Friday, April 29, 2011

Nice Parodies

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The Epic Meal Time - Kids Edition


And The Veggie Burger - Epic Veggie Meal Time


And thanks to Mr. Lew for pointing out the kids.

Coming soon to a corner near you

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More from Burger Week at Eater. This time on "up and coming burger chains." A) They need to get a better person to do their graphics. On this map, they got it ALL wrong.


All the logos should be moved one place clockwise. Elevation Burger is form Arlington, Virginia (on the east coast of the United States), Mooyah is from Texas (a 6 o'clock on this map) and Smashburger is from Denver (pretty much where the Elevation logo is). And apparently Smashburger has plans in place for Canada (how would you translate Smashburger into French?)

B) Somehow they manage to overlook Dic Ann's, Smart Burger, m:brgr, Burger de Ville, Buns Hamburger House, Frites Alors or any of the other up and coming burger chains here in Montreal?

Beef Blend Discussion

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Since it has been Burger Week over at Eater, I took the easy way out and decided to wait till the week was over before cherry-picking the good stuff. Yesterday they interviewed Pat LaFrieda and Mark Pastore from LaFrieda Meat Purveyors about grinding beef. Very entertaining.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Marie-Claude Lortie and I obviously hang in different circles...

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She talks about how Le Filet has been the new restaurant that's been getting the most "buzz." I would, politely, beg to differ. From my perspective it has been iBurger.

Le Filet:
Hour review - March 10, 2011
Montreal Gazette review - April 23, 2011
La Presse review - April 25, 2011
On Facebook, 34 likes and 90 Check-ins.
Twitter hash-tags, 0
FourSquare - 48 people/56 check-ins
Urbanspoon: 39 votes
Blog posts (in no particular order):
Will Travel For Food, Montreal for Insiders, global38-news, Roasted, Robert Barakett, Popcorn Plays, Alors on Mange, Les chroniques gastronomiques, and Bread and Molasses. (9)

iBurger:
Montreal Gazette review - April 1, 2011
La Presse review - March 21, 2011
On Facebook, 880 Likes
Twitter hash-tags, 2 in the past 24 hours. (And more without a hashtag)
FourSquare - 136 people/214 check-ins
Urbanspoon
: 19 votes (!)
Blog posts (in no particular order):
Blog Marketing Web 2.0 et Tech, Grad Life, 5One4, Society for Environmental Graphic Design, Tourism Montreal, Technosterone, ahoodie, Digital Signage in Canada, Montreal.TV, and Dishcrawl. (10)

But no matter how much "buzz" there is, the food is infinitely better at Le Filet.

Apparently there is no Turkish - Canadian Crossover

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I wonder how much a Turkish Lira is worth in Monopoly dollars...

It's about what they are worth

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

And Everything Burger gets into Prints

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Title pretty much says it all. But in case you need it spelled out, Everything Burger (the fine folk responsible for one of the burger movie posters I posted about last week) has decided to take the plunge and sell some prints over at this website called Society6. They currently have a selection of three, and personally, I quite like the "Obey Burger." But $48 is a little bit out of my price range. And unfortunately I don't have an iPhone or else I would have shelled out the $15 for a skin.

Since we're playing catch-up

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Some of the better posts from Eater's Burger Week:
In-N-Out vs Five Guys: The Big Chains' Bi-Coastal Burger Battle (basically a re-write of this article).
Breaking Down Five Guys Burgers And Fries By The Numbers (note to self: Talk to Wayne & Caleb once the McGill St. location has opened to see how it compares to DC)
Slutburgers Gone Wild! Carl's Jr. Ads Through The Years (self explanatory).

Eater does a Burger Week, too!

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And gets into it good. They aren't one of my regular reads (which is why I am two days late on this one) but Eater (basically a bunch of food blogs based around various cities in the US) has decided to jump the gun on National Burger Month, and do something called Eater Burger Week.

And as you might expect from such a large and mainstream publication, they don't shy away from what you might call things excessive. With one of their first offerings being The Ron Swanson Turkey Burger.

Backstory: There's a TV show called Parks and Recreation. It has a character named Ron Swanson who likes meat. He mentions in passing the idea of a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger. Someone from Texas, who just happens to write for Eater, Paula Forbes, decides to make one, and documents the process.

Heck, I betcha dollars to doughnuts they out do Epic Meal Time before the week is done.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ann (Collecchia) Potenza

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I just don't get it

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Why anyone would subject their cat to a Burger King Quad Stacker...



Somehow I don't think it would make their coat shine...

Eric Hubbard becomes Hamburger Boy

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Or depending on who you are Hamburger Man. Last week he was a strictly local story, but it has now gone nationwide.

And if you want to find Mr. Hubbard on Facebook...

Monday, April 25, 2011

Raf Katigbak doesn't seem to like the new menu item at McDonalds

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Not your usual place to see reviews of fast food joints.

