fried and prejudice.

the deep-fried cheeseburger. when i saw it on the menu, i thought that it would be a sandwich with a single breaded hamburger patty, japanese-style, but no--it is a fully formed double pattied cheeseburger, with all the standard condiments on a sesame seeded bun, dipped in an egg wash, breaded, and deep-fried. yike.

i thought that this was one of those "only on guam" food items, but a little research on the internets proved otherwise. i was a little surprised to find that it's not from scotland, that its origins are from the arizona state fair (where they've also pioneered the art of deep-frying cheesecake on a stick). nevertheless, i had to try it. i've travelled to and through some interesting places, and one of my basic food rules is "when in doubt, go deep-fried"--i mean, deep-fried is deep-fried the world over, right? how bad could it be? as many a deep-fried mars bars fan will tell you, often times the process can be a revelation.

not in this case. unfortunately, to make a successful doorstop, the burger itself must be pre-cooked and refrigerated ahead of time, and has to be drier than a normal to keep it intact. the double cooking doesn't help anything in the actual sandwich, and the crust reminds me of that old commercial for puritan oil where florence henderson plunges a pullman loaf into a vat o' oil. just nasty. and wrong. it's a sad day when deep-frying does not equal excess tastiness, just excess calories.