ground beef sold to the burger chain in May.
According to a spokesperson for the company, the meat was inspected before shipment, and while initial tests indicated that E. coli might be present, further tests “produced a conclusive negative (contamination free) result.”
Thankfully, no illnesses have been reported.
