Fly me to the...

I was trying to find a witty way to utilize the popular song title in this post.  I had originally shied away from this place simply because it was always so crowded during lunch.  Finally, my break ended up being well after the normal lunch hour, I got to go.  This place I'm talking about is Blue Moon Burgers in the South Lake Union area of Seattle.  I was a little hesitant also because my friend had told me it wasn't really worth it, but hey, for the sake of posterity, I should be thorough right?



So that was the burger I got.  It was called the Doppelganger Burger, and it's pretty hard for me to describe so I took a picture of the sign describing it:



Yeah, that's a lot of stuff.  So the Bratwurst was an interesting touch, it made it kind of like a breakfast sandwich kind of feel, but it didn't mix well with the burger.  The beef was well, if you haven't heard of it Thundering Hooves grass-fed beef seems to be a new fad, it's pretty good, very beefy.  The homemade sweet red cabbage with fresh Washington apples was actually closer to something of a jam or sauce than anything else, it was sweet, though honestly, it kind of tasted like canned cranberry sauce you get for Thanksgiving.  Didn't taste the mustard, mayo, or sauerkraut.  Bun, well, was a bun, did the job a bun is to do.  Overall, while I like each individual component of the burger, I can't say that I was a fan of the end-product.

The sides you order separately, so I got waffle-fries, which to my opinion were sliced a little thin and overfried, making them more like soft potato chips than fries.  I'm not saying that the food here is horrible, but I frankly think it's a little overvalued in terms of what you're paying.  If you have no where else to go, it's not horrible, but definitely I wouldn't go out of my way to come here.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: A
Bun: B-
Fixings: C
Condiments: C-
Sides: C
Price: $5.25-$10
Overall Rating: C
Recommended Burger: The Burger

Catching the bus...

The Burger from The Skillet
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

Sort of... it's more a truck I suppose than a bus, or if I want to be technical, a streamline trailer pulled by a nondescript white van. I had heard things about The Skillet, good things. So when they came by my work, I couldn't pass up the chance to go and try it out.

The beef is grass-fed, I don't know if that's the difference maker, but it was a well made patty. The char from the grill gave it nice texture. The bun, wasn't really a bun, but rather half a baguette. It was an interesting take, made eating the burger a rather unique experience. I can't really decide whether or not I really liked it, personally, I'm going to lean towards it being interesting, but not something I'd personally ever do. Though it did work for the burger, sort of. The fixings were nice, I do like the arugula, the cambozola was a nice compliment to everything. I'm not a fan of bleu cheese type of cheese, and cambozola was along the lines of those pungent types, but there wasn't too much of it so as to overwhelm the burger, just enough to compliment everything. The condiment was what The Skillet was known for; bacon jam. It's an interesting concept, as the jam texture innately leads you to think kind of sweet, but the bacon flavor is subtle enough to make it kind of savory. Another good compliment.

The fries were hand cut and herb-seasoned, two pluses. It was a little over salted for my taste, but overall they were good. I could've gotten the poutine, but that might've been messy walking back to work and all that. It's an experience, a little overpriced for my taste, so it's not really super worth chasing to me, but if it's in the neighborhood it's worth trying just to say you did.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: A
Bun: C+
Fixings: A
Condiments: B
Sides: B-
Price: $11-$15
Overall Rating: B
Recommended Burger: N/A

When you can't find the truck...

Cheeseburger
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

So I was trying to be clever with a play on words here... and make a reference to a place I've been wanting to go to... It sounded cooler in my head, it really did. I was actually debating whether or not to really review this place, since you can't really get in to The Garage Cafe unless you're working for Amazon, but I decided to anyways. So yes, there is a burger under that bun in the picture. The basket was pretty deep so it was hard to get a good picture.

Anyways, they just have a burger selection with various fixing and condiment selections. The default always comes with lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. I got a burger with cheddar, you can add bacon for extra as well, didn't opt for that, as I'm not a huge bacon guy. The meat was really well done, they grill it fresh when you order it. It was cooked just right and beefy and juicy. The bun was kind of like a pre-toasted artisan roll thing, but it wasn't too crusty like a typical artisan roll, I liked it. The fixings were fresh, I like fresh. In terms of condiments, I opted for something the guy called "Kick-ass", which he explained was a togarashi-jalapeno aioli, as well as some tomato relish. I like the relish, didn't really taste the aioli.

The sides were typical bulk-ordered fried fries. Can't go wrong, but you're not going to get bonus points for them, plus you have to pay extra. If you can get in, it's something to think about from their selection.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: A
Bun: B+
Fixings: B+
Condiments: C+
Sides: B-
Price: $5-$10
Overall Rating: B
Recommended Burger: N/A

Simple burger for a simple place

LC's Hometown Burger
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

Okay, I don't know if this is exactly what the burger is called on the menu, but there's really only one burger on the menu so it's all good. I had heard good things about the nice homemade type stuff at LC's Kitchen and finally had the opportunity to go yesterday evening with my cousin. It's a nice cozy place, despite being kind of in an awkward location on the busy Lake City Way.