Burger Movies

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From Ketching up with the Burger Broads

From Everything Burger

Catching up with Mark and Elliott from the Toronto Burger Chase

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It's been a while since we last heard from them...

Real McCoy Burgers & Pizza


But I can't help but think that they have to up their game. They need to focus, concentrate more on the meat, flavor and texture. Less on expectations and the vague descriptions of prior visits.

Friday, April 22, 2011

NOW goes weak in the knees for The Burger's Priest

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Steven Davey, over in the good city of Toronto-the-Good, gets his bosses to pay for some hamburgers at The Burger's Priest. Apparently he likes them, a lot. We first heard about the Burger's Priest from the fine folk at the Great Toronto Burger Chase (who by the way are now up to Part Five!)

OK, how about we just declare this past week Burger Days' week?

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I was particularly enamored of their road trip through Connecticut. Louis' Lunch, Ted's Restaurant and then Shady Glen all in one weekend.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Jason from Shut Up and Eat on Burger de Ville

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A very nice post, despite misspelling cheeseburger.

A McDonald's Hamburger Submerged

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Any biochemists out there? Rhonda Thomas' daughter stuck a McDonald's hamburger underwater as part of her science project. Rhonda Thomas then went and videotaped it.



Now, the last time I actually tried to learn chemistry was way back in the last century, so I'm no expert. So I won't even venture a guess as to what's happening. Mostly, I just want to know what it tastes like? Perhaps something like this?

Julien vs. Food. Food Wins

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Sorry about the spoiler.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Burger Days whimps out! Decides to celebrate National Burger Week instead of National Burger Month

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We're fast approaching National Burger Month (11 days and counting), but someone over at Burger Days decided that they needed to go on a diet. So they slimmed down National Burger Month to National Burger Week.

C'mon guys! That is so 1992!! A week has seven days, May has 31. Seven burgers in seven days is even easier than falling out of bed. 31 burgers in 31 days is a better challenge. But the best would be 93 burgers in 31 days. Just like the song says, burgers for breakfast, burgers for lunch and burgers for dinner. For the entire month of May.



(unless of course they plan on eating their namesake burger exclusively, in which case we can cut them some slack)

Jukebox Burgers and Macaroni and Cheese?!?!

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Everybody's favorite manifestation of excess, Epic Meal Time went to Jukebox Burgers two weeks ago to film parts of an episode (and as an aside, I wonder how much they got paid?) on Macaroni and Cheese.

I don't quite understand, the restaurant is not called Jukebox Macaroni and Cheese. And I would also imagine that Kraft has slightly deeper pockets...

Unless of course I'm supposed to read between the lines, and not order a burger at Jukebox Burgers. maybe I should just take them off the Montreal Burger Report's Map entirely.

More Twitter Burger Goodness in two flavors

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Last week I mentioned some Canadian Burger Joints that used Twitter. Well since then, I got my act organized and took it on the road. We now have two Twitter Lists. One for Out-of-Town Burgers and one for Local Burgers.

Again, feel free to let me know if I missed any.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Burger Days ups the ante

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While I don't quite agree 100% with them because a "brgr" is not the same as a "burger" (just ask Vanna White, who I think would be the better interviewer as well). But nonetheless, even without the vowels, getting a burger named after you is a pretty impressive feat.

Hmmm... The Montreal Burger Report Burger? Naw, doesn't quite trip off the tongue gracefully. The MBR. That's what it should be called. and none of this namby-pamby applewood smoked bacon, pepper jack, or Sweet Pete BBQ for us. A combo of oxtail and chuck. A little bit of Comtomme, a slice of a half-sour and either the roll used by Nouveau Palais or Brasserie T!

Tornado Burger

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Headline says it all. Thankfully no one was hurt in Jackson, MS.

The Victoria Burger Blog Does Lunchbox Laboratory

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The Smoker at Lunchbox Laboratory By wesleyrosenblum (notice the Vaseline on the lense, just like a sortcore porn movie...)

Or maybe that should read The Lunchbox Laboratory does The Victoria Burger Blog. I'm not certain if his description of the experience can be consider safe for work, especially if you are working south of the border. But it is both a concupiscent and hilarious description of what apparently was a long time obsession.

Truffle Love at Lunchbox Laboratory By poopoorama

Personally, I hope dk, stayed in Seattle long enough to be able to eat at least a second hamburger. Perhaps the Tear Jerker or Truffle Love, depending on if he felt it was going to turn into a true long distance relationship or if it was merely a holiday fling.

The tear Jerker at Lunchbox Laboratory By february 22

Monday, April 18, 2011

Alexandra Gill doesn't know what makes a burger tender

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On Friday Alexandra Gill wrote a puff piece about some fancy hamburgers you can eat in Vancouver (and she even dissed Montreal in the process!).

