Buster's on 28th

Whew, it's been a while, hasn't it? Between work, music, and completing a triathlon, I have been pretty busy the past month or so. I have a couple burgers already eaten that I'm just now getting around to writing up, and this is the first.

Buster's on 28th is a neighborhood bar (not in my neighborhood, but in the Lake Hiawatha area) that claims to focus on "tasty and interesting food" to go along with their extensive beer list (if you're into that sort of thing).

Their burger is a pretty classic affair: a half pound of ground Angus chuck and standard fixings atop a fresh bun from A Baker's Wife, just around the corner. Typically the burger comes with a pickle aioli, which I nixed. I ordered mine cooked medium with a slice of Widmer cheddar cheese and a side of fries for a total of $10.

It looked good when it arrived -- the meat was seared properly, the cheese was fully melted, the bun was lightly toasted, and the fixings included thinly sliced red onion, a tomato slice, and a piece of romaine lettuce rather than the more common iceberg (blegh). I wouldn't object to another piece of lettuce and another slice of tomato, but I'll take it as-is. The section cut revealed meat cooked medium (perhaps edging towards medium-well) evenly throughout -- a good sign.

With the first bite, I could tell this would be a good burger. The bun was fresh and slightly sweet, and the meat was moist and clearly of high quality. My only beef (hah!) with it was that the seasoning wasn't even -- some bites were seasoned perfectly while others were a little bland. Whether they mix the salt in with the meat or apply it only to the surface after forming the patty, it could use some more consistency. Otherwise -- no complaints. This is a really good burger, and I wouldn't hesitate to stop in and grab one if I'm in the neighborhood -- or even to make the short trip just for it.

Buster's on 28th
4204 28th Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55406-3123
(612) 729-0911

Addendum 6/6/2013: Last time I had this burger, the bun was dry and/or stale. Just FYI.

Lyndale Tap House

I'm going to say it at the beginning: This is a great burger, and one that I can unreservedly recommend. See addendum at end of review!

Lyndale Tap House is a relatively new establishment on the 2900 block of South Lyndale (duh) Avenue, near Lake St, occupying the former space of jP American Bistro. Their focus, in terms of food, is on so-called "pit beef", which is basically a hand-rubbed, long-marinated, and slow-roasted hunk of beef which is then sliced thin and piled onto sandwiches. I've had their pit beef sandwich before and it's pretty good, but on this particular occasion I decided to try their burger.

They have a few different variations around a basic theme, but I decided to go with their basic cheeseburger (cooked medium) which comes equipped with lettuce, tomato, and battered-and-deep-fried onions on a kaiser roll. To this I added white cheddar cheese and asked them to hold the pickles. Total cost, with the included side of fries: $9.50.

The burger arrived a short while later with a steak knife impaling the whole affair rather than something wimpy like a toothpick. The first impression was great: the burger was clearly hand-pattied, with an irregular shape that couldn't be replicated by mass production. The meat had a nice sear on it and the cheese was fully melted. Cutting it in half revealed a burger cooked perfectly medium all the way throughout. Impressive.

But the really impressive part was that this burger just plain tasted good. The seasoning was spot-on. I mean, perfect, and regular readers (all two of them) will know how fussy I am about that. And the fried onions: some places put onion rings in burgers, which is certainly delicious, but often causes problems with actually eating the thing. The thin fried onions avoid the logistical issues often inherent in onion rings on a burger (such as the whole onion pulling out from inside a deep-fried 'sleeve', uneven burger coverage, and construction-related instability due to the extra height, not to mention that it makes it harder to get in your mouth). In this case, the fried onions added a nice crunch and flavor without any of the drawbacks of full-on onion rings. The bun (actually a kaiser roll) was nicely toasted and had pretty decent flavor and texture, but it wasn't as remarkable as, say, the Common Roots sourdough bun. Still, that doesn't detract much, if at all, from an otherwise excellent performance all-around.

I'd say this is the best burger I've had so far. Go get one, you won't be disappointed.

Lyndale Tap House
2937 South Lyndale AvenueMinneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 825-6150

Addendum 6/6/2013: Last time I had this burger, it wasn't as good as previous times. It was overcooked and dry, and not nearly as well seasoned. Sad.

Vindicated!

It looks like my conjecture in my previous post about Smashburger is in fact correct: The burger is mashed down onto the flat-top right at the beginning of the cooking process, which means all the juices aren't squeezed out. Hooray for deductive reasoning!

Something a little different...

Today's post isn't a local burger joint. Or, to put it another way, it's the most local burger joint possible: your kitchen!

I've written a guest post over on my friend Z's blog about my own adventure in making a cheeseburger.

Enjoy!

Rudolph's

Ok, I know. Rudolph's, at the corner of Lyndale and Franklin, is a BBQ joint. But they've got a cheeseburger on the menu! How was I to resist? I chose to build my own burger with cheddar cheese, no "special sauce" (supposedly something like a Russian dressing) on their regular burger bun with fries. Total: $7:50.

