Crazy & Co.

25 Weird Burgers From Around The World

6 April 2021

We recently added Gourmet burgers to our line up of catering options. On top of the usual cheeseburger, and bacon etc, we added some options a little more quirky. Things such as nacho’s, sushi and such like. However the burgers listed here are way beyond what we consider quirky and definitely venture inot the weird burgers catagory..

1 The Cronut Burger

A fusion of sweet and savoury this one. A beef patty with cheese, between the cheeks of a sugary doughnut. A Canadian invention, between a pastry shop Le Dolci, and Epic Burger and Waffles for the Canadian National Exhibition. This one looks like it could be tasty, however it didn’t have a happy ending. One of the ingredients sourced for the burger, maple jam, was contaminated with staphylococcus aureus causing 150 people at the show to fall ill. Still looks tasty, but we’d go light on the jam.

2 The Quadruple Bypass Burger

A 9982 calorie bohemoth, even by American standards. Two pound of beef, twenty rashers of bacon, eight cheese slices, a whole tomato and half an onion, in a bum coated with lard.

It is served at the heart attack grill founded in 2005 in Tempe Arizona. Everything they do is along the same theme. With flatliner fries, double and triple bypass burgers for those who can’t face this one, and bigger burgers up to octuple bypass. They even have cigarettes and high fat shakes on the menu. The restaurant has a hospital theme, with doctors taking the order and nurses waiting the tables. Sexily dressed nurses at that. It’s as if someone set out to be as controversial as possible.

3 Yorkshire Pudding Burger

A fusion of traditional Sunday roast with the fast food convenience of a burger. This one is a giant Yorkshire pud with a burger inside. For those who don’t know the Yorkshire pudding isn’t actually a pudding. It is served most often as a constituent of a typical Sunday dinner. However it also works well as a starter with onion gravy. The supersized version here is 5000 calories.

4 Fried Frog Black Burger

No matter how crazy you can think of making something. The Japanese are guaranteed to out crazy you. They make some really weird burgers. This time it is the Orbi Yokohama museum, who offer up this culinary masterpiece. A full fried frog burger. They aren’t content with just the out there filling. They also add in a bun made from bamboo charcoal that is jet black.

5 Russia Rat Burger

Take a look at the burger above, quite innocuous isn’t it? Something you would probably enjoy at many a typical burger joint. Only it isn’t. It’s a rat burger. Well, not your usual Rattus rattus that you don’t want to see anywhere near a restaurant. But a Coypu, or ‘River Rat’. The animal breeds at a super fast rate, making it ideal as a food crop. A case of if you can’t beat them eat them. A specialty of a Russian chef at a high end eterie in Moscow.

6 Wimpy’s Braille Burger

In the days when I was a kid, before the all conquering McDonalds swept the nation. Wimpy was THE burger joint. We spent may a happy time in Wimpy’s around the country. Truth be told, I think their quarterpounders were far better than the McD equivalent.

This burger was part of an experiential marketing campaign to promote it’s new braille menu in South Africa. Reaching over 800,000 blind people across the nation with their braille embossed burgers.

7 Whole Damn Farm Burger

If you are the sort of person who can’t make their mind up over beef or chicken. Then this one is for you. Made from beed, chicken, ham, pork and bacon. About the calorie loading of four big Macs, this is perfect for the indecisive. From Manchester’s Splendid Kitchen, a sadly now defunct American style eatery.

8 Hellfire Burger

This is one hot burger. By hot, we don’t mean as in fashion, or as in very attractive. We mean hot! Measuring over 1 million on the Scoville heat scale. For comparison, some law enforcement pepper sprays can be quite effective at half that.

Topped by six different chillies, and smothered in hot sauce, you not only have to be over 18, but also need to sign a medical waiver before they will serve it to you. The whole thing is served to you on fire.

A creation of the Xtreme Smokehouse and Grill in Washington Iowa.

9 Southern Comfort Stuffed Burger

Slathered with booze spiked sauce. The Southern Comfort is stuffed with mac and cheese wrapped in bacon, then topped with Southern Heat potato chips. Its the Southern Comfort and Peach infused BBq sauce that gives it the special tang.

A product of the Nook in Atalanta.

10 Waffle Burger

Available from lots of places, this is another fusion of sweet and savoury. Fluffy Belgian waffle goodness, surrounding a beef patty, along with egg and bacon. The perfect breakfast to start the day.

11 Wrapped Pizza Burger

A bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a pepperoni pizza. 1360 calories of succulent burger heaven. This frankenburger was a product of Boston’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. Available at more than 40 US restaurants and it’s Canadian franchise.

