The charm of the American burger, like blues guitar or Woody from Cheers, is that it’s bone simple, right? Fuss with it at your peril. Yet in 2001, chef Daniel Boulud had the gall to do just that. His db burger—a sirloin patty stuffed with braised short ribs and foie gras on a Parmesan bun—sold for $32 at db Bistro Moderne and instantly changed the rules.
Since then, the country has been swept up in a fervor to tweak the classic burger in extravagant ways, and why not? After all, a 1952 Aston Martin DB2 comes…