Barcelona is one of the few films to take on the subject of European anti-American bigotry. Set in the 1980s in Barcelona, Spain, it's a story of two Americans; a vehicle for (writer, director, producer) Whit Stillman's thoughts on the subject.

Amidst others, one illustration Stillman chose centered around the Spanish misunderstanding of the hamburger -- that quintessentially American food -- and what our enjoyment of such proved, in Spanish eyes, about the terrible inferiority of American tastes:

Take hamburgers. Here, hamburguesas are really bad. It's known that Americans like hamburgers, so again, we're idiots. But they have no idea how delicious hamburgers can be. It's this ideal burger of memory we crave... not the disgusting burgers you get abroad.

So I wonder if Stillman's laughing at this article in the New York Times about how Paris is finally getting decent hamburgers -- and is apparently ga-ga about them.

Before:

It is not as if hamburgers were unknown in Paris. American restaurants here like Joe Allen have long served them. Ms. Grasser-Hermé ate her first in 1961 at the American Legion, 11 years before McDonald’s unveiled its golden arches in France. But with few exceptions the local burgers were flat, overcooked and shunned even by American expatriates.

Other forms of ground or chopped beef have been enjoyed here for years as well. Butchers sell kilos of ground meat destined to become steak haché, a pan-seared patty made with lean meat, pressed into an oval, and served without a bun.

And while steak tartare shows up on practically every brasserie menu, chefs now recognize that a hamburger is not simply six ounces of chopped lean beef grilled until crusty.

“No, that would be an error,” said Ms. Grasser-Hermé.

“A hamburger is the architecture of taste par excellence,” she explained.

After:

Beginning a few years ago but picking up momentum in the past nine months, hamburgers and cheeseburgers have invaded the city.... “It’s not just a fad,” said Frédérick Grasser-Hermé, who, as consulting chef at the Champs-Élysées boîte Black Calvados... “It’s more than that. The burger has become gastronomic."

Some of the most celebrated chefs in the city have taken up the challenge. Yannick Alléno, who earned a third Michelin star in 2007 for his precise, rarefied cuisine at Le Meurice, serves a thick, succulent hamburger at his casual restaurant, Le Dali. Mr. Alléno’s baker, Frédéric Lalos, a winner of one of the country’s fiercest cooking competitions, makes the buns. With smoked bacon, lettuce, dill pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and fries, the burger at Le Dali costs 35 euros, about $56.

Sounds delicious!

Yes indeed: a burger, done right, can be quite wonderful.

Bon apetit, mes amis!