Although not the healthiest of burgers it still comes nowhere near the big guys records like the Heart Attack Grill, they are some seriously weird burgers.

12 Arby’s Meat Mountain

Originally created as a poster to advertise the fact that the restaurant sold more than beef. It was soon being requested by it’s customers and ended up being a firm favourite on the menu. Consisting of two chicken burgers, three strips of bacon, a slice of swiss and cheddar cheeses, roast turkey, ham, corned beef, roast beef, brisket and Angus steak.

13 Super Duper Bacon Burger

What can be said about this monstrosity. It’s bacon, served with bacon, topped by bacon, with a bacon garnish. I suppose if you like bacon then this is heaven, if you don’t then you’ve ordered the wrong meal. Michigan’s Tony’s I-75 Restaurant is definitely a destination for pork lovers.

14 Krispy Kreme Triple Cheeseburger

If you are going to mix burgers with a dessert you might as well make it with one of your favourites. Two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, three beef patties and three slices of cheese. Nuff said.

15 The Grilled Cheese Burger

Take a grilled cheese sandwich. well, take two of them in fact. Place your burger between them and you have a whole new class of frankenburger.

Coming from an American chain (where else), Friendly’s on the East coast.

16 Deep Fried Double Twinky Burger

Whilst you can rely on the Japanese to come up with the craziest concoctions. You can rely on the Americans to come up with stuff designed to clog your arteries. Take a pork belly patty, with cheese and bacon and sandwich it between two deep fried twinkies and you have another masterpiece from Philadelphia’s PYT. Which is almost as weird as

17 Spaghetti Burger

This, their spaghetti burger. Slathered in marinara sauce, with a mozzarella stuffed meatball patty, red sauce, parmesan flakes and spaghetti in a garlic butter bun. This looks like a weird burger

18 Beer Batter Burger

From Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Pennsylvania. A battered burger with all the trimmings. Oh and the batter is made with beer for extra taste. Also available from them as a 25lb challenge burger for two.

19 Alphabet Burger

This sandwich contains 26 toppings, each one starting with a different letter of the alphabet.

Avocado
Bacon
Cheese
Doritos
Egg
Fish sticks
Garlic bread
Ham
Italian sausage patty
Jalapeño peppers
Krispy Kreme doughnut
Lettuce
Macaroni and cheese
Noodles
Onion rings
Pepperoni
Queso blanco dip
Ramen noodles
Spinach
Turkey burger
Usingers bratwurst
Veal Parmesan
Waffle
Xylocarp (coconut)
Yams
Zucchini

I don’t know what to say. I am stunned, I know how the prophets felt when they saw the burning bush, or the first pot noodle was invented. The W should stand for weird burgers.

20 Hot Fudge Sundae Burger

I don’t know if it is a symptom of the modern world, this rush to get your meal out of the way as soon as possible. But this is another stomach churning attempt to fuse mains with dessert. Take a perfectly good beef burger and add vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. Take a bow McGuires Irish Pub of Pensacola.

21 White Trash Burger

Named after the outlets signature dips called white trash. This includes cheese, green chillies, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, diced onions and tortilla chips, with a stack of beer battered onion rings. If you want one then you need to head over to the Bukowski Tavern in boston.

22 Bacon Wrapped Macaroni and Cheese Bun Burger

I’m not sure if this is a burger, or an abstract artwork. Mac and cheese wrapped in strips of bacon and used as the bun for a cheeseburger. Not as outlandish or vomit inducing as some on the this list, I could probably eat this.

23 Slaters Merica Burger

Oh Kay, a third of a pound of ground bacon made into a patty, bacon american cheese, egg, thick cut bacon and bacon island dressing on a bacon pretzel bun. Basically you need to like bacon to eat this one. It was reportedly too salty to finish which is saying something when many a burger on this list has a couple of grams or more of salt without any reports of them being salty.

24 The Mario Burger

A little bit of green dye, some circles of cheese and you have a gamers treat.

25 The Fat Sandwich Burger

This one looks like a complete meal in a bun. I am surprised that they haven’t stuck a doughnut or a dollop of ice cream in to round it off. From the Fat Sandwich Company in Illinois

Candy Floss Crazy Gourmet Burgers

Not really part of the list, our burgers are relatively sane. If you want something on the list I am sure our catering team can put it together for you, but if what you want is a range of delicious non heart attack inducing gourmet burgers for your wedding, party or event. Then check out our burger service. Oh and the picture above is actually two burgers, he was a greedy sod.

