Daily Dirt: Would you like a little hot fudge with the burger?

December 13, 2021 | By Steve Eighinger, Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Dec. 13, 2021

When it comes to burgers, gimme a hunka, hunka burnin’ love … welcome to the three thoughts that make up Vol. 156 of the Daily Dirt.

1. We all love a good burger. Normally, I like mine plain, but on occasion I can go crazy and add cheese, lettuce and/or a slice of tomato.

Other burger fans however, are from another universe when it comes to toppings.Here are the three craziest items I have found that have been used as toppings for an otherwise run-of-the-mill hamburger sandwich.

Gold medal: At McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola, Fla., customers can order a three-quarter pound Black Angus beef burger slathered in a scoop of vanilla ice cream and smothered in hot fudge. Wow. Just wow …

Silver medal: There are many burger places that pay tribute to Elvis Presley’s fondness for peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I think the Boston (Mass.) Burger Company is thge only one that pays tribute to The King via a bigboy-sized burger layered with peanut butter, bacon, fried bananas, cinnamon and sugar. Talk about a hunka, hunka burnin’ love …

Bronze medal: You can celebrate Thanksgiving all year at Wahlburgers, the well-known chain backed by actor Mark Wahlberg and his brothers, Paul and Donnie. The brothers have crafted a sandwich consisting of turkey stuffing “patties” (with a hint of actual turkey), accented by roasted butternut squash and covered in orange cranberry sauce and mayonnaise. No. Thank. You.

2. Here’s something we can shoot for in the coming weeks:

The coldest temperature in Illinois history was officially (as opposed to unofficially, I presume) on Jan. 31, 2019 in Mount Carroll, located in the northwest corner of the state. A reading of minus-38 degrees Fahrenheit was logged and validated by the State Climate Extremes Committee.For those wondering, that’s colder than the average low temperature of the North Pole in January, which is normally around a balmy minus-20.The minus-38 in Mount Carroll broke the former record of minus-36 in Congerville, a village east of Peoria, in January 1999.

3. The five best songs from the Four Seasons:

1. “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)”: You know this one, it’s the 1975 hit that Frankie Valli did not serve as lead singer. Drummer Gerry Polci had the honors on this particular song.

2. “C’mon Marianne” (1967): The last single by the group to reach the Billboard top 10. Personally, I think it is Franki Valli’s finest effort.

3. “Let’s Hang On! (To What We Got)” (1965): For years, this was the song featured on the Beechnut Gum commercials.

4. “Workin’ My Way Back To You” (1965): Yeah, with a burnin’ love inside.

5. “Beggin'” (1967): Put your lovin’ hand out, baby.

(PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I assume the ONLY reason Steve left “My Eyes Adored You” off this list (should be at number one) is because of this technicality: It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After Motown balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to Valli for $4000. After rejections by Capitol and Atlantic, Valli succeeded in getting the recording released on Private Stock Records but the owner/founder of the label wanted only Valli’s name on the label. The single was released in the US in November 1974, topped the charts in March 1975 and finished as the Number 5 song for 1975, according to Billboard. Thanks, Wikipedia. JRG.)

Steve Fact O’ The Day

One year in high school, Steve was the announcer for the band at his eventual alma mater, Madison, in Mansfield, Ohio. “It was a good gig,” he told MRN publisher J. Robert Gough. “It got me into the football games for free.”