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.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sonic Bust
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.
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.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
It's only doubled nominally
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Big name to live up to
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Conceptually Sound
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.
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.
Is it a burger, is it a sandwich?
I do get good burgers at work, that I have to say. The special for the day was a Reuben burger which to me is intriguing because it's sort of up to interpretation in regards to what exactly would be a Reuben burger. Is it a burger with a Reuben sandwich on top? While generally everyone agrees that you need to have saurkraut and Russian dressing and Swiss cheese, do you include the pastrami/corned beef or do you just use some kind of seasoned ground beef patty? Do you use grilled rye bread or a standard bun? Well, my place opted to go with the former on the first and the latter on the second.
It was a good burger, Bob, the expert burger maker in the cafeteria does a great job of making sure my burger is done just right somehow by just poking it. I don't know the secret either. Maybe he has a magic finger thermometer. All in all it was a good burger, though the cheeses and sauces my work cafeteria use are of a more mild flavor in general. The fixings are always fresh, the saurkraut good but also a little on the mild side for my tastes. Overall it's what I've come to expect from the place, good, high quality burgers without a lot of fuss or frills.
The fact they have freshly fried steak fries does make for a good side as well. If you ever do visit while I am working, I will make sure you can try one.
It was a good burger, Bob, the expert burger maker in the cafeteria does a great job of making sure my burger is done just right somehow by just poking it. I don't know the secret either. Maybe he has a magic finger thermometer. All in all it was a good burger, though the cheeses and sauces my work cafeteria use are of a more mild flavor in general. The fixings are always fresh, the saurkraut good but also a little on the mild side for my tastes. Overall it's what I've come to expect from the place, good, high quality burgers without a lot of fuss or frills.
The fact they have freshly fried steak fries does make for a good side as well. If you ever do visit while I am working, I will make sure you can try one.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Aged to... well relative tastiness
Okay, I know, I went to Uno's and I decided to get another burger, but this time, I did decide to get the one with the fancy name. Part of me is generally convinced that my previous poor Uno's burger experience generally had more to do with the Uno's (namely the kitchen preparing it) than necessarily Uno's food itself. I was only partially wrong about that. Partially. Which is to say that this second burger was better, not really to the extent that I thought it was worthwhile, but better. I know, it's not saying much.
Typically, the mushroom-cheese pairing on these kind of burgers has been portabella and Swiss, but I guess they opted to either go cheap or go American, or both, and go with normal button mushrooms and Cheddar (albeit Cabot aged cheddar, which honestly doesn't say much to me except "fancy"). At first I thought that it, like my previous burger experience would be lacking in the condiment department so I got A1 to put on it, but I did find, to my surprise, they had a pleasant, tangy house sauce (not dissimilar to McDonald's Big Mac Thousand Island) underneath the patty. The beef was cooked fairly well, the mushrooms added a little juiciness from the sauteing and the cheese tasted like, well normal cheese. Honestly, I couldn't tell a huge difference made by the Cabot aging, but maybe that just means I'm not a cheese connoisseur.
The fries were again typical, bulk-order, frozen, restaurant-style fries, which were not overdone, so that was good. Again, this isn't something I'd recommend you going out of your way to get, but if you happen to be at an Uno's craving a burger, this probably would be one of the better choices.
Typically, the mushroom-cheese pairing on these kind of burgers has been portabella and Swiss, but I guess they opted to either go cheap or go American, or both, and go with normal button mushrooms and Cheddar (albeit Cabot aged cheddar, which honestly doesn't say much to me except "fancy"). At first I thought that it, like my previous burger experience would be lacking in the condiment department so I got A1 to put on it, but I did find, to my surprise, they had a pleasant, tangy house sauce (not dissimilar to McDonald's Big Mac Thousand Island) underneath the patty. The beef was cooked fairly well, the mushrooms added a little juiciness from the sauteing and the cheese tasted like, well normal cheese. Honestly, I couldn't tell a huge difference made by the Cabot aging, but maybe that just means I'm not a cheese connoisseur.
The fries were again typical, bulk-order, frozen, restaurant-style fries, which were not overdone, so that was good. Again, this isn't something I'd recommend you going out of your way to get, but if you happen to be at an Uno's craving a burger, this probably would be one of the better choices.
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