Have them served from one of our quirky food trucks for an extra twist.

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Catering, Event Planning, Fun Story, funfair events

Hey, Do You Know This About French Fries

9 March 2021

The humble potato. Cultivated in the America’s around 10,000 years ago, then brought to Europe in the 16th century by the Spanish. One of the most versatile foods available. Can be served boiled, roasted, mashed, or as is the case here, as French Fries.

In these fair isles we more commonly refer to them as chips, rather that the Yankee ‘fries’. This evidently dates back to 1769 and actually referred to fruit chips. To further confuse the matter, our American brethren, call crisps, chips.

They can be crisp, or soft, indeed the British traditionally eat them soggy with vinegar and wrapped in old newspaper.

The Variety Of Potato We Use

The idaho Russet Burbank is commonly used by fast food chains. Developed by Luther Burbank, a plant breeder. Initially unpopular, growers cottoned on to the fact that it produced large potatoes that could be marketed as baking potatoes. Then the explosion of fast food chains further increased its use.

The Best Fries Are Fried Twice

The potato is cut into strips. Traditionally it was peeled first, but now is often enjoyed unpeeled as this retains beneficial vitamins. Soaking in water removes the surface starch. Missing this step will result in a soggy, mushy chip due to the starch blocking the evaporation of moisture from the vegetable.

The best results are obtained using the two bath method. First they are blanched by being submerged in hot fat at 160C. Then briefly fried in hotter fat at 190C, to crisp them. They are drained ,salted and served.

Vegetable oil is used for frying, though originally beef suet or as one fabulous chip shop in Yorkshire still uses, beef dripping. Indeed if you are ever in the vicinity of Sturgate airfield it is well worth a visit. In fact, you can fly into Sturgate airstrip and visit the chippie.

Five Guys just had to be different, they fry theirs in peanut oil.

French Fries Might Not Be French

The French, Belgians and Spanish all claim the invention of French Fries. Though no one really knows the truth. The French claim is that they originated from street vendors in the vicinity of the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris.

The Spanish were the first to bring them into Europe so claim they also invented chips.

And the Belgian claim is that they are quite close to France and people confused their invention with a French one. In fact, they are so upset by France claiming them, that they have petitioned UNESCO to claim official heritage status for ‘their’ dish of fries and mayo.

Thomas Jefferson Introduced Them To America

President Jefferson worked abroad as American Minister to France. Whilst their he sampled the delights of the culinary masterpiece. When he returned home and became President, his chef James Hemings continued to cook them for him.

A Typical American Eats 30 Pounds A Year In Fries

Think about that. That’s the weight of a small child. Your gonna need a hell of a lot of ketchup to go with that. Look guys we all love fries, but 30lb seriously?

Charles Dickens Wrote About Fries

Yup, one of history’s most celebrated authors actually alluded to fries in his novel, ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’. He called them husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil. TBF he also wrote about dozens of breakfast foods, dinners and pints of beer. Turns out he was a bit of a foodie at heart.

Fries Are Little Kids Favourite Vegetables.

A study by the Journal of Nutrition found they were the most commonly consumed vegetable for young children. A published study by the way. I mean, you needed to waste ink and paper to discover this, come on guys. A Sunderland fan who wasn’t in possession of the communal brain cell could have told you this without wasting energy on research.

They Are Actually Healthier Than You Think

No, we aren’t saying they are healthy compared to say a salad or something. But being a potato, they actually include vitamins B6,C, magnesium and iron. So they do have some nutritional benefits.

Congress Changed The Name To Freedom Fries.

When the operation to invade Iraq was being planned. France refused to join in. Probably on account of not being allowed to be in charge.

Jed Babbin, a former deputy undersecretary of defense stated that going to war without the French, would be like going hunting without an accordian. You are just leaving a lot of noisy useless baggage behind!

To further underscore their displeasure. Congress changed the name on their in house menu’s to freedom fries, and dropped the French from the name. They would have liked to have rolled this change out across the States, but as the war fell out of favour, so did the name.

It was quietly changed back in 2006.

Burn Those Calories Baby

A medium portion of McDonalds French fries would require 47 minutes of high impact aerobics or 58 minutes of cycling to burn off. One ‘professor’ suggested that a proper portion of fries should be around six. Really, just six fries, just goes to prove what planet professors are living on.

For the 224 calories you are consuming you could also have 1.4kg of celery, 385g of apples, 588g of broccoli, 102g of canned tuna or 3 boiled eggs or a 51g piece of cheese.

Nah, we’ll stick with the fries.

