It is a magic medley for the taste buds, the perfect union of meat and bun, exploding with flavor and crackling with condiments. It dazzles the palate with its simplicity, overpowers with charbroiled intensity. Because of health scares in Europe, the beef industry has been pummeled recently. Since May is National Hamburger Month, I thought it was time someone stood up for the beleaguered burger. Cattle, climate, codgers, cactus candy - or whatever.
Cattle is definitely in there.
The legacy of the great beef herds is a statewide proliferation of first-rate burger huts. These days when I need a fix I head for the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome. Sure, there is an outside deck and lavish views of the Verde Valley stretching to the San Francisco Peaks. There are the fresh buns baked on premises daily and a scrumptious dessert bar, but those are just happy perks. The deal is sealed by the burgers.