Very cool. However, one thing I do manage to do pretty often is to tell someone I think they are wrong. At least that's what my ex says. So why break with tradition? :) Well, regarding burgers, Greg asks the question:
The possibilities of flavor combinations are stupendous. There is even room to play with the presentation. Who says I have to serve it on a bun? Are tomatoes mandatory? Why can’t a burger be elegant?
And I have to reply that even within the form the possibilities are endless. Certain arts have to conform to the constraints of their definition or they become meaningless. Would you use a saxophone to (check all that apply):
- serenade your lady under her window in the moonlight
- carve marble
- perform amateur night at the local bar
I bet not many people chose 2 and for a good reason. When someone says "hamburger" I get a flood of quick-association memories welling up in my shallow little head that includes (but is not limited to) "I'll pay you Tuesday", beer, bbq, beach, mayo, bacon, ketchup, lettuce, fun, games, sesame seeds, and more and more. My head and mouth are hardwired to think of certain things when you say that special, magical word. Say it again... "hamburger"... ahhhhh. Bliss. That is the effect you want when you tell me you are serving hamburgers. You use that to your advantage and break it at your own risk.
Now, if you say "hamburger" and toss down a bowl of ramen noodles in front of me... well I can't promise there won't be a fight. By saying hamburger you've set my expectations pretty high and then crushed them by serving ramen. Not that I don't love ramen. I mean, the first girl I ever kissed also taught me how to twirl my ramen on a fork and spoon. Little did I know that it was her subtle way of telling me she wanted more than a kiss. Damn tricky vixen......
Where was I? Oh yeah, the ramen. It just ain't hamburger. Now Greg may reply saying that well, of course ramen isn't hamburger you dolt. And I would make a sarcastic comment about his shoes and we would be in fisticuffs from there. But he would have just made my point: Hamburger has a definition. We may disagree on that definition, but it's there. Yes, you can break the rules of definition, by all means do. Surprise me, excite me, titilate me... but don't call it a hamburger. Else there may be fightin' involved.