But the line that caught my eye was "The 6.5-oz patty is 50 per cent wagyu from Washington and 50 per cent Angus beef. Perhaps it’s the blend that makes it so tender. Or maybe it’s the fact the meat is delivered fresh, not frozen. Or it could be the smoky licks of char-grill fire."

Ms. Gill; Both Angus and Wagyu refer to the type of cow, not the cut of meat. In both Angus and Wagyu. If you make a top round steak hamburger from either animal the resulting burger will be tougher than a hamburger made from tenderloin (why do you think it is called tenderloin?) or top blade.

Given that the burger she is describing costs $21. It darn well better be fresh meat, not frozen. However if the meat was frozen and then defrosted prior to cooking it will in fact be more tender than fresh meat. Similar to the aging process, freezing meat causes ice crystals which puncture cell walls which breaks down muscle fibers which in turn makes meat more tender.

And finally, while "smoky licks of char-grill fire" might be her attempt at inserting something vaguely poetic into her puff-piece the method of cooking (what the heck are "smoky licks" anyways?) doesn't effect the tenderness.

In short if you want a tender burger, get it from an animal that was killed gently and kindly. Age the meat in a refrigerator for about two weeks, choose a tender cut like tenderloin or top blade. And then finally you might want to marinate the meat.

But since hamburger is made from ground beef, and grinding anything will make it more tender, I have a strong feeling that Ms. Gill was in fact confusing the tenderness of her burger with something else.

Social Eatz is a pale comparison to Picks

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I discovered Social Eatz via the very gustatorial Ozersky.tv.



And I can't believe that Angelo Sosa didn't use kimchi on one of his "Asian inspired" burgers. It's one of the better toppings offered at Picks (1407 Saint-Marc).

What's the word for having sex with food?

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Over at BrightestYoungThings they have joined forces with Burger Days to feature Burgers I'd Like to Bang, or BILB for short.

As far as I can tell, there isn't a single word that would replace Food Fetish, but trofímo̱nphilia would come close, and some people like Sitophilia.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Five Guys vs. The World

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Just in time... The Los Angeles Times covers the extremely aggressive expansion plans of Five Guys Burger & Fries in California, questioning whether they are a threat to In-N-Out Burger. And try as I might, I can't really think of any equivalent Quebec-based chain that would need to worry, seeing as how Five Guys Burger & Fries is aggressively expanding in Quebec as well.

All of this as a long winded way of having a reason to tell you that tomorrow Five Guys Burger & Fries opens in Dix30.

Details on that 50% off coupon from Groupon...

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From NPR's Planet Money with a burger spin.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

And speaking of Twitter

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Since the whole idea behind eating your hamburger in an alley is to increase the number of Twitter followers for a restaurant, I figured you might be interested in knowing about other Canadian burger places on Twitter.

In no particular order:
Fatburger Canada, The Works, Jukebox Burgers, Le Boucan, Brasserie T!, Jolifou, m:brgr, Johnny eh's!, Depanneur Le Pick-Up, lanecdote, New Palace, Bunman, nimby burger, Le Gourmet Burger, DicAnns, Lawrence, and the one, the only the inimitable Mr. Lew's Great Burger Search (if you're only going to follow one, he's the one to follow).

Who did I miss?

What is it about Alberta and eating hamburgers in an alley?

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First it was Calgary's CharCut and last Friday it was Edmonton's Hundred Kitchen and Bar. And while I'm at it, arugula and fried duck eggs? They couldn't find any Jerusalem artichokes and Shiitake Mushrooms?!?

I just pray that the concept doesn't make it this far east...

And iBurger still getting the love...

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This time from Nika Naimi over at the McGill Grad Life blog.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

If I ever make it to Quebec City

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Apparently I'm supposed to go to Chez Victor for a hamburger because some blog named Hôtel Manoir d'Auteuil writes that it is "The Best Place in Quebec for Hamburgers."

Yeah, right. They only talk about the salad and the price. Next time they should try to at least mention taste and/or flavor...

What are you doing in 18 days?

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Just a friendly reminder from some website called "News Canada" that May is National Hamburger Month. Although, personally I think it is the other National and not the one north of the 49th parallel.

More on iBurger

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I don't quite understand. Vincent Abry writes a blog all about "Marketing Web 2.0 et Tech: Technologies et Web-Marketing, Seo, Web 2.0 et Réseaux Sociaux, Gadgets Geek, Mobiles et Robots. J'offre des services Conseil de Marketing internet." But somehow, earlier this month he decided to write about iBurger. And he didn't even mention once how things tasted.

As I said, I don't get it. At all.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Kind of like a two-headed pig in a trainwreck

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While Bill Bryson III, uses the term "hamburger" to refer to ground beef, his video on dehydrating it, so it becomes lightweight in order to take on a canoeing trip had me riveted.



