Grease!

Thin patties in hot oil

Warming up the bun

Bacon melt!

The "Ultimate" Burger

I may be epicurean but I'm not a food snob. With longer than usual work hours, I can't always go gourmet or homecooked. I have to eat for survival, even if that means Sky Flakes crackers or sweet spaghetti with hotdog and limp, overcooked noodles. For lunch, my go-to girl is my officemate Binky who takes orders for sandwiches that have gourmet genes such as capicollo ham, roast beef, and beer sausage, among others. I am a regular of the crabstick mayo sandwich with cheese and horseradish on wholewheat bread. It's thick and filling, and the horseradish adds a little kick. I often request for an extra slap of horseradish for good measure.

In the evening, I rely on a good dinner preferably with a cup of coffee to give me a second wind at work. When I do skip, as has often been the case since the start of the year, I nibble on junk food and drink Coke light to get me through the day. They're hardly enough however so on my way home I drop by for a takeout at the usual suspects - Jollibee and Tapa King. If I still have enough energy left, I may drive all the way to Behrouz in Metrowalk for a shawarma and ground beef kebab.

Recently, my usual drive-by has been Burger Machine. Yeah yeah, there are better burgers, Tropical Hut's being the best in my book (from among fast food joints, that is). But I feel a pang of nostalgia  when I see that BM sign. The joint was patronized by students in my college years. Although I've never bought a burger myself from any BM kiosk until recently, my cousins and I would share a bagful of BM burgers during weekends. It's no langhap-sarap burger, but it brings back a taste of my youth.