Monday 8 February 2016

"The Best Hamburger He'd Ever Tasted"

SM Stirling, Conquistador (New York, 2004), Chapter Eleven, Mermaid Cafe, pp. 290-319 AT pp. 300-301.

Although I am not a meat-eater, I faithfully record the meals of the universes as relayed to us by Poul Anderson and, even more so, by SM Stirling.

Ralph Barnes, physicist, shanghaied to New Virginia in the hope that he would elucidate the Gate, refused to cooperate and called John Rolfe a fascist so Rolfe set Barnes up with a hamburger joint. After all, he cannot be allowed to return to FirstSide.

The best hamburger that Tom Christiansen has ever tasted:

meat lean, flavorful, juicy and lightly basted with a fiery sauce;
onions and tomatoes tasting of the earth;
homemade garlic mayonnaise;
bun warm and kaiser-style with caramelized onion in the crust;
a crunchy spear of pickle;
a basket of chunky fries done in olive oil;
home-brewed beer, well hopped with a nice sharp taste...

All I ask is a bean- or veg-burger instead of the meat, with a slice of cheese.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Why do you decline to eat meat, if I may ask? Since Our Lord ate meat, fish, and drank wine, then that would mean He who I believe to be God Incarnate had no objection to consuming such things.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
As you know, I draw more inspiration from the Buddha than from Jesus. I dislike the idea of breeding animals for slaughter and also of causing avoidable suffering to conscious beings.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Yes, I was aware of your Buddhist inclinations. However, I see many Buddhists also eating meat or fis in countries like Thailand or Cambodia.

I see nothing wrong with breeding animals for food because they are ANIMALS, not PEOPLE. But I do agree that slaughtering needs to be as humane as possible.

Sean