Why would you ever expect more than a well executed fast food style burger from, well, a burger. That’s literally what burger means as far as I’m concerned.
honestly I don't really see the point of eating a burger that doesn't taste or feel like a burger. I'd prefer to eat meat less often than try a subsitute
I guess I'm not most people. But if I grill a burger, it's thicker and juicier, is on a better bun of some sort, and I actually like it. Not that I've eaten one in years but fast food burgers are pretty awful in my opinion generally. (The higher end fast casual places, on the other hand, I quite like now and then--usually when traveling.)
Burgers are a gimmicky way to present this. Most commercial burgers are made of low quality meat and slathered with sauces and served on an oversized bun. Unless they're really going to do meat-forward burgers that are served medium rare with minimal toppings, nobody is going to notice the meat in the burger.
They should imo be aiming at preparations that feature the flavor of the meat.
If you're at a higher end restaurant the burger is a way to put a cheaper, accessible option on the menu. It's there so that a party of 4 or more can show up and someone who's more price sensitive or less adventurous can still have a good time. (Roast chicken and an entree salad serve similar purposes.)
If it's an insult from the chef, that's pretty bad. Extremely snobby to put it on the menu without putting effort in. Burgers are good and a kitchen can outsource the only hard parts (baking a great bun, and grinding the meat) to their suppliers.
I'm really perplexed by what problems you have with burgers?
Burgers work really well with delivery. Used to order burgers very regularly at parties (GBK in London), it was one of the few things everybody would agree with and find good.
I can imagine that you would have troubles if the restaurant wasn't aware it was intended for delivery and gave a loose burger on a plate to the delivery guy. Gotta be put in a tight box to stay warm and in shape.
I've never seen anything wrong with grocery store patties. I think the problem with fast food burgers is the bad bread, weird sauces, missing/sparse toppings, and most of all the sloppy half-assed construction. If you make the burger at home with the same patty, it will almost certainly come out much better.
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