昨日アップの『ON THE ROAD MAGAZINE Vol.35 (ORM)』の記事の中で予告しました、麻布十番「WHITE SMOKE」オーナー、Craig White(クレイグ・ホワイト)さんに質問した「あなたにとってハンバーガーとは？」の回答です。『ORM』にはごく一部のみしか載せられませんでしたので、今日は特別に全文を掲載します。英文のみ。日本語訳は面倒くさいので載せません……各自(笑)。
I love hamburgers. The hamburger we have served at White Smoke reflects what I believe is the ideal burger for people who really love hamburgers. If I think about how many hamburgers I've eaten in my life, I estimate this number to be around 1,300 burgers in countries around the world, I have developed very strong opinions about what a hamburger is AND what it is not. 
A hamburger is not a sandwich!!! While a sandwich is generally described as being a food item consisting of two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings between them. There are many examples where this describes a food that is not a sandwich such as a quesadilla. Hamburgers are another example where there is a kind of bread (a hamburger bun) with a filing (a hamburger patty) yet is not a sandwich.
A hamburger is a food item which consists of a hamburger bun and a hamburger patty. A hamburger in its purest form is made of these two items and only these two items. While a hamburger in its purest form is very simple, it is a food that requires a lot of care and expertise to make it fantastic. A pure hamburger, a delicious hamburger, the ultimate hamburger is one in which these two items are so good that there is nothing else needed to completely satisfy the hunger and desire of the person eating it.
Again, a hamburger is not a sandwich. When items are added to a hamburger it become less of a real-pure-ultimate "hamburger" and more of a "hamburger sandwich" that is actually very common. In a real-pure-ultimate hamburger the meat is the star of the show and the bun is the strong supporting actor. In a hamburger sandwich, you often can't really taste the flavor or enjoy the true texture of the meat because it is hidden behind sauces, vegetables, and other fillings.
At White Smoke, our Smoke Hamburger has an all-beef hamburger patty that is hand made by our chefs and a craft artisan bun. Our bun doesn't have any sesame seeds or anything else that could take away from the meat and bun experience. We also don't put on any ketchup, mustard, mayo, sauce, lettuce, tomato or anything else on this hamburger. Even without all the additional filing, our burger is one of the largest in Tokyo because we use a very large hamburger patty, over 210g, to make our hamburger.
If a customer would like to have toppings on their hamburger, such a lettuce, tomato, pickles or onions, we will add them at no extra charge. But as a Texas Smokehouse, we actually recommend that the topping that would be preferred are slices of our homemade crispy bacon, our homemade guacamole, our special five mushroom saute or our smoked cheese.
Hamburger sandwiches can be very delicious, but a real-pure-ultimate hamburger is indeed a special meal to enjoy.
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わかりましたら参考にして下さい。Craig Whiteさんでしたーっ！
