I Second That

Frank Bruni, the NYT's restaurant critic, must have the best job in the world. Not only does he get to eat at New York's best restaurants, but his editors pay for him to drive across the country sampling different national and regional fast food restaurants. I would do that for free!

Anyway, 2 of his 10 favorites were from a midwestern chain called Culver's. I totally agree! One of those opened up not too far from where my family has a lake house in Minnesota, and my brother and I now make it a habit to stop there on our way from the airport. Their featured item is something called a butter burger, which is basically a hamburger served on a buttered and toasted bun. Obviously, butter improves pretty much everything, but just as important is the patty, which is not made by a machine, but is loosely formed and sort of craggy, which makes it more flavorful. And they also serve frozen custard. Yum.

So, if your travels take you to the midwest this summer. I strongly recommend that you check them out.