Not bad, despite the misnomer

The irony of a place called Islands, is that it's originally from Southern California. I suppose, perhaps that's not really as ironic as it is perhaps cliched, but I think you get my point. That being said, we stopped over here for dinner on the way home from a retreat. I had seen one of these near where I am in Northern California and was always curious. My SoCal friends said that it was a fairly generic burger chain from their neck of the woods. That being said, it still intrigued me.

Huh, they figured it out...

The mushroom burger is a fairly common burger. In fact, most places have gotten it worked out to some kind of mushroom and a Swiss cheese of some sort. Once you've sauteed the mushrooms and melted the cheese it provides a nice contrast in texture and flavor from the beef. That being said, I think someone's kind of figured it out. Ironically, that someone isn't a burger place. That place, may just be Boudin SF.

Utter Smash

So this place looked interesting. It had all the earmarks of a mid to high end burger chain. I knew it was a chain because I saw one under construction in New York as well as in California. So this time around, it was finally open, and so I decided to give Smashburger a go. It was nice, it was clean, the staff was friendly, the ordering was pretty straightforward, with a handy-dandy screen for you to review your order too.

"Insert something witty about rebirth and heat"

So, last time I was in San Mateo I was told there are two burger places I had to try. Last time I tried one of them. This time I tried the other. Apparently Godfather's draws a lot of comparisons to Jack's Prime when it comes to the age old debate of "greatest burger in San Mateo". I know all of you are riveted by that topic of conversation. Since last time I had Godfather's, my friend decided this time I needed to try Jack's Prime. He indicated that it was perhaps in a more accessible location, and was bigger overall so he went there more often. I, however, being a self-proclaimed burger snob, must then go by the actual burgers themselves, no matter the convenience.

I don't get the pretzel bun

So on a whim, and mostly because my mother had a coupon, we decided, that it would be nice to go to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. Honestly, it's not really because we think Ruby Tuesday is great or anything, more that it was just in a convenient location and everything. I'm not going to go out of my way to criticize it, but honestly if it were another store (i.e. TGIF or Chili's) and my mom had a coupon, we'd probably go there as well. That being said, they have a relatively comprehensive burger selection on the menu so I decided to give it a go.

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

At this point in time this little blog has become something of a novelty to my friends. They know I keep it and thus are always encouraging me to post more, oftentimes going out of their way to recommend burger places to go eat just for the sake of my blog. It's not a bad thing. Frankly, given my love of burgers, I personally don't really mind that much. It saves of thinking of another place to have to go eat. Thus, during another visit to the Bay Area, my good friend indicated that when you're talking about burgers in the San Mateo/Peninsula area two places invariably pop up, generally in comparison to one another. I only went to one, so I can only write about that one, granted in the context of all the other burgers I've had. This place was called Godfather's, named and themed after the hit 1972 Francis Ford Cappola film.

Tex Mex Burger... Interesting...

I'm not sure this really counts, given that even though the place is called a tex mex place, it's pretty much all BBQ. Of course, I'm probably ignorant of whatever it is that makes things either Tex Mex or BBQ. We had stopped by Kettleman City for a lunch break during a drive down from Northern California to Southern California, and decided, that perhaps it would be worthwhile to try out Wild Jacks Tex Mex BBQ instead of In-N-Out. While I have had mixed feelings regarding whether or not BBQ places can really make good burgers, I did opt for the WJ Tex Mex BBQ Cheddar Cheeseburger over the normal BBQ fare. Others ordered the more typical ribs and brisket sandwiches, but I decided to give this a go.

Almost Deluxe

It was a simple burger. It's not really a knock on it, but I can't really say that it stood out either. When a burger comes without condiments I'm usually half-scared and half-excited. Why? Simply because they either expect the burger to be good enough without any condiments or they expect you to use ketchup. Nothing against ketchup, I like ketchup, and sometimes the goodness is in simplicity, and ketchup is the base condiment that is safe and you can always fall back on. However, everyone can get/use ketchup. Even when you make your own burgers at home. So that being said, Jimmy's Deluxe Burger at the Colonie Diner was a good burger, a good homemade style burger.