The burger itself was well done, I liked the patty, and the steamed meltiness of the cheese. They have a good selection of cheeses too. The other fixings were quite fresh and the bun was well toasted. Unfortunately, like several burgers before, there was a lack of condiments inherent on the burger. They did have Tiger Sauce there, which is like a peppery BBQ sauce, it's pretty good, but also kind of watery so you have to add a bit of it to taste anything. Still, it was a pretty good burger overall.

For sides they have fries, which look rather well done, or salad, or soup, or cripsins, which I got. Crispins are essentially ultra thin onion rings, which I thought was really cool, it's like a mix of Funyuns and shoe-string potatoes. Again, not a burger I'd go out of my way for, but I do like the place, maybe I'll get something else there sometime. Rachel Ray recommends the custard, which they didn't have, apparently their dessert menu is on a day-to-day basis.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: B
Bun: B-
Fixings: B+
Condiments: D
Sides: A-
Price: $8.25
Overall Rating: C+
Recommended Burger: LC's Hometown Burger

It is what it is...

Dr. Zain
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

The nice thing about starting new work is that you have a new places nearby to try out for lunch, and burgers are an optimal lunch item. The other day I walked down the street to the Bad Monkey Bistro and decided to order a burger, the Dr. Zain, one of two on the menu. It had melted Gruyere cheese as well as mushrooms. Overall, the place is a nice little place, supposed to be a piano/sports bar, saw a pool table in the back and sat right in front of the piano. I suppose it's somewhat of a posh place to hang out during happy hour.

The burger itself was alright, fairly unremarkable. The 1/3 lb patty was hand pressed, so that was nice, it retained a thicker consistency but at the cost of being smaller than the bun itself. The Gruyere and mushrooms were well, I didn't really taste them. The veggies were fresh though. Also I didn't taste any of the mayo, though I suppose it was just mayo. The roll was pretty well done, nothing fancy, nothing to write home about.

For the sides I tried their root chips, which are supposed to be a bunch of house made chips from various tubers, like sweet potatoes and yams. Generally, they kind of just tasted like chips, but I could catch a hint of the different tubers here and there. Personally, this concept would've been cooler if they made fries like that. This isn't somewhere I'd really go out of the way for in terms of food, I imagine the ambiance in the evening is pretty nice, and the burgers are a safe bet, but again, not something to write home about.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: B-
Bun: B-
Fixings: C+
Condiments: D
Sides: C
Price: $9
Overall Rating: C
Recommended Burger: Bad Monkey Burger

Some good beef for a seafood place

Cajun Burger
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

So at the request of my friend, we finally were able to meet up, and also go to Ballard Brothers Seafood and Burgers to grab a bite. He'd been raving about this place for a bit, and I'd been looking for an opportunity to meet up, so it was good. When you walk in the place seems pretty unassuming, just a big board menu with an order side and a pick-up side. Most of the menu is seafood, but there are a good number of burgers to select from.

I opted for the Cajun Burger simply because I noticed they had a Cajun version of everything, so I figured, this must be something they're good at. The meat quality was good, full, and beefy, the three things I love in a good burger. The bun contained the burger well, and did its job. In terms of the fixings, it was pretty much cheese and onions, I did like how it worked in the burger and for this specific burger I don't know that I'd add much more, but it did make the burger a little sparse. The sauce was pretty good, except it was kind of gobbed on, so you made sure to taste a lot of it. I personally would've liked a little more kick or tang from a Cajun style burger, but it was tasty.

The fries were actually really well done, they had some kind of seasoning/breading on them so it made it pretty good, they were certainly gone before you knew it. It's a little out of the way, but certainly this is somewhere I'd go for a bite.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: B+
Bun: B-
Fixings: B
Condiments: B-
Sides: A
Price: $7-$10
Overall Rating: B
Recommended Burger: Cajun Burger

A neighborhood burger from a neighborhood grill

Steakhouse Burger
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

It's an interesting phenomenon that in the immediate Seattle area there are no Applebees around. Anyways, some friends and I ended up going to the one up in Lynnwood because one of my friend's little sister is only 18 and she can't get into other typical happy hours. Anyways, we went and I realized that it was Monday, and on Mondays, the burgers are only $5, which was sweet.

So, I ordered the Steakhouse Burger, because I am a sucker for steak sauce. The meat was well cooked and good and juicy, definitely a plus. The bun, it did its job, the burger was contained as a handheld edible. The fixings were good, though the onion straws were a little on the overpowering side, so it was kind of hard to really taste a whole lot else. I am a sucker for steaksauce, but the onion straws were so overbearing you only tasted it here and there. Sadness.

The fries were, well, fries. I think they might've been slightly seasoned, it was a plus, I liked them. All in all, if you're ever at an Applebees late Monday night it's definitely worth it, even if you're just at an Applebees normally, I'd still probably get it.

Rating the Burger:
Meat: B+
Bun: B-
Fixings: C+
Condiments: C+
Sides: B
Price: $5-$10
Overall Rating: B-
Recommended Burger: Steakhouse Burger