There is no more perfect, no more American food than a cheeseburger. It is a culinary symphony of meat, cheese, and bread, arranged in an aesthetically perfect tableau of warmth and sustenance. I’d say I love everything about them, but truth be told I’m obsessed with them. I eat them religiously in every city I visit, read biographies about them, ask chefs about their ground beef composition and cooking techniques, and debate things like “meat-to-bun” ratio and patty size (literally all of that is true without any exaggeration). So you can imagine how I feel about this slow-mo video of a deconstructed burger perfectly falling in to place in one harmonious moment of burger nirvana.

We first came across this video at LaughingSquid, and it was made by Vimeo user Steve Giralt, who also shared a behind-the-scenes video to show how he brought all of the burger elements together in one swift set-up, using an “Arduino-based timing control system” and “custom 3D printed scalpel blades” cutting through elastic bands that held up the food. The entire shot took less than half a second in real time, but required over a month of preparation.

I’m eschewing my typical admonishment of putting ketchup on a burger because he did so for the visual effect, and also because it meant he got to use a double catapult to make it happen. Plus, that looks like Thousand Island dressing on the bottom bun, so he knows what’s up. He gets it.

Look, I’m not saying my reaction to this food video is weird–I’m not Jim Gaffigan. But, as strange as it sounds burgers are my “thing,” and this is like watching one of my dreams come to life–the perfect food perfectly falling in to place, served with a cold beer. What more could any person want?

Minus the ketchup.

What’s on your perfect burger? Celebrate the glory of cheeseburgers with us in the comments below.

Image: Steve Giralt