Not quite the heat I was expecting...

To celebrate a friend's birthday, I decided to grab lunch at Smokey Bones BBQ, which I now realize is something of chain. The main reason I didn't realize that at first was simply because I've only seen the one I went to, which is just outside of my apartment, so that worked out for me. I'd been here before with a friend because I had heard that the food was pretty good and he had a coupon. I also picked this place subsequently for this particular outing because I too had a coupon available. We started with an order of fried pickles, which were quite tasty, but you're here about the burgers, so let's jump into that.

There is some doubt

No Doubt Stout BBQ Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

So as a final pit stop in my recent visit to Seattle, I decided to meet up with a bunch of friends at a fairly centralized locale (for us) to grab dinner and generally just hang out. That place was Elliott Bay in the Lake City area, which was newer (relatively), meaning that it wasn't there when I left (about two years ago). It was a fairly typical brewery type restaurant, which meant generally pub type food. I decided that since they were a brewery to get the No Doubt Stout BBQ Burger, which is made from their No Doubt Stout ale.

Everything was fairly well prepared, the burger came with cheese, onions straws, lettuce, tomato, onion, and BBQ sauce. Unfortunately, this particular burger proved (at least for me) that burgers aren't really BBQ items. While you might cook a rack of ribs or brisket on a grill like a burger, the flavors you are going for are different. That being said, while I like meaty burgers, I also understand that you don't want your burger to be too dense, otherwise it becomes kind of bogged down and dry like a meatloaf sandwich. That's part of the reason you don't necessarily want to use the leanest cut of meat for your burgers. Now, it wasn't that the meat here was dry, but rather that the BBQ sauce was designed for something slightly tougher, such as a brisket or a tri-tip, not a burger. It wasn't that the sauce was bad, it just didn't fit the burger schema. In short, the BBQ sauce was too sweet, the flavor really overwhelmed everything else on the burger. Maybe some people like it that way, but for me, it made things really hard to taste on the burger, and thus, sort of ruined the burger experience.

The fries were good, not much else needs to be said here. It's pretty hard to ruin fries. Nothing special, but sometimes simplicity is best. I'm not going to say Elliott Bay is a bad place to eat, from what I saw of everyone else's food, it all looked good. Conceptually, this burger made sense, it was safe, but unfortunately, execution marred the concept.

Sort of a burger

Godzilla Attack, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

There's a lot to like about Katsu Burger. Really, there is. Yet still, a small part of me feels like this is more of a Chick-Fil-A type joint rather than a burger joint. I suppose, that's what makes me a burger snob, because I'm certain there are a ton of people that would consider Chick-Fil-A a "burger" place as everything is on a bun, but I think it's more than that, but that's not something I'll get into a whole lot now.

While the patty itself was beef, it was deep fried in the Japanese katsu style. Now, I'm a huge fan of katsu, but it's not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when I think burger. So the texture itself kind of threw me off. There were jalapenos and a slaw as extra fixings on the burger which offset it really well. I don't know if it's a hang up for me, but ultimately, it still didn't really "feel" like a burger simply because it didn't really have that sort of substantial feel that you would come to expect out of a burger. Not to say that it wasn't good, it was good. The beef was high quality and well done, just, don't go expecting a traditional burger, which is pretty much what they're going for here.

It seems weird that I feel like I'm knocking this place when I like burgers and I like katsu, but I'm trying to be honest with my reflections. I liked the nori fries, though personally I like a little more substance (perhaps that's what I'm looking for) in my fries, so I like crisp as opposed to crunchy (I don't know if that makes sense), but I like heartier fries with a firm edge, as opposed to smaller fries that are kind of crunchy all around. They also had some pretty cool and unique house-made dipping sauces. That being said it was all in all a good experience, just don't expect a typical "burger" when you come here.