Thick Or Thin

Traditional British ‘chips’ or what some called steak cut fries are actually a healthier option compared to the skinny fries typical of a fast food joint. The greater the surface area of a chip, the more oil is absorbed. So weight for weight, skinny fries have much greater surface area, therefore they will be higher in calories and fat.

Fries Aren’t Just Fries

There are actually something like about 18 different types of fries. From the thick cut steak chips, to curly fries, tornado fries, waffle fries and more.

Some People Put Sugar On Their Fries

Different nationalities eat their fries in different ways. In Vietnam they sprinkle them with sugar. The Belgians and Dutch slather mayo on. Americans love their Ketchup. The South Korean’s add honey and butter (really).

Personally we think nothing beats good old salt and vinegar.

Fries Have Been Tested For Use In Space

E.S.A., the European Space Agency teamed up with Greek researchers to test making fries in a centrifuge. What they discovered was that as gravity increases, the fries get crisper. In fact perfect fries would need gravity three times that of Earth.

Sadly the microgravity found in space means they would be a soggy mess, so no fries on that trip to Mars unfortunately.

If you are planning an event, we can offer you both French fries, and dirty fries. Or even spiral fries.

Resources;

Freedom Fries

Fries In Space

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Fun Story

St Valentines Day Customs Around The World

14 February 2021

14th February, St Valentines day, the day for lovers, young and old, chocolate and roses and cheesy cards.

Reputed to have begun in ancient Rome around 496AD with the festival of Lupercalia held in mid February. Girls and boys drew names from a box and would become girlfriend and boyfriend for the duration of the festival.

Of course the church hijacked it later on, and used it to celebrate St Valentine. A Roman Priest executed for refusing to deny Christ and associated with courtly love.

Being UK based we usually think of a dozen red roses and chocolates or champagne. Along with a card extolling our feelings of love. But how do other countries celebrate it?

Japan

Being Japanese, they tend to complicate it as usual. On the 14th girls give chocolates. However they do this in two ways. The first is called giri-choco and are pre made chocolates. These will be given to friends, family, perhaps work colleagues. Men they don’t love romantically. The second type are Honmei-choco, being either more expensive, or traditionally hand made by the girl. Given to their partners, boyfriends, lovers etc.

Traditionally men would only accept these from girl they were interested in.

On 14th March the menfolk would return the gesture three fold on what is called white day.

South Korea

The south Koreans, follow pretty much the same pattern as the Japanese. However, on the month after white day, they have an additional celebration called Black day. This is for all those unfortunate enough not to have received gifts on the other days. They get together and eat black noodles.

Philippines

The Filipino’s celebrate in much the same ways as in the West. However, there is also an added incentive for lovers on the 14th. Many municipalities provide free weddings on the day. The cakes, flowers, venue, banquet and even the rings are all provided free of charge. This leads to mass weddings around the country on St Valentines day.

Norway

Or Valentinsdag in Norwegian. Much like the UK, with meals, roses, lingerie and so on. They do have one old belief that birds mated on this day to bear their offspring. And it’s now believed that seeing birds mate is a sign of true love. TBH I don’t think I have ever seen birds mating. In fact I am not sure I would recognise what they were doing if I did, assuming the tradition refers to the feathered kind.

Sweden

Alla hjärtans dag, or All Hearts Day as our Swedish cousins refer to it. They prefer jellied candies and pastries to our traditional chocolates. It has only been an occasion in Sweden since the 60’s, so it isn’t as widely celebrated as in other countries.

Denmark

Our Danish friends have a tradition called Gækkebreve , or Snowdrop letter. They send the object of the affection a letter, but sign it with a series of dots for their name. The receiver must try and work out who it is from, and if they get it correct are rewarded with an Easter egg on Easter Sunday.

France

Hmm, an unusual custom and not exactly the height of chivalry. French singletons would call out to each other across the street to be paired up. But if the mane didn’t quite fancy the woman he was allowed to reject her and try again. The sadly outed woman would gather together to burn photos and other reminders of the suitors who had given them the thumbs down, as a sort of group ‘therapy’. Eventually the government banned the practise. No doubt some woman felt better burning the real item rather than the photo.

This early form of speed dating was christened “une loterie d’amour”, the lottery of love.

Wales

The Welsh evidentially, don’t traditionally go in for St Valentine. Their nearest version is Saint Dwynwen’s day on 25th January. Here the men present a gift of a wooden spoon to their love interest. Various symbols and patterns with special meanings were carved into the spoon. A strange custom when presenting a wooden spoon elsewhere usually has negative connotations.

