A Rare Request at Goode Company Hamburgers & Taqueria

• <i>"Rare. Definitely rare. Pink. Rare. Can you do that?"</i> With that attitude, you're lucky they didn't blow snot in it.

• CORRECTION-it was a misstep on OUR part not your part--need to warm up my fingers by the mesquite fire before typing! LG

• Joanna, this was a misstep on your part when your order was placed, our sincere apologies for your inconvenience. We have no problem cooking your burger just the way you like it and we train our order takers to specifically ask the question instead of assuming you want it well done. we grind our hamburger patties daily using the best USDA Choice beef available fresh, never frozen. Thanks for your article and we look forward to having you back in Goode Company Taqueria soon! have you tried the cinnamon chocolate shake---it's a sleeper!! Best, Levi Goode

• Wait staff and cooks will learn that rare is something connoisseurs of the all beef pat-tey take very seriously. I had a similar dust up at Laurenzos. Went there the first time and received a delightfully rare burger. They have really good ground chuck to begin with and this baby was a bloody mess. Was so impressed offered to meet my business appt there and no such luck the second time around. Gray and lifeless. And the waiter couldn't have been more oblivious to the need to be timely with the side of mayonnaise. Exasperatedly watching him yuk it up at the receiving line I called over the hostess and was then turned over to the manager. To their credit they comped the meal and gave me a 15 dollar gift cert to boot. So they get a pass and I guess based on the generosity of the manager deserve a looksee from you burgerbiters out there.

• Because of the insulting attitude. "Can you do that?" Which implies, of course, that you can't.

• I love a rare or medium rare burger/steak. I know what I'm potentially getting myself into when I order it cooked that way. Sadly, many in our litigious society love nothing more then to whip out their nuclear lawyer and sue. It's a wonder you don't have to sign a liability waiver when consuming seafood, "undercooked" meat and other food items when dining out. I know as a business owner, that would be one of my chief concerns in dealing with the public. Sucks that some people gotta fuck it up for the rest of us.

• A few years ago, the regulation was that only establishments grinding their own beef on the premises can cook the meat below an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Restaurants buying frozen ground beef must cook to 180 degrees.

• Back in 2000 a Houston health inspector told a kitchen manager at the Angelika Cafe that it was "against health regulations to serve a burger cooked under medium well." I kid you not. There are still alot of cooks that remember being told that and that is probabaly why it's hard to get a rare to medium rare burger in Houston. Call the health dept. and ask them, if you can get through to a human being.

• I always order it rare there. I've never had a problem.

• I can respect that places don't want to cook to order for safety reasons, but it really burns my biscuits when they accept your temperature request and then don't honor it. If they don't do it they should tell you so when you order.

• Because of my attitude or because of the request?

• Most respectable steak houses can't cook a NY Strip med-rare, so I don't go into hamburger joints with high expectations. One would think that a place that cooks a particular food so repetitively would be able to cook their food with precision, but my experience tells me otherwise.

• I said "wrong" because rare ground beef does not cause illness. But rare ground beef with ecoli might. Rare spinach with ecoli might as well. The paranoid can cook, wash, and irradiate their food to virtually eliminate any foodborne illnesses. They might also choose to live in a plastic bubble.

• Ha! My exact sentiment.

• Not necessarily wrong. I've seen it posted in a lot of restaurants that they won't cook under medium. But it's just up to the restaurant. I don't think there is any sort of law that requires it.

• Your hearsay is wrong.

• Beavers will cook it as rare as you want and delivers on that promise.

• Hey Joanna Allison cook had the same problem there, shes that other foodie girl, you need to try the 1/2# cowboy burger at Little Bitty Burger Barn, You want some meat and the fresh cut fries are the BOMB!!! thanks

• Hmmm...I was under the impression that most establishments wouldn't serve the meat too pink cause they were afraid that they just might server it TOO pink and then you'd get sick from eating raw beef. I have no facts or other verifiable knowledge to back this up, just hearsay.

• I think they ignored your request because you are an ass.

• Make sure next time to tell the order taker to write "cocinero raro" on the ticket...

• Good luck with that request! Almost impossible to get a good, crispy dark outer surface and rare inside. That's why some places freeze the patty in nitrogen and then deep fry it.

• They've always cooked it properly to order when I've been. It's overpriced, though, so I only go when Dad comes into town and insists.

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