When the sandwich arrived, I was dismayed to find a small pickle (a cornichon, perhaps) speared right on top of the bun -- you'd think that, with a food item as polarizing as pickles, restaurants would be smart enough not to force them onto unsuspecting patrons, or at the very least inform us that pickles were in the cards. Anyway, the burger looked good aside from the pickle. I was pleasantly surprised to see the use of red onion as opposed to the typical white onion. The menu didn't specify how big the patty was, but it seemed to be somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 lb.

Cutting it in half revealed the burger was overcooked -- probably towards the well-done side of medium-well. This manifested itself in a slightly dry patty, but the big surprise here was that the meat was actually seasoned! After so many bland burgers in a row, I had almost forgotten what seasoned meat tasted like (ok, not really). Sure, the seasoning level wasn't dead-on perfect, but it was close. The cheese was melted nicely, and the bun, toasted perfectly, had a pleasant, slightly chewy texture.

Overall, this is a pretty good burger. I'll be going back.

Rudolph's
1933 South Lyndale Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55403-3104
(612) 871-8969

The Herkimer

Today's cheeseburger is from The Herkimer, a brewpub/restaurant on Lyndale near Lake St. The Herkimer, besides brewing their own seasonal beers, has the distinction of being where I first met up with my future bandmates in Orange Tour and where we have often met up before, or occasionally in lieu of, band practice.

Their menu is pretty typical bar food, with the usual assortment of sandwiches and sides. On this particular day, I ordered a mushroom and Swiss burger, cooked medium as usual, with a side of fries for a total of $8.95.

The burger arrived (with a pickle spear strewn haphazardly across the veggies) with the cheese nicely melted onto the mushrooms, some green leaf lettuce, red onion, and two small slices of tomato. The bun was grilled with butter and all in all was a quite appetizing looking burger. The section cut showed a burger more medium-well than medium, but not bad.

Unfortunately, this burger suffered from the typical affliction: underseasoned meat. That and the meat was on the dry side. The bun tasted good but was actually a little over-grilled, with an unpleasant slightly burnt taste. The mushrooms also seemed like they might have come from a can. Overall, average.

The Herkimer

2922 South Lyndale Avenue

Minneapolis, MN 55408-2110

Get Directions

(612) 821-0101

TTCCBB Travels: In-N-Out Burger

Ah, In-N-Out Burger. The mere mention of the name elicits hushed reverence from those who have experienced it and utter confusion from those who have not. Part of the problem is that it isn't available in much of the country. In-N-Out Burger locations are limited to a few western states (California, Arizona, Nevada, and one location in the southwest corner of Utah). Why? The rumor I have heard is that they insist that all locations (which are owned by the company rather than being franchises) be within a day's drive of their home location in Southern California in order to be able to ensure the freshness of the food at all locations. A reasonable limitation, to be sure, but it's unfortunate for the rest of us who live anywhere but those states.

Luckily for me, I grew up in California and was able to experience In-N-Out on a regular basis once they came up to the northern (i.e. better) half of the state. On a recent trip back, I decided to take a detailed look for TTCCBB and report back to you whether or not In-N-Out lives up to the hype.
In-N-Out is a fast-food joint that prides itself on quality and freshness (the aforementioned location restriction being one example). They don't use microwaves, they cook the meat when you order it, they cut and fry their fries when you order them, and they make their milkshakes with real ice cream. This means that it's not necessarily "fast" compared to a regular fast-food burger, but it's worth the wait (at most about 10 minutes when it's busy, closer to 5 minutes if it's not).

My standard order is a Double-Double, which is code for a double cheeseburger with two 100% beef patties and two slices of American cheese. I get mine with grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup instead of their pickle-containing spread. Total cost: somewhere around $3, I think -- I forget exactly.

The burger arrived as I had remembered it -- gloriously messy-looking. I cut into it and was a little surprised to see one patty cooked medium-well, as they claim to do on their website, and one cooked well-done. Not a big deal, but I found it interesting as I would have expected them to be cooked simultaneously. Perhaps a hot spot on their flattop griddle?

And the taste? Let me get this out of the way first: In-N-Out is not the best burger you have ever had. It is, however, the best $3 fast food burger you have ever (or never) had. This is what all fast food burgers should taste like -- the bun was fresh and not limp, the beef, though not seasoned, tasted like real meat, the cheese was properly melted and gooey, and the vegetation was clean and crisp. Having the meat and cheese interleaved meant that perfect seasoning of the meat wasn't necessary -- the cheese provided the needed salt so that every bite was well-seasoned overall. Sure, it was a little messy to eat: because I had to cut it in half to get a cross-sectional view -- normally I'd leave it in its paper sleeve until I was about halfway done, then remove to finish the burger -- I ended up getting some cheese on my tie, possibly ruining it forever. The sacrifices I make so that you can read about cheeseburgers!

If only the Twin Cities had In-N-Out, I'd never leave.