Argentina

Those randy Latinos can’t manage with just the one day. They drag it out a whole week, starting on 13th and running to the 20th, sweetness week encourages the swapping of kisses for candy. The week ends with friendship day so no one is left out.

South Africa

The Springboks mirror the UK with a lot of the Valentine celebrations. However they do also follow in the footsteps of the original Roman celebration by pinning the names of their lovers on to their sleeves. Luckily they don’t follow the original rules to closely, as the Romans would sacrifice goats, then run through the streets naked, whipping the women folk to increase their fertility.

Most of the countries around the world have adopted the Western celebration of St Valentines day, with flower giving, chocolate and other gifts. Some Islamic countries are rather hostile to the holiday, and some outright ban it.

If you want a Valentine treat for your staff, a party or even as a private service for your loved one, many of our treats such as Churros, Valentine crepes, doughnuts can be made with a pink dough to suit the occasion, or we can supply melted pink chocolate as a topping.

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Catering, Event Planning, funfair events

6 Top Gourmet Hot Dogs

27 December 2020

We upgraded our hot dog service from regular (boring) ole weiners, to rip roaring gourmet hot dogs. With a range of fun, quirky and delicious toppings. Settling on our final ‘Standard’ menu, we went through a number of trial dogs. Some of our favourites are listed here. Some made the cut some didn’t but all are available on request for your event.

Tex-Mex Dog

Start with a standard frankfurter. Add a layer of nacho cheese sauce, red jalapeno peppers, sliced of course, and garnished with onions and nachos. Big enough to fill a Texican, well some of them.

Chilli Dog

An old favourite this one, a broiled frank, slathered in quality beef chilli, topped with red peppers and garnished with grated cheese.

The John Wayne

Named after our favourite cowboy, well, there are one or two in the fairground industry we like, but you probably won’t know them. A broiled weiner chopped into sections, slathered in baked beans, garnished with peppers, then finished with your choice of condiments.

Dutch Dog

From the land of windmills, clogs, very tall people and erm, slightly dodgy brownies. Ie Holland, or the Netherlands home of the Dutch. Gee it must be awfully cramped over there with 3 lots all living in the same place. This one is a regular frankfurter. Dressed with a mixture of peppers and chopped onions, marinated in mayonnaise. Garnished with poffertjes, those little tiny Dutch pancakes to finish.

The Samurai

From the land of the rising sun, samurais and cooking that can kill you like the puffer fish. Take a frankfurter, place it on a bed of sushi, which contrary to popular belief, isn’t raw fish, its actually vinegar pickled rice. Add a few slices of fish, and garnish with wasabi and soy sauce.

The Floss Dog

Personally I wanted to call this the vomit dog, but I was voted down as it turns out some people actually like it, weirdo’s! One of our finest frankfurters, placed on a bed of bloody candy floss, drizzled with chocolate sauce, I mean chocolate on a hot dog. Then topped with sugar sprinkles. Makes you wanna throw up.

Anyway we have loads of new ideas, so gourmet hot dogs is definitely something we will be expanding in the future.

If you fancy hot dog cart hire without the floss version get in touch.

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Catering, Event Planning

3 Christmas Treats For Your Events

5 November 2020

With the Christmas party season rapidly approaching, here are some of our best Christmas treats for your events.

Hot Roast Chestnut Cart

Hot chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Memories of childhood, when Britannia ruled the waves, politicians were honest and kids respected their elders. Well perhaps not that far back, and I doubt politicians were ever honest. But the aroma of freshly roasting chestnuts is still a memory of Christmas in many parts of the country. Available on a range of carts for both indoor and outdoor use.

Spicy Mulled Wine

The perfect complement to chestnuts, hot spicy wine. Originally adding spices and heating the wine was a way to keep drinking wine that had spoiled, to save wasting it. But over the years it has become a classic favourite at Christmas time. Known in other countries as Glögg and gluhwein, this is the perfect reception drink for those cold winter months. We can also provide a fabulous non alcoholic version.

Mulled Wine Cart Hire For Weddings And Events

Minced Pies

A great accompaniment to mulled wine, the classic mince pie. Ever so funny when foreign guests are present as they try to reconcile Christmas with eating a pie full of minced meat. We have provided a mixed mulled wine and minced pies cart to many shopping centres and indeed supermarkets such as Tesco’s.

We have a selection of stalls available for chestnuts or mulled wine, from our classic engine cart, to the rustic bar we use for the Mailbox Shopping Centre In Birmingham.

Whichever Christmas treats you choose for your events, they are sure to be a hit with your guests on.

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