Jonathan Fox of Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q told me recently that he did a takeout order from Poor Hendrix with a side of fries, “and we were saying, ‘Wow, when was the last time we had actual french fries?’”
Deep-fried food is one of those things restaurants can do with ease that are much harder to do at home. Fox’s story mirrored my own feelings upon receiving a large order my wife and I placed from Local Three that included the McDowell, a double-patty smashed burger, served with a heap of tots.
A great burger is achievable at home, but the kind I usually grill are thick, juicy patties over hot charcoal. It’s more difficult at home to achieve the crispy-edged Maillard-bomb you get with a smashed, griddled burger.
For the unfamiliar, the darkened, crunchy crust that forms on the exterior of food isn’t from burning; it’s from the Maillard reaction, a complex interaction between the food’s amino acids and sugars that occurs when even heat is applied. You can get a good Maillard reaction at home, but there’s a certain je ne sais quoi added by those expansive restaurant flat-tops that have been seasoned by the smashing of thousands of burgers.
Local Three’s McDowell oozes with that “only in a restaurant” flavor, while checking all the technical burger boxes: It’s large, with patties that extend to or past the edges of the bun, and it’s juicy, especially with the help of gooey melted cheese slices on each patty.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
If the McDowell represents a type of excellence found only in restaurants, Local Three has another takeout option that fully embraces the pleasures of being at home. They sell a quart of sister restaurant Muss & Turner’s Evil chocolate chip cookie dough, which comes with simple bake-at-home instructions.
Between the restaurant-style burger and the ultimate home comfort of warm chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven, this new world of takeout dining starts to look beautiful.
Local Three Kitchen & Bar. 3290 Northside Parkway NW, Atlanta. 404-968-2700, localthree.com.
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