In-N-Out Burger
2270 San Ramon Valley Blvd.
San Ramon, CA 94583-1210
(800) 786-1000

TTCCBB Travels: Bongo Burger in Berkeley

Ok, ok, I know: This is The Twin Cities CheeseBurger Blog. Alas, I'm not always in the Twin Cities -- but I always eat cheeseburgers. So I've decided to expand the blog's horizons to encompass burgers in places I visit. Not to worry, dear readers; I'll still be focusing on the Twin Cities cheeseburger scene (does such a thing as a "cheeseburger scene" actually exist?), but with occasional interludes from burgers farther afield.

One such burger is the so-called "Persian Burger" from Bongo Burger in Berkeley, California. I went to college in Berkeley and Bongo Burger was one of my college staple foods. The Persian Burger is a little different than the typical cheeseburger. For starters, it's made of ground lamb. Second, it's served on a french roll rather than a traditional round bun. Third...there is no third, those are the main differences.

Normally, I would order a full Persian Burger combo with fries and a soda. On this particular day, though, Bongo Burger was one of many "mini-lunches" I was going to have (grand total: 6), so a little moderation was in order. I ordered a half Persian Burger with Swiss cheese (an extra $0.75) and its standard accoutrements of lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo for a grand total of $4.70

The burger arrived, and, as I remembered, the patty was a long, flat rectangular affair that didn't quite cover the surface area of the roll. It was cooked well-done, as expected, with a little too much shredded iceberg lettuce (easily fixed). The star of this burger is the meat. Let's face it, lamb is delicious, and a seasoned lamb patty on a french roll is just a winning recipe. This burger is delicious. If I want to be nitpicky, the meat was a little on the dry side, but with such a thin patty, the juiciness of the tomato made up for it. The lightly toasted french roll bun complements the burger well, with enough crunch to provide an interesting textural contrast if not a whole lot of flavor (though it is, on its own, tastier than a regular white burger bun). Bottom line here is this: If you love lamb, you'll love this burger.

Bongo Burger
2505 Dwight Way,
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 548-4100‎‎

The Bulldog

The Bulldog is a local bar that happens to have great bar food. The location nearest me, in Uptown, is the original location, while the one in Northeast is supposed to be in more of the 'gastropub' vein (I don't know anything about the St. Paul Lowertown incarnation). Whatever. The Lyndale location is within walking distance so that's where I went.

I went in on a Wednesday night and found it surprisingly full. I ordered a patty melt, since I hadn't had one in a while and I happen to love patty melts. For those that aren't familiar with the concept, allow me to explain: Start with a burger patty. Cook. Add cheese and caramelized onions. Throw the resulting assemblage between slices of rye bread and grill until crispy and melty, then eat. The variant at the Bulldog is an excellent example on paper (both figuratively and literally, as it's served in a paper-lined basket), with a half pound of Angus beef, both swiss and cheddar cheese slices, and marble rye. I ordered mine medium with a side of tater tots (a 50 cent upcharge over the standard fries) which put the total at $9.00 even.

Or, at least I thought I had ordered it. After sitting and watching numerous other tables get their food, it turned out that my server had forgotten to put my order in with the kitchen. She was very apologetic and confirmed my order before sending it to the kitchen, and she comped my beverage as a way of apology.

When the patty melt came out, I was first disappointed by the pickle spear resting across my tater tots, contaminating their pillowy, golden, crunchy deliciousness with vile pickle juice. I removed the pickle posthaste and quarantined the contaminated tots before inspecting the patty melt. The slices of rye were thick and unseeded and the cheese was melted and gooey -- a promising start.

The melt arrived already cut in half and initially looked like the meat had been overcooked, but I think this was just some sort of edge effect: the interior of the patty was cooked to a perfect pink medium, while the cut edges were a little more cooked due to whatever residual heat was casting about. Sadly, the interior of the meat was not seasoned to a perfect level of seasoning. In fact, I doubt any salt was added at all (I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record with my constant harping on the excess or lack of salt in the various burgers I eat, but...it's important!). On the other hand, the rye had great flavor and the caramelized onions really tie the whole burger together. Also, I didn't have meat juice napalm squeezing out onto my hands or basket, so that was nice.

Besides the lack of seasoning, I think they could have given a little more flavor just by searing the meat a little more. The patty had only a minor level of browning (possibly due to the lack of salt to draw moisture out of the meat) and could easily have used more Maillard reaction to create delicious flavors and texture at the surface of the meat. Similarly, the bread, which is supposed to be grilled to give a crispy, toasted surface, felt like it only had a perfunctory look at the griddle. It's possible that my server had put my melt in as a rush order, though, so it would take some more data to see if this was just a one-off fluke. And I'll definitely be back.

The Bulldog
2549 S. Lyndale Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612) 872-8893‎

Apologies

Sorry I haven't posted a cheeseburger this week. I haven't had a burger this week. I'm going to Chicago for a couple of days; maybe I'll have one there and review it as part of my T(Non-TC)CBB series. Stay tuned!

EDIT: Had a burger earlier tonight (in Minneapolis); look for the review in the next few days.