OK, next time I have to write a complicated story about genetically modified salmon or high-fructose corn syrup, I'm illustrating it with a picture of a hamburger.
Because if I'm interpreting the results of the American Society of Magazine Editors' annual best magazine cover contest correctly, readers can't resist burger porn. Three of the six nominees in the online poll featured massive, fat-dripping burgers topped with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and cheese: The winner in the "Most Delicious" category, announced yesterday, was the cover of Texas Monthly's best burger issue.
Contest organizers praised the use of "sunshiny yellows and crisp, cool blues," and lauded the magazine for looking beyond the state's "holy trinity" of Tex-Mex, chicken-fried steak and barbecue.
But there's not a chance voters were thinking about those things when they clicked on Texas Monthly's entry. They were besotted by juicy red meat.
Food geeks may fetishize bacon and Korean barbecue tacos, but burgers remain the leading looker in the meat department. Humans are so fond of staring at beef that cavemen in Lascaux painted cows on their walls.
The 12 category winners now compete for best cover honors, a contest that pits the burger against Brooklyn Decker and Johnny Depp. My money's on the sandwich.