BTW, the shake was good too.

If only it were happy hour

The Pub Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

So it's kind of weird to me that the most anticipated blog post I've probably ever had on this blog is going to be about a burger I had at a supermarket. Okay, so it's not exactly a supermarket, but rather, a dining establishment that was attached to a supermarket. Long story short, I was visiting Rochester and my friends decided that we ought to try The Food Bar at Wegman's, and because their burgers were supposed to be pretty good, and I had a burger blog, I should review it. We went, and it was a nice place, the more I think of it the more it actually was designed kind of like a bar than an actual restaurant (given the wine dispensers in the dining area).

Anyways, I'm not a big drinker, actually, I don't drink (alcohol) at all. However, I know that generally speaking happy hours are great places to get burgers, and in all honesty that's really what this burger was, a happy hour burger. Don't get me wrong, the burger was well done, the ingredients were fresh and it was prepared quite well. Served with the slice of tomato, leaf of lettuce, melted cheese, and Thousand Island, there was a certain elegance to the simplicity of the concept. A burger, made well. However, that being said, the burger kind of took that concept to the extreme. Beyond that, you were really paying full menu price for a happy hour burger The meat was well prepared and hearty, the Pub Burger being a 1/2 lb patty, however despite the simplicity of the ingredients it was something of an underwhelming burger in all honesty. The main detraction I had was that the bun was more of a roll than a bun, meaning that it was a bit airier than the typical bun which, while not a huge detraction, was not typical for a burger. Additionally, the heavy char used on the burger and the grilled bun, again, while a nice addition, completely stifled the flavor from the Thousand Island.

Part of what makes going out to eat a treat is partially that you don't have to really work to prep the food or clean up, but another part of it is largely to get what you can't really make at home. While I don't believe necessarily that I can as consistently crank out a burger this well prepared, I believe that I can get close enough. Again, I want to reiterate that this was a well-done burger, but what makes the experience largely not worthwhile is simply that the product is not worth the price. Normally at this point of the review I'd be making some generic comment about the fries, which I cannot do here, because the burger doesn't come with any, and I'd already paid for a full meal for just the burger and a drink. I know it's a nice half-pound patty, but the mark-up was pretty ridiculous in my opinion. While I know this is a blog about the quality of the burger, the price tag does markedly affect the overall perception and dining experience. It's a nifty dining experience, and it's good, for a supermarket, but in all honesty, if you're in that plaza hankering for a burger, you'd probably do better at Cheesecake Factory.

The Onion Burns Bright

XL Texas Heat, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Well, I was in Seattle for a wedding and my friends and I decided to go to Blazing Onion for dinner before catching a movie (not on the wedding day). I was informed that this place had good burgers (and bottomless fries, which never hurts). I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but the overall ambiance of the place seemed nice and the burger menu looked very legit.

I was ultimately torn between the Wild Boar, Buffalo, and Texas Heat burgers, because, frankly, they all looked good and the concept of wild boar meat was intriguing, and I knew for a fact that buffalo meat was good. However, I stuck with the Texas Heat as it was my first time here and I wanted to get a good gauge of the place overall as a burger joint. As they were 1/3 lb patties, I opted for an XL (2 patties). The first notable difference from the typical burger was that it was served on an Asiago onion bun rather than your typical bun or roll. While this added a nice touch, I didn't notice it making a significant impact on the burger itself (maybe it was too subtle for me). The patties were really juicy and well cooked. The burger was topped with Chipotle mayo and salsa as well as the normal fixings as well. Overall it worked pretty well as a whole. However, generally speaking, I didn't really taste any salsa, and the only real noticeable thing about it was that it made the burger kind of runny.

The fries were solid, they added some nice seasoning on the first batch and the next few batches after were at the least fresh from the fryer. Overall, I would say that this place is a solid place to go out and get a burger. Definitely better than Red Robin has been in recent memory.