He does just about everything you can do to turn the ground beef into cardboard.

More Voting by Burger

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Last week I posted about Burger Heaven doing their polling by burgers. Well now there's video!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Another Burger Movie

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Back at the beginning of the month I posted about some burger movies. Well, Nadine Denault over at Bouffe et Vie tweeted about another, White Palace

The LFPress Burger in London

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It looks like The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro not only got a hefty infusion of cash, because they are expanding like mad across Ontario, but also has a suave and savvy director of marketing.

For their London, Ontario location they got some local celebrities to name burgers, and as a consequence, one menu offering is going to be called the LFPress Burger, after the London Free Press, the local newspaper there.

You can watch an advertisement for the Works a video the London Free Press made about their burger by clicking on the link since they don't allow embedding of their videos.

Get m:brgr's $100 burger for ½ price

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I would guess that the m:brgr location in Toronto isn't doing as well as hoped, they are discounting their product by 50% through Group Buy United. In the promo fodder, I get a kick out of the line "...cocktails mixed by an in-house mixologist." It makes me very happy to know that they have a bartender on staff.

Friday, April 8, 2011

A Monte Christo Burger

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And the last one for today...

All Josh Ozersky All Day

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If you haven't figured it out yet, I just discovered ozersky.tv.

Josh Ozersky makes a burger that Pat Sharpe doesn't like much

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Pat Sharpe, a writer in Texas, went to a presentation by Josh Ozersky on hamburgers last week. And for the most part, wasn't impressed.

Watch and decide for yourself.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Voting by burger

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The Royal City Record has a nice election story based around burgers. Apparently Burger Heaven, in New Westminster creates new menu items based on the leaders of the various political parties.

Personally I want to know what the results are.

... an endless banquet waxes rhapsodic about White Manna

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I wish I could write half as eloquently as AJ Kinik does.

Another American Quick Service Restaurant Chain opening in Canada makes the news

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it must have been a really really slow news day last Friday in Victoria, BC. The Times Colonist decided to publish an entire article about a restaurant that won't open until August at the earliest. And on top of it, it won't even be the first Fatburger in Canada.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sarah Musgrave goes to iBurger

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The Montreal Gazette's casual dining critic also went to iBurger and wrote about it. As you would expect her writing and opinions are slightly more cogent.

She says that iBurger is a "fair to good bet," and its burger is "very satisfying."

Burger Origami

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Last month Everything Burger, as part of their Burger 365 project made some burger origami.

Image courtesy Everything Burger

EverybodyKnows goes to iBurger

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Again, I'm playing catch up. Last month Moody Jones went to iBurger. And, it was a "decent" burger.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Step into my Day does O'burger

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Back in January Step into my Day wrote about her visit to O'burger on McGill. I discovered it while trolling around on Urbanspoon. Apparently she liked it.

Congratulations to Vera's Burger Shack

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I've written about them before (here to be specific) but Vera's Burger Shack got voted best burger in Vancouver by the Georgia Straight, again.

Strangely, Burger Supremacy (A quest to discover the supreme hamburger in Vancouver, BC) only rates Vera's fourth. And neither Vancouver Burgers nor The Victoria Burger Blog have done Vera's, yet (BTW happy 3rd B'day to the Victoria Burger Blog).

Strangely Compelling

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Even though I can't understand a word of German, I ended up watching the whole gosh-darn thing...

Monday, April 4, 2011

Christie's Carriage House Pub goes viral!!

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We start with a post from the Victoria Burger Blog. Add in a YouTube video from The Zone and you have a magic recipe for internet fame and fortune. Go Christie's Carriage House Pub, go!

Another art exhibit I missed...

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I don't what happened at the end of last year, but I missed out on another art exhibit that featured hamburgers! This one was in China, back in November. The Red Gate Gallery had a group show called 30 degrees, that featured Song Wei's Hamburger a fibre glass sculpture.

Image courtesy superfuture

Pie Dude 46 eats a hamburger

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Strangely compelling...

Friday, April 1, 2011

Not the top five burger scenes in film

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Last month Burger Junkies had a video done about what they call the top five burger scenes in film. First they need to stop screaming.



Then they need to do some research.

It's the Big Kahuna Burger scene in Pulp Fiction.

Then they missed Falling Down



Better Off Dead (bad dub alert)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

The Fast & The Furious



Pretty much all of Harold & Kumar

Mother's Day



The Pink Panther



Dumb & Dumber



Super Troopers

Half Baked



And my vote for best one... American Beauty



Although I'm probably missing something like 75 others.

Cheeseburger Art from San Francisco

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My invitation must've gotten lost in the mail. But I just found out that 1333 Minna had an exhibit called The Good, The Bad, And The Cheesy at The Cassel Goorin Gallery in December.


Lots of pictures here, here, here and here.

Three from Bicky Burger

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In the Netherlands