{"id":3757,"date":"2011-08-27T22:57:35","date_gmt":"2011-08-28T02:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/?p=3757"},"modified":"2011-08-27T22:57:35","modified_gmt":"2011-08-28T02:57:35","slug":"so-who-makes-the-awfullest-awful-awful-of-them-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/2011\/08\/27\/so-who-makes-the-awfullest-awful-awful-of-them-all\/","title":{"rendered":"So who makes the awfullest Awful Awful of them all?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I shared  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/2011\/08\/24\/my-12-favorite-worldcon-moments\/\">my favorite Worldcon moments<\/a> the other day, but I know what you foodies out there really wanted to hear about was which casino in Reno  made the best Awful Awful.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s an Awful Awful?  A humongous burger that&#8217;s been made by two competing casinos in Reno since back before  the Big Mac existed.<\/p>\n<p>As those of you who attend conventions with me know, I get most of my food tips from the TV show <em>Man v. Food<\/em>, but since Adam Richman has yet to hit Reno, I had to instead base my excursions out of the convention center on the show <em>Food Wars<\/em>. Here&#8217;s the recent episode of that latter show that alerted me to the existence of these legendary burgers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F6Y7CRxAPyM\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Before I get into the burgers themselves, check out how the two joints tout them with posters inside their casinos. On the left, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.yelp.com\/biz\/the-nugget-reno\">The Little Nugget<\/a>, and  on the right, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.janugget.com\/\">John Ascuaga&#8217;s Nugget<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TheLittleNugget.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-3758\" title=\"TheLittleNugget\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TheLittleNugget-e1314323753397-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TheLittleNugget-e1314323753397-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TheLittleNugget-e1314323753397-764x1024.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/TheLittleNugget-e1314323753397.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagasNugget.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-3759\" title=\"JohnAscuagasNugget\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagasNugget-e1314323816117-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagasNugget-e1314323816117-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagasNugget-e1314323816117-764x1024.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagasNugget-e1314323816117.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But posters are one thing. Let&#8217;s see what the real thing looks like.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>First, the Awful Awful at the  Little Nugget, which is served with a pound of fries. You heard that right\u2014a POUND of fries!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/LittleNuggetBurger.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3762\" title=\"LittleNuggetBurger\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/LittleNuggetBurger-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/LittleNuggetBurger-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/LittleNuggetBurger-1024x764.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Then, the Awful Awful at John Ascuaga&#8217;s Nugget, which doesn&#8217;t try to outdo the Nugget when it comes to  the fries. At least not the volume of them, anyway.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagaBurger.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3763\" title=\"JohnAscuagaBurger\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagaBurger-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagaBurger-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/JohnAscuagaBurger-1024x764.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So &#8230; how do they compare?<\/p>\n<p>Before we get to the burgers, let&#8217;s talk about the look of the restaurants. The Little Nugget wins hands down. It&#8217;s got the ambiance of a rundown &#8217;50s dinner. And I don&#8217;t mean some modern  retro diner created today to look like something old timey. No, its looks like a diner that was actually built back in the &#8217;50s and has been operating continuously ever since without ever having been remodeled. It&#8217;s got atmosphere, whereas Rosie&#8217;s Cafe in John Ascuaga&#8217;s Nugget feels sterile, like an International House of Pancakes.<\/p>\n<p>But none of that really matters when it comes to the burgers themselves, right? How do these bad boys taste?<\/p>\n<p>I hate to say this, but a) there was no clear winner, and b) I was unimpressed, and quite surprised in retrospect that the celebrity judges of <em>Food Wars<\/em> went nuts over <em>either<\/em> of these burgers.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s why\u2014<\/p>\n<p>The Little Nugget made the best patty, with tasty beef well cooked, which had a nice, crispy char to it. But the bun was unimpressive, and the fries, while plentiful, seemed bland.<\/p>\n<p>The sandwich at John Ascuaga&#8217;s  had an excellent bun, and a far better special sauce, but as for the patty itself\u2014it was pedestrian, and might as well have been a Big Mac. And as far as I&#8217;m concerned, a Big Mac is no burger. It&#8217;s just one step above airplane food.  But the fries, however, were excellent.<\/p>\n<p>Which means if you took the patty from the Little Nugget and shoved it inside the sandwich from John Ascuaga&#8217;s, THEN you&#8217;d have something. If I&#8217;d had one more  day in Reno, I might have even tried it. But &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230; you STILL wouldn&#8217;t have anything as good as the Thurman Burger from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thethurmancafe.com\/\">Thurman&#8217;s Cafe<\/a> in Columbus, Ohio, which I had a chance to taste while at last year&#8217;s World Fantasy Convention. The Thurman&#8217;s not just a great burger, it&#8217;s the orgasmic ideal of a burger.<\/p>\n<p>Take a look.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/ThurmansBurger.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3764\" title=\"Back Camera\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/ThurmansBurger-e1314324476221-224x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/ThurmansBurger-e1314324476221-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/ThurmansBurger-e1314324476221-764x1024.jpg 764w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/ThurmansBurger-e1314324476221.jpg 1936w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s on a Thurman Burger? It&#8217;s got &#8220;ham, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms &amp; onions, mozzarella &amp; American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, and mayo&#8221;\u2014and it&#8217;s the best damn burger I&#8217;ve ever eaten in my life.<\/p>\n<p>Will someone please host another con in Columbus so I have an excuse to get myself another one of these babies?<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, Reno &#8230; but Columbus still holds onto the burger crown!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I shared my favorite Worldcon moments the other day, but I know what you foodies out there really wanted to hear about was which casino in Reno made the best Awful Awful. What&#8217;s an Awful Awful? A humongous burger that&#8217;s been made by two competing casinos in Reno since back before the Big Mac existed. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58,49,16],"class_list":["post-3757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-conventions","tag-food","tag-worldcon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}