Not a bad special

Bacon Pepperjack Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Usually at most places I'm a little leery of the seasonal specials. Especially big corporate chains like Denny's. However, this special burger they had during their bacon special was quite good, surprisingly so. Maybe it was because it was at a Denny's, though, I've come to the point of realizing where if you don't have super high expectations for Denny's when you walk in, you probably will usually be pleasantly surprised.

Overall, the meat was cooked pretty well, albeit a little on the drier side (as they don't serve anything more rare than medium-well). They had an interesting tangy sauce to go with the bacon and pepperjack cheese, which I thought worked quite well. All-in-all, not a bad thing.

Apparently they added seasoned fries to the menu. That being said, they did take the burger off of the cheaper, value menu slot, and this was a special anyways, but still it wasn't that bad of a deal. It's Denny's so you're pretty safe overall. I'd imagine this would be amazing at like 2AM.

It Translates Quite Well

Southwestern Steak Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

So, back on my burger quest, I had heard about Morrette's King Steak House online in regards to having a fairly good burger. Namely, because it was considered one of the places one could procure one of the finer cheesesteaks in the area, and the beef used for the cheesesteak and the burgers were the same. So, given that incentive, and it being fairly conveniently located around where I normally venture, I opted to go for it. Wanting something with a bit more variety than your typical All-American Cheeseburger (read: just lettuce and tomatoes and onions) I picked one of the newer items on the menu (it said "new" next to the item, though the menu itself was kind of old), the "Southwestern" Steak Burger.

All in all, it was pretty good. You could tell that the beef was used for making cheesesteaks as it was generally pretty lean. For a place that had kind of an old diner feel, the lack of greasiness in the meat was fairly nice. It gave a full beefy flavor. This burger was then topped with cheese, which being a cheesesteak place was melted quite nicely, grilled onions, a hickory BBQ sauce, and jalapenos. Overall the execution was pretty good, though I do have to say that the concept behind the burger itself wasn't extraordinarily well thought out. The ingredients sort of clashed for flavor, and for the first few bites I couldn't quite decide what to make of the contrast between the jalapeno kick and the sweetness of the BBQ sauce, which in and of itself I thought was slightly overpowering. Overall though, I thought the burger pretty good.

The fries were pretty "well-done" for all you In-N-Outers out there. They were left in the fryer a little longer and came out crispy, but not overly so, which was good. Overall, a pretty nifty novelty place, what with all the historic pictures on the wall and that, but I'd probably go with the steak sandwich more than the burger next time.

Juicy is good

Cajun Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Invariably living now in the Capital Region (of New York) I got the great idea of looking up the best burgers in the Capital Region on Google. This place came up a whole lot. Before I jump into the review as a whole, I want to break down the general premise that I have going into a brief thing about what I look for in general from a burger joint. There are two basic things that I look at going into a burger joint: concept and execution. The concept is the amount of thought and consideration that goes into the creation of the menu. It's easy in particular for burger joints to create a generic menu of five or six burgers that most places generally will have. I have nothing against that, but there is something to be said about consideration for originality. The second is how well this is pulled off, this is generally what I'm reviewing when I'm talking about the overall taste and each component of the burger, essentially, how well they pull it off. As of right now there is only one place that has done both well, unfortunately, Juicy's Burgers and More was not one of them. However, if this is the best that the Capital Region has to offer, they could certainly do a lot worse.

The burger was done really well, that much is true. The burger was in fact quite juicy. The Cajun Burger that I got was done well, it was well spiced to bring out the overall flavor of the burger. I'm not sure if there was like a special mayo on it, but hey it was good. The other fixings were quite well done, it had some tang with the pickled chiles. The bun was a kind of hard roll which was well done. Kind of light and fluffy, but well toasted.

The fries were pretty run of the mill, though they were called Yukon Gold fries so I'd imagine those were type of potatoes used. Overall, it's a good place to go and grab a burger. It's a little pricier than what I think is warranted as everything is paid for separately (i.e. burger, fries, and drink), there are no real combos, but hey, the burger is good. I'd come out for it again, sometime. Should probably try the other sides too.

Sonic Bust

Sonic Cheeseburger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

So I was in the Baltimore area visiting a friend, and I noticed that there was a Sonic in the area, so we decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by there before hopping on over to Annapolis to visit the Naval Academy. I mean, after all, I had spent all of a couple of years in California watching those commercials for the place, which may have been a bad thing.

Overall, the burger was about as plain as you can get. I mean, it could've been worse, but it definitely wasn't on par with what I would consider top tier fast food (i.e. In-N-Out and Five Guys). Very, very forgettable. Not even the roller skating waitress made up for that, she looked about as excited to be there as I did after having my burger. Everything was just plain, which is again, not to say bad, but I'm not exactly going to go out of my way for backyard BBQ type stuff. Then again, I may have just insulted a bunch of backyard BBQers with that comparison.

Fries were the normal fries like you'd get at a Burger King or generic local burger joint. Nothing worthwhile. Overall, I have to say, major disappointment. Can't really say I understand the appeal of the place.

It's only doubled nominally

Brewhouse Deluxe Double Cheeseburger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Okay, so as a slight disclaimer, I split this burger four ways. It wasn't that I couldn't finish it, but it was more because there was also a large deep dish pizza and an order of pot roast sitting on the table at the time, which we decided we would like to split (between four of us). That being said, the main reason I wanted to go to BJ's Brewery was more for the pizookie than a new burger review (though I did want to do a new burger review).

However, only having a quarter of the burger was sufficient for me to get a good idea of the burger. The onion straws were good, the bacon was a good touch. The patties were well cooked, but I did notice a major disparity between the first and second patties, not necessarily in quality but in size, the second was significantly smaller. They supposedly had a special brewhouse sauce on the burger, but the flavor from the onion straws kind of over powered it.

They have wedge fries, which are always a plus, which are essentially jo-jos, which are a plus. Jo-jos are always a plus.

Big name to live up to

The Hoss, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Granted I understand that this is a BBQ joint, being called L.T.'s Grill, it makes sense that I should've ordered BBQ (i.e.pulled pork) of some sort instead of a burger. However, I ordered a burger because, well, I'm a burger snob. Understandably, The Hoss, was a big burger, as its name somewhat indicates. Not that BBQ places can't make good burgers, but it's just not their go-to thing, so I can't say that I was disappointed as I wasn't really expecting a whole lot.

The burger in and of itself was pretty well made, the patty large and juicy, and it was grilled (duh) with a nice char. However, after that, there really was absolutely nothing to distinguish this burger from its smaller counterpart found at a local picnic BBQ. It was just a hunk of ground beef cooked on a professional grill. Served with lettuce tomatoes, two large cups of ketchup, and a side of fries. Not bad, not great, certainly not worth the price. So if you ever venture here, get some BBQ, not a burger.

Conceptually Sound

Quarter lb cheeseburger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.

Okay, granted I went to a service station off the highway which is only marginally better than eating at the airport, but still, I have yet to see a Roy Rogers not in a service station off the highway. Now I had remembered generally good things about Roy Rogers but I suppose I'm such a burger snob now that I must inevitably be disappointed by something like this. Theoretically it's a pretty nifty concept, it's basically Arby's meets Wendy's meets a condiment bar. Execution however, was lacking, I'm going to blame the service station.

Yes, there is a patty under there, it wasn't phenomenal, but it was pretty good. You can't really rate the fixings or condiments a whole lot when you kind of pick your own, the selection overall was pretty good, with banana peppers added to the normal selection of pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. I opted for mayo and their BBQ sauce, which was nice and tangy. Otherwise, a generally forgettable meal.

The fries were pretty typical of a fast food joint, let's say comparable to Wendy's, good not great. If you find a Roy Rogers not in a service station I'd like to know where so I can go. Otherwise, it's not really worth making a trip for.